(Continuing from interview ①) 2PM member and actor Hwang Chan-sung took on a father's love role in Bloodhounds 2 and shared his real family's reactions and his current life as a 'dad.'
Hwang Chan-sung recently met fans with the popular Netflix original series Bloodhounds 2. Bloodhounds 2 is a drama that tells the story of Geon-woo (Woo Do Hwan) and WOOJIN (Lee Sang Yi), who beat up a vicious illegal loan shark gang, delivering another satisfying straight hook against a global illegal boxing league ruled by money and violence.
Following Bloodhounds season 1, which was released in 2023, season 2 was released three years later, and in season 2 Hwang Chan-sung gave a passionate performance as Tae-geom, the right-hand man of the villain Baek Jeong (Jung Jihoon). Recently, I met Hwang Chan-sung at an office in Yeouido, Seoul, to talk about the work and his recent life.
Tae-geom is the only villain in Bloodhounds 2 who has a backstory. In the drama, having lost his wife and supporting his mother and daughter alone, he was dishonorably discharged after taking illegal loans to pay for his wife's hospital bills despite being a special forces veteran. He later ended up surviving under the money-obsessed villain Baek Jeong.
Through this, Hwang Chan-sung showed a father's love in Bloodhounds 2 by acting for his daughter. Hwang Chan-sung, who actually married in 2022, became the head of a household, a husband, and a dad when his daughter was born in July of the same year. As a father of one daughter, he shares some similarities with Tae-geom. He said, "There is a scene where I'm told the baby is hurt and I run over to see. I met them and sensed the danger, and the scene was one of being surrounded. When filming that scene, rather than thinking of my child, I understood that feeling — the depth of feeling Tae-geom would likely feel. It became a situation I could understand and that was helpful," he confessed.
Hwang Chan-sung said, "I interpreted Tae-geom with more emphasis on 'father.' I originally didn't think Yoon Tae-geom is an evil person. It's hard to judge as simply good or bad; he's not simply evil, nor is he someone who takes killing lightly. He's a reasonably rational person and someone who would protect his family, but he reached out to a bad person and I don't think he expected it to become like that; out of desperation he couldn't think about the consequences," he added.
He said, "Director Kim Joo-hwan wrote and directed it, so I felt like I was asking and getting confirmation. In my case, we discussed what kind of clothes and behavior to use through conversation. I searched for style references and sent photos — clothes style, military-feeling walkers, a dark coat, maybe a bomber jacket. He said he'd find something more stylish, but it was too real and not stylish," he joked, while explaining, "The hair style and toned-down tanning — the director suggested it might be better that way, and I agreed. We toned it down two to three shades and made it a bit more muted with makeup. Too much? R. We also cut the hair short."
Perhaps thanks to the added detail and the father's love acting, Tae-geom, despite being a villain, drew viewers' empathy. Hwang Chan-sung said, "Tae-geom actually has the 'most kills' in Bloodhounds 2. Still, it was surprising that people empathized. I think viewers immersed themselves enough in the role to feel for it. I thought the fact viewers could empathize with Tae-geom's situation was successful," he self-assessed.
How did his family react? Hwang Chan-sung sheepishly said, "Their reaction was like, 'It was good, you worked hard.' They couldn't monitor it precisely." He laughed and added, "Actually, my wife did very harsh monitoring," and said, "Still, she told me I worked hard. She said it turned out well considering the effort."
So how has his mental state changed in life chapter two as a dad, husband, and head of household? Hwang Chan-sung said, "Honestly, I never didn't work hard even before I got married or before I changed companies. I've always worked hard," he said proudly. Still, he confessed, "But the sense of responsibility has changed. The weight of becoming the head of household is clearly different from when I was alone."
He added, "In my view, regarding my career and my work, I thought a lot that from now on, if there's not clear development, it will be harder. Since then, as the years passed, I made a point each year to learn more and expand my work. That came to feel more serious than I had previously said," he emphasized.
Above all, Hwang Chan-sung said forcefully, "Rather than wanting to show my work to my daughter someday, I have a job where reputation matters. Being someone who comes up in people's eyes and mouths, I don't want to leave anything that might be embarrassing later. I have ambition, responsibility, and I also enjoy the work itself. But in making choices, do them without regret. There's also thinking about how to show things years from now." He went on to say with a laugh, "My daughter is 5 this year. She looks exactly like me, and it's amazing every time I see her."
(Continued in interview ③)<
[Photo] Provided by El July Entertainment.
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