Amazon Studios' Butterfly series is a spy thriller with a twist, one rooted in the father-daughter relationship at the center of the show's plot. The series stars Daniel Dae Kim as David Jung, a former U.S. intelligence operative in South Korea who faked his death nine years ago to protect his family. Now, however, he finds himself tracking down the daughter he left behind (Reina Hardesty's Rebecca) to save her from a dark fate.
The Direct's Russ Milheim sat down with the show's cast to discuss what sets the series apart from other like-minded stories in the genre and the complicated relationships found within it.
Daniel Dae Kim, who many might know from Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender, told The Direct that the relationship between David and Rebecca is actually "one of the things that makes [him] most interested in this story," explaining how he thinks "the father-daughter relationship really grounds our show into something real."
Star Reina Hardesty echoed that sentiment, noting that it's "what drew [her] to the project from the beginning." She admitted she "was so invested in the family dynamic part of it, because it's such a rich, deep, complex story."
Another significant parental dynamic in the story is Piper Perabo and Louis Landau's Juno and Oliver, two characters who serve as key antagonists.
Landau explained their characters' relationship as "ships in the night that are constantly missing opportunities to connect with each other," adding how he "feel[s] like with [their] characters, it's a constant reaching and a constant rejection that starts to flip on its head."
The Direct spoke with Butterfly star Kim Tae-Hee, who plays David Jung's wife, Euji Jung. The discussion with her, alongside the rest of the conversations with the cast, can be read below. Butterfly airs on Amazon Studios' Prime Video on August 22, 2025.
Daniel Dae Kim & Reina Hardesty on How the Father-Daughter Relationship Sets This Show Apart
"That's One of the Things That Makes Me Most Interested In This Story."
- The Direct: "David and Rebecca share a very complicated father-daughter relationship. Can you both talk about how that dynamic helps set this particular spy thriller apart from the rest?"
Daniel Dae Kim: Well, I actually think that's one of the things that makes me most interested in this story. We've seen a lot of action shows, or you have your macho leading man or leading woman nowadays, which is even better. But you know, a lot of the shows, the relationships and the plot are just a little thin, and there are excuses they get from action sequence to action sequence.
But I think the father-daughter relationship really grounds our show into something real... And the fact that it's a relationship drama makes me lean in a little bit more than if it were just action. But I love action too. So in this show, you get a little of both.
Reina Hardesty: Yeah, to be honest, that's what drew me to the project from the beginning. And when I first saw the show, I was like, Oh, wait, this is also an action show. Like, I was so invested in the family dynamic part of it, because it's such a rich, deep, complex story, that the action for me, at least, like, kind of went into the background. Like, all right, we have to do a bunch of movement today.
- The Direct: "David has been playing dead for nine years, and Rebecca has been an assassin. Can you tease how both of those personas and lives they led will start to break down and evolve as they re-enter each other's lives and orbits?"
Reina Hardesty: Well, I feel like for Rebecca, for nine years, she's been shutting down this part of herself that feels the pain. Because, you know, even before, I believe, when Rebecca was around eight, is when her mother died. So she's orphaned at this point.
And I think that the reason why she goes so deeply into being this ruthless assassin is because she doesn't want to feel anything, so she kind of siphons off her feelings, and then when he comes back in, that dam is burst. And that's a really interesting dynamic to get to play and to get to see as the show unfolds.
Daniel Dae Kim: I feel like that damage is kind of the source of everything, and you know that's what allows the show to mushroom out into like a larger story about betrayal, about trust. Can you repair a relationship between a father and a daughter? And you know also the regrets that parents might have toward their children about decisions they've made in the past that have hurt them, whether they realize it at the time or not.
- The Direct: "What did you guys find was the most surprising challenge that you were pitted against that you just didn't expect?"
Reina Hardesty: For me, it was trying to, like, stop myself from constantly indulging in all the delicious food that was in Korea, because otherwise I would not be able to fit into my costumes anymore. That was hard for me.
Daniel Dae Kim: For me, I think... being a producer on the show meant that there was always work to be done. And even though I wasn't shooting as an actor, I was working, so [not having] the typical or routine schedule of days off was challenging.
Louis Landau & Piper Perabo on Their Unique Family Dynamic
"The Characters [Are] Like Ships In the Night That Are Constantly Missing Opportunities to Connect With Each Other."
- The Direct: "The show has a heavy focus on interesting parental dynamics. Can you guys both talk about how the two of you almost serve as a kind of a unique reflection to David and Rebecca, and then the unique struggles that you both are going through in relation to each other?"
Louis Landau: I loved the analogy when we were filming of thinking of the characters like ships in the night that are constantly missing opportunities to connect with each other. And I think that's something that many of us can relate to with our own family dynamics, that when you're desperate to have a connection with someone in your family, they're not in the place to reciprocate that, and similarly, that then follows a pattern where the reverse is true.
And I feel like with our characters, it's a constant reaching and a constant rejection that starts to flip on its head. And that's, as you say, reflected with David and Rebecca as well.
Piper Perabo: Yeah, we're definitely sort of a modern blended family, and it only makes the family dynamics more challenging when we're all trying to assassinate each other.
- The Direct: "Oliver is very loyal to his mom, but there's clearly some doubts brewing even in that very first episode. How does he feel about what she does, and how does he choose to give those little bits of resistance against her?"
Louis Landau: I think that in another life, he would never gravitate towards this line of work. I don't think he's a particularly successful person in this line of work, and I think it's just that Juno occupies such a colossal role in his life that he's there in the first place.
So, I think, naturally, morally, he rubs up against what she does in a very strong way. And I think that he's too scared to overtly challenge her, but he has that sort of teenage quality of like trying to find moments of rebellion, but ultimately knowing that it's futile.
- The Direct: "When the show starts out, your character has a parental relationship with Rebecca, or so it seems. Do you think she ever viewed her in any way as close as she views her own son, or was that all a farce?"
Piper Perabo: I think Juno holds Rebecca very close. And it's different with Oliver, because he's biologically my son, but she's my star athlete, and so I kind of love them both, maybe not in the best way you can raise a kid. They're both, like, deeply, deeply important to me.
- The Direct: "Piper... You got to be the villain in this show, and you seem to really love it. So can you talk more about being able to just open up and just embrace this whole new side and surprise audiences with this new side of you?"
Piper Perabo: It was so fun when Dan called and he said it would be to play the villain, I was so excited. I have so many friends who play villains, and villains have great clarity of purpose and often a lot of power, and it's really fun to execute at that level.
I played a lot of underdogs and heroes, and that's a lot of work. It's a lot of work to be the hero, man, you have so far to go, or the villain is kind of often on the phone or in the car and pushing a button. And I didn't know how much I would like it, but it worked out.
- The Direct: "Throughout the whole process of bringing this show to life, what would you say was the most surprising challenge that you guys were put up against that you just didn't expect?"
Louis Landau: That's a really good question. I think that making a show that is crossing a divide of different cultures is always going to present challenges, and I think, to everyone's credit, they navigated those challenges incredibly well.
But there are certainly moments of just like cultural dissonance between how you make a TV show or film in Korea and how you make a TV show or film in the States, and it was a real point of compromise where [they] needed to be found. And I think they navigated that really well.
Piper Perabo: I agree. There's a lot of gunplay in the show, gun fighting, and Korea has a really different relationship to handguns in the United States. And so I pay a lot of attention when there are guns on set.
And in Korea, it's so rare that anyone would carry a gun; they really only think of them as props. And so you can feel that [Culturally]... That's a place where the cultures are different and really requires our attention.
Kim Tae-Hee on What Eun-ji Feels About David's Quest for Rebecca
"I'm Sure There Are Parts of Her That Wants to Dissuade Him..."
- The Direct: "When we meet your character, your husband is risking everything for his first daughter, who he left behind before he even met you. How does she feel about him risking it all to kind of reunite with her?"
Kim Tae-hee: She knows that he is risking everything, and I'm sure there are parts of her that wants to dissuade him or has dissuaded him before, but she also understands and loves him, and so that is why she lets him do what he needs to do in this life, but she still is a very strong willed and and wise woman in that sense.
- The Direct: "Can you talk about building that on-screen relationship with [Daniel Dae Kim], and then also just building a dynamic between you two as actors?"
Kim Tae-hee: We talked about our relationship before the story, and we thought about what language David and Euji would use when they talk. David must have learned a lot of Korean after living in Korea, and Euji would probably improve her English a lot while living with him. So, they would mix Korean and English during their conversation, like Daniel and me. Sometimes Daniel just speaks in English, and I speak in Korean, but we understand each other and have no problem communicating. So David and Euji communicate with whichever language that feels more comfortable in the situation...
[Translated] I think we really talked about what kind of situations David and Euji would find themselves in, and what kind of conversations they had, and how they communicated, and how they fell in love in this sort of interesting situation? We also talked about our backstories, about how our characters met. For example, we talked about the possibility of the two of them meeting randomly at a bar in Taiwan, maybe, and you could have had experience studying abroad, maybe for a year.
[Translated] So, they could have talked about common topics of the US, like, for example, a tasty hamburger. They could have bonded over something like that. So, yeah, we had a lot of conversations regarding the backstories of our characters.
The complete interviews can be viewed below:
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