Actor Ji Hyun-woo Goes Extra Mile to Perfect His Role in ‘Beauty and Mr. Romantic’

연합뉴스 / 2024-03-22 09:24:16

▲ A photo of actor Ji Hyun-woo, provided by Lion Heart. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, March 22 (Yonhap) -- "I kept thinking that I wanted to present the character written by Kim Sa-kyung in a delicious way one more time."

Actor Ji Hyun-woo revealed on the 21st at the production presentation of the KBS 2TV's new weekend drama "Beauty and Mr. Romantic," held at Stanford Hotel Korea in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, that he decided to appear even before the script came out.

"Beauty and Mr. Romantic," which will premiere on the 23rd, tells the love story of a drama PD who fed his whole family since childhood but fell from grace overnight as a popular actor, and his attempt to lift him up again.

Kim Sa-kyung, who wrote the KBS weekend drama "The Gentlemen and The Lady," which recorded its own highest viewership rating of 38.2%, took charge of the script.

Ji Hyun-woo, who received a love call from writer Kim, plays Bang Pil-seung, an ambitious dreamer who aims to succeed as a chief director in the broadcasting station drama as part of the drama.

Ji Hyun-woo said, "I commute to the office on the 6th floor of the KBS annex these days."

He said, "I went to read the script and asked if I could sit at the empty desk, and since then, I have been commuting there, talking with assistant directors, doing interviews, and learning a lot about the role."

"Kim Sa-kyung's work is easy to read, but it's difficult to act. It seems like I have to invest more time, especially wondering how to express the 'romantic man' written in the title. (Laughs)"

The female lead, Park Do-ra, who will breathe with Ji Hyun-woo, is played by Lim Soo-hyang. She is a popular actress with a bright, spirited, and challenging personality.

Lim Soo-hyang, who returned to the KBS weekend drama for the first time since "Five Children" (2016), said, "It was a long time since I did a long-running project, so I felt pressured, but I was honored and grateful for the love call from the writer."

She continued, "As an actor playing another actor, it's very interesting. It's an area I can understand well, and I'm approaching the work with a slightly more relaxed mind than Ji Hyun-woo because I understand the difficulties and joys of the profession better."

Director Hong Seok-goo, who worked with writer Kim on the drama "My Only One," took on the direction.

Director Hong said, "While maintaining the virtues of weekend dramas, we tried to differentiate ourselves by showing different colors," and added, "Since the writer has written a story with many changes compared to the previous work, we can expect to see various developments."