Joo Sang-Wook expressed his thoughts upon finishing "Manager Kim."
On the 23rd at the HB Entertainment building in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, an end-of-series interview was held with actor Joo Sang-Wook of the SBS Friday-Saturday drama "Manager Kim" (writer Nam Dae-jung, directors Lee Seung-young·Lee So-eun, planning Studio S, production Studio S·Fantagio).
Joo Sang-Wook played Joo Kang-chan, a construction company chairman who rose from being a paid thug, portraying everything from the chilling charisma of a powerful figure to twisted paternal love and manic obsession in a three-dimensional way, showing a powerful presence.
That day Joo Sang-Wook, on the show ending with high ratings, said, "I am grateful, and I'm so happy these days because it's been a long time since a work of mine was such a hit and I'm giving interviews." He added, "From the start of the broadcast it did better than expected, so I've been having a very happy month."
Asked whether he did not expect "Manager Kim" to be a hit, he said, "Maybe no one did?" and, "We hoped it would do well and our goal was to maintain double-digit ratings, but now that ratings that will go down in history have come out," he said, overcome with emotion.
Joo Sang-Wook has long been loved as a "Deputy Minister specialist" actor. Through "Manager Kim" he upgraded from deputy minister to chairman, and in particular, with this work he challenged a villain for the first time in his 28-year career. He said, "I have been doing this for a long time. I began to be noticed from SBS' 'Giant,' and even then I started as a deputy minister, and subsequent works also gave a very gentle image; the public remembers Joo Sang-Wook as an actor for whom that fits well. This time it's a chairman, and it seems like a role viewers never imagined."
He went on to explain, "It's not a concept of acting transformation, and although I couldn't erase the image I've had, wasn't it an impact strong enough that people might not remember the old image? It wasn't that 'I must play a villain,' but in that sense the character Joo Kang-chan appealed to me when I read the script."
When asked whether he had longed to play a villain, he said, "I don't know about other actors... don't all actors have a romance about villains?" and, "There aren't many opportunities, and this time people cursed Joo Kang-chan a lot but also praised him a lot. People said he was cool, so I wondered, 'Why is Joo Kang-chan cool?'"
He added, "I've always wanted to try playing a villain but there were no offers. They don't necessarily offer villains to me," and, "I'm not a villain specialist actor, and since many actors come to mind first, there weren't villain offers."
Asked how he came to take the villain role this time, he said, "I worked with the director before on a project called 'TEN.' We shot a long time from season 1 to season 2. The director said, 'I am the person who knows the actor Joo Sang-Wook best,' and back then in 'TEN' I was a detective who hunted monsters. While filming 'Manager Kim' he told me it felt like the monster we tried to catch then is now Joo Kang-chan. Looking at Joo Kang-chan, he thought I might be able to do it; perhaps there were matching parts."
Also, Joo Sang-Wook said, "I understand many actors really wanted the role. I'm grateful they chose me."
Earlier, director Lee Seung-young said at the production presentation, "Many actors were candidates for the role of Joo Kang-chan, but it went to Joo Sang-Wook as if by fate. After shooting, I can say without a doubt that Joo Sang-Wook's acting life will be divided into before and after 'Manager Kim.'"
Regarding this, Joo Sang-Wook speculated, "When the director said 'fateful meeting,' I think he meant that he rarely works again with an actor he's worked with before. I did 'TEN' season 1 and season 2, so a long time passed, and whether by coincidence or some other way the director met me again to work, he seemed to call that process fateful."
Regarding director Lee Seung-young's prediction, he said, "It was a production presentation so I thought, does the director know the broadcast? I haven't seen the edited version, so perhaps the director was more certain while editing and watching. He didn't predict the ratings, but he seemed to have a clear idea of Joo Kang-chan's character."
Asked whether he felt a real change, Joo Sang-Wook said, "Now it seems the director has an eye for that. Of course when a drama does this well all actors receive attention. Putting that aside, even if this hadn't happened I think Joo Sang-Wook, who played Joo Kang-chan, would have received some attention."
Joo Sang-Wook said, "The director made it very well and the editing was good, but compared with before, even watching the monitor it's simply different because it's a villain and that image is different, so in terms of acting it feels different from before. Going forward, when I act I might approach it differently and think differently from how I have acted. It seems to have been a turning point since 'Giant.'"
[Photo] HB Entertainment, provided by SBS' "Manager Kim"
[OSEN]