Actor Jung Jun-won shared his thoughts on working with Kong Hyojin through A Bona fide Killer.
On the morning of the 14th, at a cafe in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, an end-of-series interview with Jung Jun-won of the MBC Friday-Saturday drama A Bona fide Killer was held. Jung Jun-won played Kwon Tae-seong, a doting husband and social affairs reporter, leaving a strong impression with his characteristic warm smile and life-centered acting.
That day Jung Jun-won, as the husband of Yoo Bo-na in the drama, said, "This is my first time as a lead in such a long-running drama. My number one goal was simply to do the best acting I could. I also realized there was a lot more I had to accomplish besides that."
He added, "Basically I liked and respected senior Hyojin, so I relied on and trusted her a lot. Even if I was lacking, I believed nuna would be able to match the rhythm and bring it to life well."
On what led him to choose the project, Jung Jun-won said, "The project itself was fun. When I first read the script I thought, 'If this comes out I'll watch it.' I strongly felt it was a work that people of all ages and genders could enjoy without burden. I think that was the first thought of 'I have to do it.'"
In A Bona fide Killer, Kwon Tae-seong is a doting husband, but in real life Jung Jun-won is known to be on the quiet side. Did his acting bring any changes?
He said, "It takes me some time to get close to someone, but I'm not actually a silent type. When I'm with close people I act like a child, and I always try to be affectionate. Maybe not as much as Tae-seong..." and explained, "For this project I think I tried to be a more affectionate person."
Some even compared him to Choi Soo-jong, who is known in the entertainment world for being a representative doting husband. Asked what reference he used for his acting, Jung Jun-won said, "I talked a lot with the director and senior Hyojin. The director is actually a doting husband and a doting father, so he provided a lot of information I wouldn't know because I don't have children. Hearing those stories and receiving feedback during rehearsals on set, I think we built it up like assembling parts. As that data accumulated, I was able to react naturally in the later episodes."
Asked whether married Kong Hyojin helped in this process, he said, "I don't remember clearly, but she gave advice like this is how she is with her husband. She would say, 'I think I do this to my husband' and give scene-specific advice like 'I think I would do this in that moment,' and we adjusted accordingly."
He said there were days when the true value of "Gong-bly" was revealed while working with Kong Hyojin. Jung Jun-won recalled, "Bona's character is basically calmer and has darker aspects than Tae-seong. When we filmed the proposal scene in the flashback episode in episode 14, that was the only time it clearly felt like a romance sequence. The lovable Bona was clearly visible then, and I was surprised. I remember thinking there's a reason she's called the rom-com queen; I was impressed by how her eyes changed."
Jung Jun-won talked about his preparation for A Bona fide Killer, saying, "I didn't think Tae-seong's job in the drama was that important to the overall story. As an actor showing Tae-seong, my main goal was to show a kind of love for his family, so I thought the job wasn't that important and tried to be more faithful to Tae-seong's emotions."
He added, "Because I have no experience, there were many moments when I thought, 'Is this normal?' 'Can a husband be this affectionate?' As the episodes went on and I trusted that and watched, there didn't seem to be any scenes that were overly much. I thought, I should be like that too; there wasn't much else."
[Photo] Companion
[OSEN]