Actor Yu Jeong-hoo said he has no regrets about his life as an actor.
Yu Jeong-hoo left an impression on viewers with a passionate performance as Kim Ji-hoon in the KBS2 Wednesday-Thursday drama My Girlfriend is the Man (writer Lee Hae-na, director Yoo Kwan-mo), which ended last month on the 28th.
My Girlfriend is the Man (hereafter My Girlfriend is the Man) is an over-the-top romantic comedy about Kim Ji-eun (Arin), a girlfriend who suddenly becomes a pretty boy, and Park Yoon-jae (Yoon San-ha), a boyfriend who cannot give up on her. Based on a popular webtoon of the same name, the original was also released in Chinese and Thai, proving its global popularity beyond Korea. Director Yoo Kwan-mo, who directed Police University, Woman of 9.9 Billion and Perfume, joined forces with promising writer Lee Hae-na, and the 12-episode series concluded last month on the 28th.
Yu Jeong-hoo made a striking transformation as Kim Ji-hoon, the "biological secondary character" of Kim Ji-eun (played by Arin). Kim Ji-hoon is a character who suddenly becomes a man due to family history and faces a major crisis in love with Park Yoon-jae and in his relationships with those around him. Having gained experience appearing in Bad Girlfriend, New Love Playlist, Cheongdam International High School, and A씨 Durian, Yu Jeong-hoo marked himself with solid acting skills and delicate expression that anchored the drama.
From A씨 Durian, which made him known, to My Girlfriend is the Man. Yu Jeong-hoo has mainly played three-dimensional characters. He said, "I'm not in a position to choose projects, and I'm grateful to have been given roles, and by chance many of them were multi-dimensional characters. Looking back now, because I took on those challenging roles, I think when I later play realistic works or characters without fantasy elements I'll be able to do it much more comfortably. Relatively speaking, when I try to express things I haven't experienced and then try to express things I have experienced, it will probably be a bit easier and I'll be more confident. It's a mindset of 'I did this, so why can't I do this?'"
Not limited to roles, Yu Jeong-hoo said he is growing by diving in and getting knocked around. He said, "I enjoyed watching the drama Karma very much, and I'd like to try acting in that kind of genre. So far my roles have been handsome or pretty-looking, so I really want to show a new side of me in a darker mood."
Before becoming an actor, Yu Jeong-hoo was a student majoring in mechanical engineering. He confronted his childhood dream of acting while serving in the military and has since walked the path of an actor. Yu Jeong-hoo said, "I still have never regretted acting. It's a profession of interacting and sympathizing with people, both in the process of making a work and in the mutual congratulations when a project ends, and it suits my personality and aptitude. There are physical and mental hardships, but job satisfaction is so high that I have no regrets," he said with a laugh.
Yu Jeong-hoo will continue meeting viewers with projects such as Harem Men following My Girlfriend is the Man. He said, "My mindset of not settling or getting complacent over time remains unchanged. I always want to be an actor who grows more than the Yu Jeong-hoo from my previous work. Comparing oneself to other actors is subjective, but comparing oneself to one's past is helpful and I think it's objective. I'm not going to do just one or two projects and stop, so I want to grow with each project and become a better actor."
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