Actor Ji Chang-wook complained that filming the action scenes in 'The Manipulated' was "very difficult."
On the morning of the 11th at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, a wrap-up interview was held with Ji Chang-wook, the lead actor of the Disney+ original drama 'The Manipulated.'
'The Manipulated' follows Tae-jung (played by Ji Chang-wook), who lived an ordinary life until one day he is wrongfully caught up in a heinous crime and sent to prison, and discovers that everything was planned by Johan (played by Doh Kyung Soo), leading him to carry out revenge against him.
That day Ji Chang-wook said of finishing 'The Manipulated,' "It was an extremely difficult project. Still, I'm relieved it ended safely. The fact that so many people liked it is honestly the most fortunate thing for me," adding, "While working on this long and difficult project, I was able to hold on thanks to my colleagues, so it was a meaningful job for me."
About the difficulties he said, "It was physically very demanding, and because it was a project I wanted personally, some of the hardship came from my own ambition. The role itself involves suffering and pain, so that was also very hard," he said.
In the actual work, a variety of action scenes appear, from bare-handed fights to car chases. When asked about the action scene behind the scenes, Ji Chang-wook explained, "There are a lot of doubles. I did what I could do myself, but for parts I couldn't, we used doubles a lot. For example, there is an action scene in a car chase with senior actor Yang Dong-geun. It was filmed as if going in one take, and I actually did part of it, but through camera techniques it was mixed with the double so the coordination went back and forth and it wasn't noticeable."
He said, "Because it's not easy for me to do 100% of the action, the necessary parts were done by the doubles, and the actions I was eager to do or felt I could do better than the double I did myself. If I had to give a percentage, I'd say it's probably 50-50. I think action is created together with the doubles and the action team. From choreographing to adjusting on set, you can't do it alone, so a double friend always stayed by my side to help."
In particular, about the action scene with Yang Dong-geun (as Yeo Deok-soo), Ji Chang-wook said, "Actually, we shot the one action scene inside the prison with senior Yang Dong-geun over five days. I was tired, but the senior was tired too, and all the staff squeezed everything out until the end to film it, and when I watched it on air I felt both empty and pleased, a complex emotion," adding, "It was a scene where, after escaping from prison and being recaptured, while lying down the Yeo Deok-soo gang bursts in and fights with me. Right after we finished shooting that five-day sequence, I went to the Busan International Film Festival and then suffered a severe bout of illness. I was in a lot of pain. I felt firsthand that 'the damage from shooting for five days has accumulated like this.'"
Having endured such hardship, Ji Chang-wook, who finished 'The Manipulated,' said, "It was such a grueling project that I don't want to do any action for a while." He said, "Whenever I do action I always think 'I really don't want to do action anymore.' It's so hard and the body suffers. But with 'The Manipulated' I thought, 'This might be my last action.' I'm getting older, and there are moments when, despite my will, I can't perform as well," yet he added, "Every time I do action I say 'This is the last time,' and after it's over I tell myself 'I shouldn't do it anymore,' but without fail I end up thinking 'This might be the last time' again and filming, and after it's over I tell myself 'I shouldn't do it anymore.' I think I'll be repeating this even a few years from now," he joked, drawing laughter. (Interview ② to follow.)
[Photo] Disney+
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