Harry Shum Jr. Talks His 'Fascinating' Shift to Podcasts as He Stars in Psychological Thriller 'Echo Park'

Harry Shum Jr. is taking his talents to the podcast world.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the Glee alum, 40, opened up about starring in and executive producing Realm's Echo Park, a new psychological thriller podcast that tells the fictional tale of LAPD civil advisor James (Shum) and his clone Terrance who find themselves in a web of lies, deceit — and murder.

"Just imagine if you were just doing your job, living your life and going through the issues and stresses that you have in your life, and all of a sudden, you come face to face with someone who looks exactly like you," Shum says of the plot. "You don't know them, they're not related to you and they're just your clone. And then now, you're trying to figure out, 'What do I do with this person in front of me? Do I become friends with them?' And then you find out that they have a secret life, a second life, that is beyond what's just in front of you, but that you start to explore because now you're trying to find them."

"You're trying to find a version of yourself," continues Shum. "And that's, I think, what this story really comes down to."

"But there's also a crime element involved where there are murders happening," he adds. "What I love about this, it also has some social commentary on which lives matter more than others. And I think it puts a sci-fi spin onto it, which is, I think, really fascinating as you're listening. You start to think about things from your perspective, [a] particular perspective in life, in general, of your surroundings and your environment."

As fans know, Shum rose to fame for his dancing and acting, with roles across television and film including Glee, Shadowhunters, Crazy Rich Asians, Step Up 2: The Streets, and Love Hard. The actor will also be starring in season 19 of Grey's Anatomy this fall, and is reportedly set to star in a Crazy Rich Asians spinoff movie centered around his and Gemma Chan's characters.

With so many projects already under his belt, Shum says entering the podcast world was "fascinating" to him for many reasons.

"What I love about this genre is that you just never know where it's going to turn," he shares. "Even though reading through all the scripts, I just was discovering new things while I was recording it."

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Another plus? Skipping hair and makeup.

"It was very different because I love rolling out of bed and going straight to the studio," he explains. "But, also, to be able to work with our director and the producing team. We got to really develop these characters and really take our time. We were able to talk it through and you're not thinking about, 'Okay, we're waiting for certain departments or hundreds of people trying to make this one thing,' which is wonderful and beautiful. But I love that it was so intimate making this."

"I got to voice multiple characters and trying to really expand, have them become their own, but also have an expansive world feel intimate at the same time was really beautiful," he adds.

While Shum enjoyed the process, he admits he did come across some challenges — but wouldn't change a thing.

"I'm a very physical actor and I like physicality," he says. "And so having to channel that through voice, and through intention, through subtleties between how the characters were talking to each other, but also finding that dynamic within myself."

"But the dialogue and the story is just so beautifully written that [we] really wouldn't need to tweak much outside of experimenting," he notes. "And that's the part I love. We got to do it wrong in a lot of ways to finally get it right."

Echo Park is now available wherever podcasts are streamed. The podcast, which is also available for subscribers to Realm+ and Realm Unlimited, will drop new episodes every week through Oct. 13.