"Bloodhounds 2" actor Jung Jihoon (Bi) recounted his wife Kim Tae-hee's reaction to him playing a villain.
On the afternoon of the 8th, an interview with Netflix series Bloodhounds 2 lead actor Jung Jihoon (Bi) was held at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Bloodhounds 2 tells the story of Geon-woo (Woo Do Hwan) and WOOJIN (Lee Sang Yi), who beat up a ruthless illegal loan shark gang, delivering another satisfying straight hook against a global illegal boxing league ruled by money and violence. It is a sequel released three years after Bloodhounds season 1, which premiered as an eight-episode series in 2023.
According to the Netflix Top 10 website, Bloodhounds 2 recorded 5,000,000 views (the number of views calculated by dividing viewing time by the total running time of the work) three days after its release, rising to No. 2 in the global Top 10 series (non-English) category. From immediately after release until today, it has not only ranked No. 1 in Korea's Top 10 series but also appeared on Top 10 lists in 67 countries worldwide.
Jung Jihoon delivered a fiery performance as villain Baek Jeong, who raises tensions by standing in opposition to Geon-woo and WOOJIN in the story. Baek Jeong operates a global illegal boxing league driven by massive viewership and huge bets and moves solely for money. His overwhelming visual presence and a fishy smile that seems to enjoy the situation suggest the ruthless attack power of an evil character. Above all, Jung Jihoon took on a villain role for the first time in his 28-year career and newly joined season 2 as a villain.
Reflecting on finishing the role, he said, "He was a character I felt attached to. It took a long time to shake him off considering how hard I worked. Even when I wasn't acting, my temperament would flare up."
He said that Kim Tae-hee scolded him while he was playing the Baek Jeong character, adding, "It wasn't the way I spoke or anything like that but sometimes because of my eyes and things like that she asked, 'Why are your eyes like that?' There were some misunderstandings. Even though a long time has passed, those looks came out occasionally. (laughs) I researched this character diligently. I always work hard on any project, but it wasn't easy to shake it off and wash it away."
He continued, "The character himself wasn't a psychopath or sociopath but a runaway locomotive with anger management disorder. He was a character who did whatever he wanted. I set my mindset that way from the start. After meetings, because Baek Jeong didn't have a special backstory, I created settings such as 'where he's from' and 'who his original family was...' and so on. So there's still an aftertaste left."
When asked, "Did your family watch Bloodhounds 2?" he replied, "My family shouldn't watch it. Not yet. The lines are too extreme. It's too young for the kids to see. Fortunately," adding, "so I watched it at home alone with earphones on."
Bi said, "My wife watched it and told me she liked it. My wife and I don't talk about our projects with each other. We tend to respect each other. She said, 'You worked hard.' She knows how much I suffered. (About the visuals) she said I looked cool," adding with a smile, "This was the first time this happened: older colleagues and other actors called to praise me. It felt good."
Meanwhile, Bloodhounds 2 was released in more than 190 countries worldwide through Netflix on the 3rd.
[Photo] Provided by Netflix
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