From actor Ji Chang Wook to Doh Kyung Soo and Lee Kwang Soo, The Manipulated is ready to meet viewers with cathartic action.
On the morning of the 3rd at the Grand Ballroom of the Conrad Seoul hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, a production press conference was held for the new Disney+ original series The Manipulated, where actors Ji Chang Wook, Doh Kyung Soo, Kim Jong Soo, Jo Yoon Soo, Lee Kwang Soo and director Park Shin Woo attended and discussed various aspects of the work.
The Manipulated is an action drama in which Tae Jung (played by Ji Chang Wook), who lived an ordinary life, is one day wrongfully caught up in a heinous crime and sent to prison, and then learns that everything was planned by Yohahn (played by Doh Kyung Soo) and carries out revenge against him.
The Manipulated is a story with a newly expanded worldview as the film The Man Standing Alone, written by writer Oh Sang Ho, was created as a series; based on the concept of "a man living an ordinary life is falsely accused and then carries out a satisfying revenge," it was reborn as a work that explodes with catharsis by adding genre pleasures such as intertwined character relationships, thrill and action.
When director Park Shin Woo was asked why he cast Ji Chang Wook again for the drama after the film, he replied, "When Ji Chang Wook said he would do the drama, he showed willingness even before the script came out. I know he waited until the end for a long time and showed affection. I thought it was natural. Although the work was not remade exactly as it was, he did it so well that I couldn't think of any other actor."
On the differences from the film, he said, "Because it is a series, the story moves through the unit of two episodes as stages shift, and I tried to harness the appeal of the series medium by thinking of new developments and unpredictable clashes between characters that make viewers unable to stop watching because they are curious about what comes next."
Park Tae Jung, played by Ji Chang Wook, is a character who goes from being an honest, ordinary young man who does not waste a single day to suddenly being wrongfully accused and sent to prison.
Ji Chang Wook said, "When I first received the script, I thought it could offer a variety of visual elements, and the diverse and attractive characters and their relationships were interesting. Personally, I felt ambitious. I joined because I had the desire and confidence to do it really well."
About the character Park Tae Jung that he played, he said, "This time my goal was to express emotions caught up in situations rather than the character. I performed without matching at all to the character from the previous The Man Standing Alone; rather than making the character Tae Jung three-dimensional, my task was to be placed in the situations Tae Jung faces and fully express those emotions so viewers can follow along well."
Doh Kyung Soo plays the sculptor An Yohahn, the mastermind who designs incidents and the CEO who runs a special security service business for the top 1%, taking on his first villain role.
Doh Kyung Soo said, "When I received the scenario it was so entertaining, and there is a big scene with car racing that I was curious how it would be realized," and added, "Since it's my first time playing a villain, I wondered what kind of feeling would come out when I acted."
About the character Yohahn, he said, "His real job is a sculptor. He literally designs and sculpts incidents; an evil figure. I thought a lot about how to make Yohahn look chilling. I dyed my hair, permed it and then dyed it black again. It took more than four hours to do my hair. I talked a lot with the costume team and wore a lot of neat and flashy suits. In terms of how to portray the character Yohahn, I couldn't directly experience it, so I imagined by recalling people I had seen in films and documentaries I had watched before."
In addition, Kim Jong Soo plays Tae Jung's lifesaver No Yong Sik, Jo Yoon Soo plays Tae Jung's prickly helper No Eun Bi, and Lee Kwang Soo takes on Yohahn's VIP Baek Do Kyung, who has both power and money, promising to show new charms.
Kim Jong Soo said, "Various genres are mixed into this; I was curious how it would be realized. I did it because Ji Chang Wook said he would do it and I wanted to be part of it," and Ji Chang Wook expressed gratitude, saying Kim Jong Soo was a mental anchor on set, "It was grueling work. Having the senior there itself was helpful. I relied on him a lot. I depended on him so much I would have held him back from leaving even after he finished. He embraced me warmly."
Jo Eun Su said, "I joined after auditioning, and from the moment I read the script the immersion was good and the pace was fast so I enjoyed reading it. The role of Eun Mi was so attractive that I wanted to work with the seniors."
Lee Kwang Soo said, "While reading the script and looking at my character parts, I spit on the script I thought he might be the worst character. I really disliked the character. I wanted to convey and express well the points that irritated and angered me every time I read the script."
About acting chemistry with Doh Kyung Soo, whom he had appeared with on several variety shows, Lee Kwang Soo said, "I'm also very close with Kyung Soo, so I wondered if it would feel awkward acting together on set, but when we met on set it was really good. Without any of that, I did everything I wanted to do. Whether it was Chang Wook or Kyung Soo, they accepted and liked whatever I did, so I went to set comfortably like visiting and did everything I had prepared and left."
Doh Kyung Soo also laughed about his chemistry with Lee Kwang Soo, saying, "Normally I don't know. I was always in a position with strong self-assertion that made younger colleagues suffer (laughs), but when working on this project many things were different; Kwang Soo hyung was someone I relied on a lot on set. I learned a lot because I knew he was good even without showing it, and I learned a lot since the first time on The Man Standing Alone. I learned much about acting on set and how to treat people around me, and I relied a lot on set while filming."
Another unmissable element of The Manipulated is the cathartic action. Director Park said, "We used a variety of cameras to make the sense of presence felt. Ji Chang Wook did a lot of the action himself, which resulted in much more realistic action. Each episode will continue to show new action scenes for viewers to enjoy," raising expectations.
Finally, Lee Kwang Soo called the cast chemistry of The Man Standing Alone more than a perfect score and said it was off the charts, adding, "It's a really hot project. It's like a heat pack of a work."
Meanwhile, The Manipulated, completed with Oh Sang Ho's writing of the Taxi Driver series, features a heated clash between Ji Chang Wook, who races passionately toward revenge, and Doh Kyung Soo, who presents a new face with his first villain role; the synergy of fresh actors such as Kim Jong Soo, Jo Yoon Soo and Lee Kwang Soo; and it will release four episodes on Disney+ on the 5th, then two episodes each week thereafter, totaling 12 episodes.
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