As Dex makes his official drama debut through "The Defects," controversy surrounds his acting skills.
The ENA Monday-Tuesday drama "The Defects," which premiered on the 21st, is an action thriller depicting the brutal survival and revenge of children who barely survive after being abandoned by their foster parents. Yum Jung-ah, Won Jina, Choi Young-jun, Kim Jin-young (Dex), and Lee Na-eun are among the cast.
With the shocking genre setting of selling and buying children, it draws attention as Dex's drama debut and the comeback project of Lee Na-eun from APRIL. From the first broadcast, Dex's acting skills were put under scrutiny.
Dex plays Jung Hyun, the de facto operator of an illegal adoption trafficking organization. He is a character who is discovered and raised by Se-hee (played by Yum Jung-ah) and unconditionally obeys her commands, ruthlessly completing missions. His character is revealed in the scene where he coldly deals with a reporter who reported on high-class newborn transactions.
The problem is that Dex's portrayal in this process came off as somewhat awkward. In scenes where he needed to lead the atmosphere, his vacant gaze, awkward walk, and distracting expressions caught the viewers' attention.
After the broadcast ended, a debate over his acting skills arose, with netizens responding: "The walking is too clunky and the expressions are limited, making him seem robotic. He needs to practice acting more," "He has been categorized as one of the worst acting performances ever. How did he get cast?" "It's a significant role, what to do now," and "His nervousness just shows too much on camera," among other reactions.
However, some argued, "Considering this is his first act, it's not that awkward," "Only his walking shows signs of nervousness; everything else is fine," "If we pick apart every detail for a first performance like this, it means newcomers shouldn't act at all," and "It was just passable."
Earlier at the production presentation held on this day, director Oh Ki-hwan mentioned the reason for casting Dex: "I didn't know much about the entertainer Dex; I only knew Kim Jin-young as an actor and carried out meetings as an actor. I chose him because I saw potential as an actor. The Kim Jin-young we had for the first month of filming was clearly different from the one at the crank-up point. I can say that we cast him by seeing the possibility of development."
Following up, director Oh added, "I made the first offer. When we had deep conversations through meetings, I saw the potential, and Kim Jin-young thought the script was good, leading to good chemistry."
Meanwhile, ENA "The Defects" airs every Monday and Tuesday at 10 p.m.
[Photo] OSEN DB, broadcast capture
[OSEN]