Actor Lee Jae-wook (27) expressed his affection for the melodramatic historical drama 'Tangeum'.
The Netflix series 'Tangeum', based on a novel of the same name, tells the story of Hong-rang, the son of Joseon's largest merchant group, who returns after 12 years with no memory, while his half-sister Jae-i is the only one who doubts his identity, depicting the mysterious and budding emotions between them. Director Kim Hong-sun, known for Netflix's 'Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area', the occult drama 'The Guest', and the fresh series 'Voice', collaborated with writer Kim Jin-ah from Apple TV+'s thriller 'Dr. Brain'.
Lee Jae-wook plays Hong-rang, who returns after 12 years, while Jo Bo-ah plays his half-sister Jae-i, who suspects Hong-rang is a fake, and Jung Ga-ram plays the adopted son Mu-jin of the Min Merchant Group. Um Ji-won portrays Min Yeon-hee, the mistress of the Min Merchant Group, and Park Byung-eun plays the head of the Min Merchant Group, Sim Yeol-guk.
When asked about his thoughts on the series, Lee Jae-wook said, "I am currently filming the Netflix series 'Honey Job', and the staff have told me they enjoyed it a lot," adding, "Since it's an OTT release, there are no ratings to check, so I am looking for reactions myself. I appreciate when people capture and share beautiful moments."
He mentioned about Hong-rang, "At the end of Hong-rang's gaze, there had to be Jae-i. I felt compassion and thought I should unconsciously keep looking at her. So, no matter how much I pushed her away, I wanted to show that my gaze was always on Jae-i."
Of course, he also paid attention to the action scenes. Lee Jae-wook stated, "It would be a lie to say that action isn't hard. There are many action sequences, so I had to adapt a lot. There were many actions that required physical movement. I am grateful for the consideration on set. 'Tangeum' has been the most challenging project I've done so far."
He continued, "'Alchemy of Souls' had action using invisible magic, while the action in 'Tangeum' is realistic with swords clashing, which made me very tense. It was important that no one got hurt because of me, and I couldn't get hurt either."
Lee Jae-wook also shared, "Before filming, I was shown the action choreography and practiced for 3-4 hours. I performed most of the action without a stunt double. Typically, we filmed action scenes for about 3-4 days. The day before filming, I also practiced with wires. The longest shoot was in the ginkgo tree forest, which took about 4 days. I love the Chinese martial arts film 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', and I hoped to capture it beautifully. I felt proud that we filmed the big scenes without anyone getting hurt, and I praised myself a lot."
He also prepared his body for the action and shirtless scenes.
He said, "I was embarrassed about the shirtless scene. There was definitely a burden. I had concerns about exposure, but I thought it would be good if it turned out well in the situation, so I worked on my body. While exercising, I got ambitious and wanted to do a body profile shoot, but it was postponed indefinitely," adding, "This time, I wanted to diet and make my body look like a water sprite. Not excessively, but since Hong-rang's environment is tough, I focused on that."
He continued, "I managed to get my body fat down to 5-6%. The day before filming, I hardly drank any water. I thought that suited Hong-rang, so I tried to enjoy that state. However, I realized that my body didn't show as much as I thought, maybe because I wasn't feeling well. After that, I went to an overseas event and ate as a form of compensation, so now I'm back to normal."
He arrived early for filming to get makeup done for the large tattoo on Hong-rang's back and for injuries.
He explained, "I have tattoos and scars on my body, so I spent about 2 hours on makeup. When close-up shots were needed, I had to do detailed work, which took about 4 hours. Even after it was removed, it stayed for about a week. The makeup team really worked hard, more than I did," expressing his gratitude.
Lee Jae-wook also expressed his appreciation for Jo Bo-ah, with whom he shared the screen.
He said, "She called me an angel on set, which made me shy. The reason I could do well was that she treated me well. Relationships are inevitably 'give and take'. I couldn't even repay half of what she did for me. It was really good, beyond words. Even on days when I was filming alone, she would check in to see how I was doing and was very considerate."
"I think Netflix is a platform that spreads worldwide. Just the fact that we are dealing with a historical drama was a burden. I wanted to show the authenticity of our country, and I believe all the actors involved thought about it. So, I focused on my part and tried not to get too excited. For me, 'Tangeum' was a challenge. It was fun situationally, but difficult character-wise, especially since it's a historical drama on a platform like Netflix. I hope it remains a good work."
[Yang So-young, Star Today Reporter]
