Actor Park Sung-hoon Picks 'Insecurity, Poverty' as Driving Forces of His Life

연합뉴스 / 2024-05-02 09:43:44

▲ This profile photo, provided by BH Entertainment on April 30, 2024, shows actor Park Sung-hoon, one of the main cast of tvN's hit rom-com series "Queen of Tears. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, May 2 (Yonhap) -- "In reality, nowadays I avoid going out to avoid getting cursed at, so I bundle up and go out. (Laughs) Even though I'm hiding everything, if I say a word to my companions, people around would say, 'Oh, it's Jeon Jae-joon!'"

Actor Park Sung-hoon (39), who gained attention for his intense villainous performance in the Netflix hit "The Glory," is still referred to by his character name 'Jeon Jae-joon' instead of his real name. People would recognize him on the street and shout out 'Jeon Jae-joon,' at him. Surprisingly, he was mistakenly called that name even by some production staff of the recently concluded tvN drama "Queen of Tears."

Park Sung-hoon, whose name was "forgotten" due to his impressive performance in "The Glory," sat for an interview at the BH Entertainment building in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on April 29.

Park Sung-hoon chuckled, saying, "It's fun to hear the sound of 'Jae-joon.' After completing one work after another, won't I eventually be called by another name, and someday, won't I find my name again?"

He said, "There was a time when I considered using a stage name because the name Park Sung-hoon was too common. I lived diligently with the intention of becoming the most famous person among all Park Sung-hoons."

He continued, "There are about 65 people when you search for Park Sung-hoon on the internet, but now I'm the first one to come up. It seems like I've become the most famous Park Sung-hoon, so now I need to set a goal to spread the name Park Sung-hoon even wider. (Laughs)"

▲ This profile photo, provided by BH Entertainment on April 30, 2024, shows actor Park Sung-hoon, one of the main cast of tvN's hit rom-com series "Queen of Tears. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Even in the recently concluded tvN drama "Queen of Tears," which ended with the highest viewership rating (24.8%), Park Sung-hoon showcased a solid presence. Portraying the role of the elite Yoon Eun-sung, who hides a cruel side, he delivered a thick performance.

Although similar to Jeon Jae-joon in being a psychopath with abilities and wealth, Yoon Eun-sung appeared as a completely different character to Park Sung-hoon.

He explained, "Not only did I style differently, but I also changed my vocalization and facial expressions when acting. Since I wanted Jae-joon to not appear threatening, even when expressing anger, I emphasized the end of the sentence while adjusting the intonation of the dialogue. However, Eun-sung, who played a role in creating tension in the drama, emphasized the beginning of the sentence with a suppressed tone."

Eun-sung, a former Wall Street analyst, has only one goal in life: Hong Hae-in (played by Kim Ji-won). To obtain his long-lost first love, Hong Hae-in, he hesitates at no evil deed.

Park Sung-hoon emphasized, "I hoped that Eun-sung would feel somewhat tender. In the final scene where he tells Hae-in, 'I will take you even if it means killing you,' I felt various emotions. I thought Eun-sung's love was also a form of extreme love. I hoped it would seem poignant and pitiful."

▲ This profile photo, provided by BH Entertainment on April 30, 2024, shows actor Park Sung-hoon, one of the main cast of tvN's hit rom-com series "Queen of Tears. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Debuting with a minor role in the 2008 film "A Frozen Flower" after performing on the university theater stage, Park Sung-hoon revealed, "After starting acting, the biggest driving force for me was insecurity and poverty."

Although often cast as an elite character born with a silver spoon after his debut, Park Sung-hoon's real life was entirely different from the characters he portrayed. He confided, "In fact, I suffered a lot when I was young because of my family's financial situation."

As he prepared for the shooting of the tvN talk show "You Quiz On The Block," which will air on the 1st of next month, Park Sung-hoon confessed that he lived in a place similar to the basement shown in the movie "Parasite" for seven years. He reminisced, "I was the worst student in acting classes, so I pushed myself because I wanted to do well. Also, because I needed money for living expenses right away, I continuously performed on the university theater stage."

He continued, "I used to tremble in front of others, which I hated. In my opinion, I was the worst actor in the class. There were times when my friends burst into laughter at my first line when I went on stage. Although I found it difficult to stand in front of people, I felt exhilarated by the fact that I could show a different side when I became a character and had confidence in my dreams."

▲ These still image, provided by broadcaster tvN on April 30, 2024, shows actor Park Sung-hoon playing the role of Yoon Eun-sung in hit rom-com series "Queen of Tears." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Describing himself as someone who is anxious when resting and prefers to work tirelessly like a cow, Park Sung-hoon is scheduled to appear in Netflix's highly anticipated "Squid Game" Season 2 this year. While sparing his words about the work or his role, he confidently revealed, "It will be definitely different from the Park Sung-hoon I've shown so far."

Scheduled to leave for Bangkok, Thailand, the day after the interview for the filming of his next project, the movie "Tropical Night," Park Sung-hoon confessed, "I lost about 10 kilograms of weight for the role of a drug dealer compared to 'Queen of Tears.' Now, I want to avoid playing villains if possible."

He added, "My mother would say, 'You look disgusting,' 'I get annoyed just looking at you,' 'Please stop.' (Laughs) I've always had a desire for comedy acting since I naturally have a knack for humor. Next time, I definitely want to do romantic comedy."