Actor Kang Ha-neul has once again hinted at a strong transformation with a new face. This is through his new work 'Streaming'.
On the morning of the 26th, at the production report for the movie 'Streaming' (directed by Jo Jang-ho) held at Lotte Cinema in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, Kang Ha-neul responded to a question about 'cyber wreckers' from the perspective of a celebrity, saying, “It is meaningful to spread good deeds widely, but it is quite regrettable to see many people spreading negative things (fake news).”
He added, “I think people who engage in very negative actions while believing they are justified might be 'cyber wreckers'. Even if they do something unfair, they rationalize it by saying, 'This is the subscribers' right to know,' but if you think about it, that is indeed an unfair act. I feel sorry for the damage caused in my field (due to cyber wreckers),” expressing his firm stance.
His new movie 'Streaming' is a thriller that tells the story of a top crime channel streamer, Woo-sang (played by Kang Ha-neul), who discovers clues to an unresolved serial murder case and broadcasts the process of tracking down the culprit in real-time. Kang Ha-neul plays a famous streamer filled with confidence, arrogance, and bravado.
Kang Ha-neul introduced his role by saying, “'Woo-sang' is a friend who maintains the number one subscriber count, filled with confidence and arrogance. He does everything to show that he is doing well, and his gaze is directed outward rather than inward.”
He explained, “I created the character by thinking of the person I dislike the most (in real life). The image of someone I don't want to be close to is reflected in 'Woo-sang'. He has a confident gaze and gives off an atmosphere of 'my words are always right', making it difficult to be around such people. I projected all of that into the character.”
Additionally, extending his thoughts on 'cyber wreckers', he said, “Using the director's expression, I wanted to portray 'Woo-sang' not just as a simple villain, but as someone who rationalizes their actions in that way (engaging in unfair acts).”
He added, “Regarding the socially emerging issue of 'cyber wreckers', it’s not that my thoughts changed particularly after filming the movie, but rather that the part where they engage in unfair acts while continuously assigning themselves a justified meaning, saying 'I'm doing something good' or 'I'm giving people the right to know', resonates with the character.”
Furthermore, he emphasized, “In my field (as a celebrity), I also feel sorry. While there are positive effects from being talked about by many people, there are also negative effects. The damages caused by that are regrettable.”
When asked about the more challenging task between being a streamer and an actor, he said, “Being a streamer is more difficult.” He explained, “As a 'streamer', I have only done streaming for one sequence, but actual streamers have to communicate with different content and stories, right? While actors have a fixed script, streamers have to create something from nothing, so I think that’s more challenging.” He added, “After acting it out, I came to understand the hard work of streamers.”
He also handles tremendous lines. Director Jo Jang-ho praised, “Kang Ha-neul was amazing. He memorized the lines very well,” adding, “There were a lot of lines, and he said, 'Trust me.' I was skeptical, but he really memorized them. I was surprised. He has an exceptional mind.”
Especially regarding the real-time scene shot in one take, Kang Ha-neul said, “It was a fun task. When shooting a 4-5 minute scene in one take, if there was an NG around 4 minutes and 50 seconds, we had to go back to the beginning and do it again. It felt like we were really shooting in real-time, which was fun. It looked more realistic, and I thought it would be good to keep the dialogue messy and the scenes alive, so I suggested that to the director,” showing a relaxed demeanor.
Kang Ha-neul's new movie 'Streaming' is set to be released on March 21.
