Woo Do Hwan - Interview with Hanryu Pia - Sept 2018
It is no exaggeration to say that Woo Do-hwan is a young star who is attracting the most attention in Korea. In a splendid performance in “Mad Dog”, he plays Kim Min-joon, an enigmatic man burdened with trauma, and speaks about his thoughts on this work and the appeal of his character.
Even as a man I thought
Min-joon is cool
In 2017, Woo Do-hwan shot into the Korean entertainment industry like a comet, and in conversations was called nicknames such as “Super Rookie” and “Monstrous Newcomer”. Despite this, in reality he made his debut in a minor drama role in 2011, spending years in obscurity until finally obtaining a leading role in which to spread his wings. In “Save Me”, he played the role of Dong-chul, who struggled mightily to rescue the heroine held captive by a mysterious organization. If “Save Me” was the work that gave Woo Do-hwan his opportunity to shine, then it can be said that “Mad Dog” cemented his status. It is this work that granted him the glory of KBS’s 2017 Best New Actor Award.
WDH: “Mad Dog” was a challenge for me. I was worried if I would be able to play the role well. This is my largest role thus far, and I appeared in many scenes with a significant number of lines. I jumped into this role immediately after my previous work “Save Me”, and it caused me to unintentionally speak with an accent (laugh). I remember getting flustered when Jo Jae-yoon, my senior and co-star, pointed out, “You sound like a hick”. However, for me it was a work that I didn’t want to let go of no matter what happened; I wanted to see it through to the end.
Woo Do-hwan performs as Kim Min-joon, who is also known as “Dr. Kim”. He lost his parents in a traffic accident when he was young, was separated from his older brother, and sent for adoption in Germany. Then he returns to his home country of South Korea in order to reveal the truth behind another incident. He has a wonderful smile, is attractive, speaks gracefully, and is fluent in German. Because he is able to impersonate anyone he wants, no one knows his true face.
WDH: The story evolves spectacularly with one plot twist after another. The character Min-joon was very charismatic. I wondered, “Who is this guy?”. I couldn’t predict his actions at all. I think the creation of a “city scammer” who hides his real face and never speaks his true intentions is cool. In front of anyone, he is imposing and calm. As a man, it’s very nice for me to see myself head straight towards my goal without hesitation. My character is supposed to be fluent in German, so I prepared while listening to recorded audio files over and over again. I had to be fearless about doing re-takes (laugh).
I want to become an actor like my senior Yu Ji-tae.
Kim Min-joon joins the private insurance crime investigation team, “Mad Dog”, to find out the truth about his older brother’s death. There are various circumstances, but the assembled team possesses excellent skills to deal with them. Yoo Ji-tae plays Choi Kang-woo, a talented insurance fraud investigator who lost his beloved wife and son in a plane accident and became the leader of “Mad Dog”. The bromance between him and Kim Min-joon is a must-see.
WDH: Yoo Ji-tae is actually my university senior. I watched a lot of his works before I entered university. To me, he has an outsized presence, so I was nervous when my co-star was chosen. When we met at the script reading and greeted each other for the first time, I couldn’t stop shaking(!). He kindly looked after me despite the state I was in. I realized that just being able to act won't land you a job as a leading man; you have to constantly care about the people around you. I indirectly learned a lot from him on the set. I want to become someone like him.
Kim Min-joon is filled with misanthropy and anger toward the world, but after he joins the Mad Dog team, he slowly opens up his heart and begins to feel a sense of solidarity towards the other team members.
WDH: When I heard it was an insurance crime investigation drama, I thought it was really different. I’m not very familiar with insurance matters… Actually, when I was performing, absurd incidents were depicted in the drama that I realized were really happening every day. There aren’t any exhilarating scenes where the criminals are captured while the incidents are exposed, but most of all, please pay attention to the “Mad Dog” team members living in the world. I think the drama’s message is that human beings cannot live alone. Let’s call it the importance of living together. Kim Min-joon became aware of this during the course of the story.
Finally, I asked him how this work will remain with him in the context of his acting life?
WDH: As with all of the works that I’ve appeared in, it is really difficult to meet all my co-stars and the staff again. As a result, every work becomes a memory that I will never forget for the rest of my life. More than half a year has passed since the filming for “Mad Dog” wrapped up, but even now I remember how much fun I had. I feel very fortunate.
Woo Do-hwan’s serious attitude towards this work must have been the driving force that led him to his current position. From now on, I hope that the possibilities for the actor Woo Do-hwan will increasingly expand.
Currently, he will appear in the occult horror action movie "The Divine Fury", which is scheduled for release next summer, where he will take on the challenge of his first villainous role as an evil god of death.
