Ryu Kyung-soo "Praise Kang Soo-yeon, stress-free 'Jeong-i' scene"

“I am very grateful to Netflix. I have become closer to the people involved. I also have a separate Netflix zone at home. I have collected goods such as wine glasses and whiskey glasses. When Netflix works come in, I feel like a welcome guest. Haha.”

Ryu Kyung-soo, who returned with the Netflix movie 'Jeong-i', burst into cheerful laughter as he looked back on his big and small connections with Netflix, including 'Hell', 'Annarasumanara', and 'Glitch'. 'Jeong-i', which was released on the 20th, is a science fiction film that tells the story of people who try to develop the best combat AI by cloning the brain of the legendary mercenary 'Jeong-i' in order to end the war that occurred in the shelter where they migrated away from the Earth devastated by climate change. all. 'Jeong-i' is a work in which he collaborates again with director Yeon Sang-ho following 'Hell'. Ryu Kyung-soo said that director Yeon Sang-ho was a big reason for his appearance.

“Director Sang-ho Yeon's set is comfortable and fun. There are many people who don't want to go to work. I looked forward to this set every day when I went to work. “I laughed, was happy, and wasn’t stressed.”

Sang-hoon, played by Ryu Kyung-soo, is the head of a research center who must succeed in developing combat AI. Sang-hoon, who engages in unusual and excessive behavior and uses a humorous code that is difficult to find consensus on, is considered an 'old-fashioned boss' and an 'unprofessional person' to his co-workers.

“I thought about what are the characteristics of people who make us feel uncomfortable and burdensome around us. Some people say at work, 'My manager makes boring jokes and I get annoyed and go crazy.' Sang-hoon is a character just like that boss. People who take things excessively, express themselves excessively, and act excessively make the people they work with uncomfortable and burdensome. I wanted to create a character who would make you wonder, 'Why is he like this?' The audience's reaction to seeing another side of Sang-hoon in the second half was “I was curious about what it would be like.”

'Jeong-i' ranked first in the non-English language movie category on Netflix with 19.3 million hours watched (January 16-22). For Ryu Kyung-soo, this work is also meaningful in that he worked with great seniors such as directors Yeon Sang-ho, Kang Soo-yeon, and Kim Hyun-joo. He said, "Like the scene of 'Jeong-i', the process of having fun, laughing, and caring for each other without coercion is more relatable. If you go through such a good process, don't you want to keep meeting Even if the results are disappointing? We can also work together. I believe in the power of the process. “I believe it,” he said.

This work is also the posthumous work of Kang Soo-yeon, who passed away in May last year. Kang Soo-yeon said to have taken good care of her juniors on set. Ryu Kyung-soo reminisced, "I was in charge of my senior's snacks on set. He said everything was delicious. I only gave him delicious food."

"I had the feeling that you were a great actor who only existed in legends and who were only told about in stories. I thought what would happen if he scolded me for not being able to act, but when I first met him, he greeted me brightly as if we knew each other. There were four of us, including the director, Soo-yeon Kang, Hyeon-joo Kim, and myself. I ended up drinking. I got up to go to the bathroom for a moment and when the door closed, I heard senior Kang Soo-yeon say, 'She's so good' and 'She's so attractive.' The corners of my mouth went up. I thought, 'Oh my, I'm alive,' but I was happy. haha."

Ryu Kyung-soo has shown his presence through his outstanding ability to absorb characters. Ryu Kyung-soo's acting fills in gaps that would otherwise be disappointing, as if MSG had been added to the work. Ryu Kyung-soo said that his strength is 'ordinariness', which allows him to play "roles like someone's son and someone's friend" well. He burst out laughing, saying, “I used to think it was a weakness, but now one of the things I think of as a strength is my 'normal-looking face.' It’s just a boring-looking face.” What type of work is Ryu Kyung-soo, whose acting brings out the flavor of the work, attracted to?

“I like realistic things, and the reason I continue to work with director Yeon Sang-ho is because I also like the cartoon-like worldview. Things that we don't encounter in everyday life. The acting of actors I like and often see doesn't do anything special. "It's understated. I pursue these things, but on the other hand, I'm also interested in cartoon-like characters and worldviews. I still want to try many different things."

Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr