Actor Ryu Hae-jun discussed his efforts to portray the character Park Dae-ho in "Scarecrow."
Recently, at the OSEN office in Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, a wrap-up interview was held with Ryu Hae-jun, the lead actor of ENA's Monday-Tuesday drama "Scarecrow."
"Scarecrow" is a crime investigation thriller set against the backdrop of 1988 Gangseong, in which a detective investigating the true culprit of a series of murders forms an unexpected cooperative relationship with someone he once despised.
In the drama, Ryu Hae-jun played Park Dae-ho, the youngest detective at Gangseong police station who follows Kang Tae-Ju (Park Hae-soo). When asked about the process of preparing for the character Park Dae-ho, Ryu Hae-jun replied, "I worried a lot. I thought about how to build Dae-ho and looked up many materials and related books. Because I didn't know the zeitgeist of the time, I asked my parents a lot."
He said, "Visually and image-wise there were many good materials so I used them, and I tend to draw inspiration from music and various other things. But I felt that if I went too deep, it might make it difficult to become Dae-ho. So I thought I should empty out more, and if I did that the tone would seep in and I might serve as the viewers' eyes in the early episodes. Viewers turn on a drama to watch it, so I hoped they would watch in a slightly more relaxed state and then become immersed."
He continued, "When preparing for Dae-ho, I thought about how I, as the youngest detective, would have faced this case in that era. I concluded that it would be right to simply solve each case in front of me well," and explained, "For exercise I didn't do PT but focused on bodyweight training like boxing, dumbbells, pull-ups, or push-ups. That seemed likely for that era, and it seemed likely for Dae-ho."
In particular, until the middle episodes Park Dae-ho was a character who struggled alongside Kang Tae-Ju to uncover the truth behind the serial murders, but he becomes involved in crimes such as burying and concealing the body of murder victim child Yoon Hye-jin (Lee Ah-rin) under pressure from Cha Si-young (Lee Heejun), Jang Myeong-do (Jeon Jae-hong), and Do Hyung-gu (Kim Eun-woo).
Ryu Hae-jun said, "The point I paid attention to was that Dae-ho is placed in a situation where he has no choice but to become a completely different person in the later part. In the early to mid episodes he is just a cute, pure, passionate junior who follows Tae-ju well. I wanted viewers to naturally think, 'Tae-ju has Dae-ho by his side,' or 'the youngest is on the same side.' Then, as it seeps in, I hoped reactions like, 'What is that, why is he like that?' or 'Is that the Dae-ho I knew?' would emerge, and that the process of him gaining a bit more gravitas as a detective would resonate naturally."
Asked about behind-the-scenes of filming the body concealment scene, he said, "The seniors and actors who participated in that scene all had a very hard time. Before I received that part of the script, the director told me, 'This is how it will flow later. Let's do it well,' so I had mentally prepared in advance, but confronting that moment was too painful. The emotion came at me so strongly that it was almost unbearable, and I struggled to carve it down and restrain it. Even now when I talk about that scene it remains in my chest; I think it will stay with me for life. Everyone had a very hard time. So the seniors and I often said, 'All the more, we must take responsibility and fulfill the roles we can from our positions.'"
Ryu Hae-jun also revealed that after episode 10, which included that scene, he couldn't bring himself to contact his parents. After the drama succeeded, he said, "My family is proudly showing me off everywhere," but added candidly, "Since episodes 9-10 aired I haven't been able to contact (my parents). As a son I feel a bit sorry, too." which drew laughter.
He added, "I'll call them after the final episode ends. I haven't told them I'm doing interviews yet. Interviews come out after the show ends. When they appear I'll contact my parents and send them the pieces, which I think they'll like more and it might ease my mind, so I'm saving them." (Continued in interview②.)<
[Photo] OSEN Park Joonhyung reporter
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