Lee Dong-hwi confessed that he had difficulty understanding the character in ‘Casino’.
On the 24th, I met actor Lee Dong-hwi, who appeared in Disney+'s 'Casino', at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Seoul. 'Casino' is the story of Cha Moo-sik (played by Choi Min-sik), a casino legend, who faces a crisis and begins to make the last bet of his life against the persistent pursuit of Korean Desk Oh Seung-hoon (played by Son Seok-gu). The last episode of Season 2 was released on the 22nd. Lee Dong-hwi played the role of Yang Jeong-pal, Cha Mu-sik's right-hand man.
Yang Jeong-pal betrays and eventually kills Cha Mu-sik, who had taken care of him as if he were his sworn brother. Cha Mu-sik helps Yang Jeong-pal borrow money by fixing the accident that Yang Jeong-pal suffered and even providing a guarantee. However, Cha Mu-sik was killed by a subordinate he trusted.
Lee Dong-hwi said, "I tried to find people whose behavior I couldn't understand. If you borrow money, you have to repay it, and you shouldn't misuse other people's money, but people who borrow money and don't pay it back, embezzle and disappear. I wonder what kind of mentality these people have. “I was curious about how he was going to take responsibility and what kind of emotions he felt towards the victims,” he said, revealing the character analysis process. He continued, "Aren't there people who embellish society? Isn't Jeong-pal that kind of person? A person who harasses the victims, acts irresponsibly, gets caught, lives for a while, and then comes out. Jeong-pal is a person who gets into debt and then forgets what he owes. “I thought they were those people and drew a big line that I had to act. Otherwise, I couldn’t understand it,” he said.
Lee Dong-hwi said, "There was nothing about the character itself that I could share a cause, identify with, or share in my emotions. I thought they all met such a miserable end because of money." He then confessed, "On the other hand, it was not easy to understand Jung-pal, who was so crazy about money that he betrayed his older brother, who had been good to him all his life, and made that decision. It was my homework as an actor." He said, "Sometimes you have to play a character you don't completely understand. I haven't done that much so far. I've never played a vicious murderer or criminal. After 'Casino', there is 'Crime City 4', and acting is a pleasure. “I thought it wouldn’t be easy. Since I don’t really understand it, it’s still difficult for me to act using only my imagination,” he said, expressing his difficulties.
Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr