Animated Movie Starring Poker Player Arden Cho Scores Two Oscar Nominations
A popular animated Netflix movie starring actress and poker player Arden Cho received two Oscar nominations, including for Best Animated Feature.
KPop Demon Hunters is about a K-pop girl group led by Rumi, voiced by Cho, who fight demons and eventually face off against a boy group of disguised demons. The movie was released directly on Netflix in June 2025 and received wide praise. On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently holds a 92% critic score and 99% audience score.
The hit animated film, directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, received an additional Oscar nomination in the Best Original Song category for “Golden," a pop song that has amassed over one billion views on YouTube in just six months.
From Hustler to the Oscars
Cho, who has $436,828 in live earnings and has played on Hustler Casino Live and The Big Game on Tour, celebrated the show's Oscar nomination on social media.
"We are going to the OSCARS!!!" the Korean-American actress wrote on X before later adding, "What an HONOR!"
In addition to televised cash games, Cho, whose first poker cash dates back to 2013, plays in poker tournaments and most recently finished 20th in the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty event at the 2025 World Series of Poker for $34,896.
In 2024, Cho finished runner-up to Daniel Smiljkovic in the $1 million freeroll PokerGO Tour (PGT) Championship for a career-best $200,000. PokerNews interviewed Cho at the event, which can be heard on a Jan. 18, 2024 episode of the PokerNews Podcast around the 10:45-mark.
Cho later spoke to PokerNews about her future in poker and how she balances it with her acting career.
"With acting, I put in an insane amount of preparation and work prior to filming, and even while filming, I'm constantly putting in work," Cho said. "I suppose if I want to keep playing tournaments, I should do the same for poker — but can you blame me for wanting to keep it fun and exciting?"
In addition to KPop Demon Hunters, Cho has acted in Teen Wolf, Chicago Med, and Hawaii Five-0.
The Oscar winners will be announced at the 98th Academy Awards, which will take place in Hollywood on March 15. Previous winners of the Best Animated Feature award include Shrek, Spirited Away, and WALL-E.
