Charles Melton shouts out wife, daughter in Gold Gala award speech

LOS ANGELES — Charles Melton sweetly dedicated an award to his wife and newborn daughter, deviating from his famously private nature.

The "Beef" Season 2 star took the stage at the nonprofit Gold House's fifth annual Gold Gala on Saturday, May 9, to accept the inaugural Gold Artistic Achievement Honor.

"To my partner, my fiancée, my wife, my girlfriend, the love of my life, I love you. I recently became a father, and I want to thank everyone," Melton, 35, said as he wound down his speech with acknowledgements. "I want to thank everyone in this room for making the world a better place for my baby girl. Giving her a place to belong. Giving her a place to belong and thrive. I treasure this honor and I dedicate it to her and everything else I do."

Aside from announcing the birth of his daughter in a March 9 Instagram carousel featuring his partner, Camille Summers-Valli, Melton has kept his family life, including his possible nuptials, under wraps.

The acclaimed "May December" actor and "Riverdale" alum was honored at the event alongside Priyanka Chopra Jonas — who was recognized for "bridging Asian Pacific and Western cultures" — martial arts trailblazer Jet Li, who brought "wushu to a global stage" and Simu Liu, heralded as "a tireless champion for representation on and off screen."

The Gold Gala brings together Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders from entertainment, sports, business, and other industries to celebrate the nonprofit's annual Gold100 List, naming the "100 most impactful Asian Pacific leaders over the past year."

Charles Melton chokes up, describes filming 'Beef' in South Korea as 'coming home'

In his acceptance speech, Melton drew parallels between himself and his "Beef" character Austin, an aspiring physical trainer who, along with fiancée Ashley (Cailee Spaeny) gets caught in ever-rising stakes as they face off against their country club bosses, played by Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac.

Melton, whose mother emigrated from South Korea to the United States in 1990 and whose father served in the U.S. Army for nearly 30 years, is a mixed-race Asian American, like Austin. In "Beef," he spoke Korean with his real-life mom, Sukyong Melton, and filmed the season's climax in Seoul.

Jokingly acknowledging Austin "is something of a Korean himbo," Melton insisted his character is "so much more than that."

"I connected to him profoundly and felt so much empathy for him. I've been like Austin at times. Many of us have," Melton said. "He's lost, looking for purpose. He hides his Korean-ness. He hides behind his own masks because he thinks that's the best way to survive. He's described as [Arizonan] more than Korean. Austin eventually learns that he can't hide his Korean-ness very long."

Moving constantly as a military kid, Melton opened up about how he "never had a good answer" when asked where he was from.

"For a long time I felt like two halves of separate things, never quite whole," he said. "Filming 'Beef' in Soul, the city where I grew up, where my family still lives, gave me the opportunity to return as an artist doing work that mattered in a place where my story began. It felt like coming home, not just to Korea, but to myself.

Melton choked up and cleared his throat to address the "transcendent artists" who have inspired his career, as well as those coming after him.

"My hope is that young Korean actors, young Asian Pacific actors, find inspiration in my work and my story and pursue their heights whilst finding purpose and belonging amongst us," he said. "There is strength in numbers. One person's success can open a thousand doors."