(continuing from interview ③) Actor Um Tae-goo of the film Wild Sing expressed a spirit of challenge as he moved between villain roles, romantic comedies and comedy in drastically different works.
Um Tae-goo conducted an interview on the afternoon of the 28th at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. At this meeting he spoke with domestic reporters about the new film Wild Sing.
Wild Sing, which opens on June 3, is a comedy about a once chart-topping three-member mixed dance group called "Triangle" that suddenly disbanded overnight after becoming embroiled in an unexpected incident, and now makes a reckless attempt to seize a comeback opportunity 20 years later. It is generating anticipation as the new work from the production company behind Extreme Job, the 2019 comedy that thrilled about 16.26 million viewers as the box office No. 1 comedy.
In particular, Wild Sing has drawn attention as actors Gang Dong-won, Park Ji-hyun and Um Tae-goo respectively play Triangle members Hyun Woo, Do-mi and Sang-gu, and prepared by practicing actual dancing and singing. Among them, Um Tae-goo, known as the "entertainment industry's representative introvert," became an even more talked-about and surprising casting choice.
Previously, Um Tae-goo received praise for a romantic comedy with Han Sun-hwa in the 2024 drama Woman Who Plays. However, he drew attention with strong characters and images in numerous works, including the film Smuggling, which first showcased his presence. Thus, Gu Sang-gu (played by Um Tae-goo) in Wild Sing was inevitably a bigger contrast. With such a large gap in roles, did Um Tae-goo feel any burden about the acting?
Um Tae-goo said, "First of all, acting is very difficult. I'm still filming now, and these days I feel that there isn't a single easy moment or scene," adding, "For Wild Sing I worked hard on rap and choreography and we also practiced to synchronize together, and because those things seem to be well captured on screen I definitely have a sense of accomplishment about that time. It's similar to when I learned boxing for Pansori Boxer and felt a sense of achievement."
His next project is the Disney+ new series I'm a Sinner, a noir work based on a webtoon. It is expected to have a genre-heavy tone different from Wild Sing. Um Tae-goo said, "I don't think I've become that much brighter, but many people say I've become much brighter. Whether I'm conscious of it or not, I think that version of me must have had an influence at the time. If I take on another role now, it will be influenced by a different version of me. If I were to act as Gu Sang-gu again, the texture would probably be different. I haven't tried it, but I think that would be the case."
Regarding his criteria for choosing such contrasting works, he said, "There isn't just one standard for choosing scripts. For example, after doing a comedy my body naturally reacts wanting to do something different. It may feel like my body naturally reacts, but if there's something I really want to do I'll do it. First is the script. The script is more important than the genre. Also the director and the character are important."
Above all, he said, "I've never once said I wanted to do a particular genre. I've only said that I'd do it if there's a good script. But this time a character I really want to play appeared," adding, "The genre isn't comedy; it's a somewhat serious rocker. It's something worth considering. I kind of want to try it," which surprised listeners.
Um Tae-goo added, "I'm not originally someone who sings well. But just as I learned rap for Wild Sing, I'd like to learn more and try playing a rocker. The more I talk about it, the more I want to do it. I don't particularly have a favorite rocker. I just vaguely imagined grabbing a microphone on stage and doing rock. It's not so much that I want to let something out as that I vaguely want to try it."
[photo] Provided by Lotte Entertainment.
[OSEN]