Actor Do-woo, who challenged the BL genre with the TV drama ‘Unintentional Love Story’ (hereinafter referred to as ‘Unintentional Love Story’), said this. 'Biyeondam' depicts the story of two men who fall in love for real after a relationship that started with a lie. Of course, there is still social controversy about whether BL can be a romance. This drama is attracting attention at the center of such controversy.
Do-woo played the role of Kim Dong-hee, the owner of a handsome cafe. It was loved as a 'sub-couple restaurant' by portraying the strange excitement that goes between friendship and love with Ho-tae (played by Won Tae-min), who was a long-time friend.
Do-woo returned to BL drama about 7 years after appearing on SBS' 'Our Gap-soon'. He said, "During my gap year, I served in the military, returned to school, and studied directing. I also made two short films, and even filmed a drama, although it wasn't aired. After moving to my current company, I started working again with the mindset of making a fresh start." revealed.
‘Biyeondam’ is a work based on a webtoon of the same name. When a webtoon is produced into a drama, viewers and fans are very interested in synchronization with the original work. If it is too adapted or is very different from the webtoon, it will be a hindrance to immersion. Do-woo also made an effort to be in sync. In dramas based on webtoons, the characters' characteristics are already revealed through pictures. Therefore, acting is not easy for an actor. If individuality is preserved, the webtoon character is diluted, and if individuality is killed, the actor is pushed to the background. This is why he placed importance on ‘balance’.
"I thought that some fans of the original would feel uncomfortable when it was dramatized. There is already a character from the cartoon, but if an actor plays the character, they might feel uncomfortable. I tried to make it look as similar as possible on the outside. I also tried to use the cartoon lines in a natural way. “I discussed it with the director to spit it out.”
It is said that he practiced a lot before filming the skinship scene with Won Tae-min, his co-star in the drama. Do-woo said, “I thought a lot about how to express the skinship scene. In particular, there is a kissing scene in episode 6, so I prepared several versions and showed them to the director.”
He continued, "I had no objection to having skinship (with a man), and I only thought about how to make it come out well. I tried to keep the taste of the original." He also added, "I didn't make a single NG when filming the kiss scene. The filming period was tight and I didn't have much time, so I practiced a lot. I had to put together important scenes like emotional scenes and skinship."
Recently, dramas and movies based on BL have been appearing frequently. In particular, ‘semantic errors’ gained great popularity. ‘Blooming’ and ‘New Employee’ also achieved meaningful results one after another. ‘Biyeondam’ was also loved. In the first week of April, it ranked 5th in TV-OTT combined topicality, and also ranked 8th in overall paid subscription contribution on TVING.
Did Do-woo anticipate the success of ‘Biyeondam’? He joked, "I felt all the pressure when I saw the cast of 'Biyeondam'. When we said hello and read the script, I thought, 'We'll do better.'"
Do-woo, who started his career again after a long time, was full of passion. He said, "There was a hiatus, but I did not want to give up acting during that time. I felt pressured when I said I would return, but I was able to do it well because I have a love for acting." He added, "I plan to film a variety of works so that I can show various sides of myself. “Now that ‘Biyeondam’ has ended, I hope the day will come when I can say hello to you as soon as possible.”
Ten Asia Reporter Kim Seo-yoon seogugu@tenasia.co.kr