Actor Yoon Jae-chan shared his thoughts and experiences as he wrapped up filming for "The Winning Try."
Yoon Jae-chan recently conducted an ending interview for SBS's Friday-Saturday drama "The Winning Try" at the OSEN headquarters in Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul.
Yoon Jae-chan played the role of Do Hyung-sik in "The Winning Try," a character in his second year on the rugby team at Hanyang High School. Do Hyung-sik evolved into a new leader by taking on the captain's armband before graduation and showcased his accommodating nature by accepting Kang Tae-poong (played by Jo Han-kyul), who tried to rejoin the team.
On that day, when asked about his feelings upon the conclusion of the series, Yoon said, "It dealt with a lot of collisions and injuries as a sports drama, so I am relieved that we finished safely. I also appreciate the good viewership ratings. I am thankful to the viewers who watched while having their leisure time on Friday and Saturday, and I am grateful for their positive reactions."
How much rugby practice did he do? Yoon said, "I think it totaled around 6 months of practice. Anyway, to make viewers interested in rugby, rather than explaining it, I wanted to show the rough, rugged yet warm synergy among us. The synergy of seven people. If we just told them to watch rugby, it might have felt burdensome."
When asked about the chemistry with his rugby team members, Yoon said, "It was good. And there is a part where senior Yoon Kye-sang held the center. There were no awkward members, so instead, the synergy was good, and it felt like complete high school students had come together. It was so noisy that sometimes the production team had to intervene. I said, 'I'll put the ball down,' and I even apologized to the production team."
Although Yoon Jae-chan occupied quite a significant amount of time in "The Winning Try," his character Do Hyung-sik did not have a specific narrative developed. When asked if he felt any disappointment about this, he explained, "Originally, there was no detailed narrative, but I know that Hyung-sik becomes the captain later. Even though that story isn't reflected in the drama, I acted with more thought because I knew it."
He continued, "And since Hyung-sik has anger management issues, I thought I would have to express it more intensely for it to be impactful. Originally, he was a monotone character, getting angry and being jealous of Woong. I thought those aspects might make him unlikable, so I felt it could be good to be a little more lovely when with the players. The director also readily allowed it, so I could show the two charms of being a group leader and being lovely. Although there was no narrative, I wasn't too uncomfortable with it."
He added that comments among the team members were frequent. He said, "We shared comments with each other without hesitation. Sometimes, an ad-lib like 'It's just that' could hurt feelings, but we'd say, 'That's not good, how about this?' It seemed like we were a group that researched and studied together. Even when we talked about acting, it was nice that everyone accepted it well without reservation."
He also shared, "Actors usually eat separately with their individual staff on set. But we had a united mindset, asking 'What should we eat today? Let's agree on one thing,' or 'How about this?,' and then we all gathered with those who agreed to eat together. In doing so, we grew closer and discussed our concerns."
What was the most common concern among the actors? Yoon Jae-chan said, "Most of us wished for success. There were friends who hoped that this one opportunity would open up their lives. Among ourselves, we discussed, 'This one alone won't do. We need to achieve something like 'Stove League' or 'Sky Castle.' Even Kyung-sang senior has those thoughts, and for us…" He continued, "Kyung-sang senior treated us to a meal two days before the first broadcast. He usually treats us well. He also gives us gifts and even perfumes. When he asked, 'How are you?' he replied, 'I'm so nervous.' When the lead actor is nervous and hoping for success, we had even more pressure."
Given that it was a highly praised work, audience reactions were also a hot topic. When asked about memorable reactions, he shared, "I thought this episode might receive a lot of negative comments, and while I was watching, I became worried. Especially senior Sung-wook and the homeroom teacher. They really did an excellent job of being unlikable. There was a scene where senior Sung-wook is aimed at by semi-senior, and the reaction there was 'Just shoot.' Even my mom said to just shoot."
After wrapping up "The Winning Try," does Yoon Jae-chan have any genres or characters he wants to challenge? He said, "I want to play an assassin in a historical drama, and perhaps a love story that feels somewhat rural. I want to explore the emotions experienced by a pure couple. I wish to show them completely immersed in love for each other."
Meanwhile, since his debut as an actor in 2022, Yoon Jae-chan has left a strong impression on viewers with his delicate acting suitable for his characters in various works such as tvN's "Shining Watermelon," the Disney+ series "Not Strong But Charming" (강력하진 않지만 매력적인 강력반), MBC's "A Close Betrayer," and tvN's "Love is on a Narrow Bridge." He will appear in the upcoming film "The Hidden Kill" and the new SBS drama "Sold Out Again Today."
[Photo] Golden Moon Entertainment
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