Singer and actor Jung Jihoon complained about the hardships he felt while playing a villain for the first time since his debut.
On the afternoon of the 8th at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, an interview was held with Jung Jihoon (Bi), the lead actor of the Netflix series Bloodhounds 2.
Bloodhounds 2 depicts the story of Geonwoo (Woo Do Hwan) and WOOJIN (Lee Sang Yi), who, after taking down a ruthless illegal loan shark gang, again deliver a satisfying straight hook against a global illegal boxing league run by money and violence. It is a sequel released three years after Bloodhounds season 1, which premiered in 2023 as an eight-episode series.
According to the Netflix TOP10 website on the day, Bloodhounds 2 recorded 5,000,000 views (the number obtained by dividing total viewing time by the work's total running time) three days after its release, ranking No. 2 in the global TOP10 series (non-English) category. From immediately after its release to today, it not only ranked No. 1 in Korea's top 10 series but also appeared on the TOP 10 lists in 67 countries worldwide.
Jung Jihoon delivered a passionate performance as villain Baek Jung, who raises tensions by opposing Geonwoo and WOOJIN in the drama. Baek Jung moves solely for money and runs the global illegal boxing league driven by massive viewership and huge bets. His overwhelming, powerful visuals and a fishy smile that seems to enjoy the situation hint at the ruthless aggression of an evil character. Above all, Jung Jihoon challenged himself with a villain role for the first time in his 28-year career, newly joining this season 2 as a villain.
He said playing the axis of evil was a heavy burden, noting, "I didn't enjoy it at all. Every episode, every scene, every moment felt that way. I only thought about how I could make Geonwoo and WOOJIN feel desperate and fall into the abyss. Maybe it was more because this is my first time playing a villain," adding, "I've actually played many kind, good, and pure roles. To reverse that, I felt I had to completely wash it away. 'How can I torment Geonwoo and WOOJIN?' was my homework."
In particular, Jung Jihoon said, "This character tormented me so much. I'm really kind…" which drew laughter. He continued, "Some people may not know me and some may have seen me a few times, but I have tried to live kindly and keep my virtues. So I had many concerns while acting this time. When I looked at Baek Jung, I thought, 'How can a person go this far?'"
He confessed, "When researching the character, I looked a lot at people who kill others. But murderers inherently have different ways of thinking from ordinary people. I also searched for overseas murderers and thought, 'How can I kill more cleanly and painfully?' I talked a lot about that with the director. Every shoot was not easy."
Meanwhile, Bloodhounds 2 was released on Netflix to more than 190 countries worldwide on the 3rd.
[Photo] Provided by Netflix
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