Actor Kim Do-wan (30) challenged himself with an action film at the age of thirty. Known for his particularly introverted personality, he once again experienced the thrill of acting through a character with a proactive nature.
On the afternoon of the 11th, a round interview with Kim Do-wan, the lead actor of 'One: High School Heroes', took place at Post Tower in Yeouido, Seoul.
'One' is a high school action drama where the top student, Lee Gyeom (played by Lee Jeong-ha), who suffers from his father's oppression, and Yoon Gi (played by Kim Do-wan), who seeks to utilize his innate fighting talent, form a masked group called 'High School Heroes' to unleash their suppressed anger and overturn the hierarchy of school violence.
Kim Do-wan plays the role of Kang Yoon-gi, who discovers Kim Gyeom's natural fighting talent and leads him into the world of fighting while hiding his true intentions. Kang Yoon-gi showcases his quick situational judgment and high-level fighting skills as he works alongside Kim Gyeom in the High School Heroes.
When asked what attracted him to the role of Kang Yoon-gi, he replied, "This was the first character that took the lead so proactively. The way he designs the situation itself was appealing." Regarding his preparations for the character, he said, "I thought I needed to bring out the flavor of the dialogue well. I paid a lot of attention to diction and tried to maintain a sense of rhythm."
In the early part of the drama, Kang Yoon-gi hides his strength, but he begins to reveal his fighting skills in the middle. When asked about his feelings about challenging action acting, he said, "At first, I thought I had no talent, but as I gradually matched my moves in action school, I started to think, 'Maybe I do have some talent.' I was very nervous during filming. If I lost focus even for a moment, either the co-actor or I could get hurt, so I was in a state of extreme concentration. In that situation, when the action came out successfully, the thrill was the best."
When asked to rate his own action performance, Kim Do-wan said, "I'm always a bit disappointed with what I did. However, I am always grateful to the director for the good editing. I would give myself about a 60 out of 100. Lee Jeong-ha's action performance deserves a 95. Even when I wasn't fighting from episodes 1 to 8, he worked hard."
Earlier, at the press conference for 'One', director Lee Seong-tae mentioned, "We dealt with not only the one-dimensional issue of school violence but also social violence that pursues domestic violence and grades as the highest values." In response, Kim Do-wan said, "I agree with the director's words. I paid a lot of attention to expressing the wounds and inner selves that Yoon-gi and Gyeom received. I think it’s a story about overcoming the violence Gyeom faced, the social atmosphere, and the wounds Yoon-gi has while growing."
Kim Do-wan, who shows bromance chemistry with Lee Jeong-ha in the drama, said, "Lee Jeong-ha is like a younger brother to me. He is incredibly charming and lovable. Despite the cold weather and many action scenes, he never showed any signs of struggle. He seemed like an older brother. Even though he must have been the one who was most tired, I was proud to see him overcome it all."
Since his debut, Kim Do-wan has cited actor Jo Seung-woo as his role model. When this topic came up again, he said, "He is someone I truly respect. The acting direction I aspire to is that of senior Jo Seung-woo, but now I say that 'myself five years from now' is my role model. I chose this as my role model to mean that I need to work hard for the next 5 or 10 years so that I won't feel embarrassed saying this."
Kim Do-wan, whose younger brother works in the film industry, said, "My brother always gives me a cold evaluation of my work, but he said he really enjoyed 'One.' Hearing that made me proud."
Finally, when asked to promote 'One', Kim Do-wan cleverly responded, "It’s filled with exhilarating action that will make you forget the heat. Please look forward to 'One: High School Heroes'."
[Kim Mi-ji, Star Today Reporter]
