'Chuseok winner' Kang Dong-won "My manager nags me to take care of my appearance, I like my uncle's face."

Actor Kang Dong-won (42) wore a black shirt with a large floral pattern and told the story with a natural and comfortable face. He said that he has gained a lot of freedom in the life of an actor who has already been in his 20th year.

On the afternoon of the 21st of last month, Kang Dong-won conducted an interview with Ten Asia regarding the movie 'Dr. Cheon's Exorcism Lab: Secrets of the Snow Scenery' (directed by Kim Seong-sik, hereinafter referred to as 'Dr. Cheon') at a cafe in Sogyeok-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

'Dr. Cheon' is a movie about the story that begins when Dr. Cheon (Kang Dong-won), a fake exorcist with ghost-like insight, is commissioned to handle a powerful case he has never experienced before. Kang Dong-won is receiving praise for making use of his own strengths to portray the character of Dr. Cheon in a pleasant and spectacular way.

Kang Dong-won said the reason he chose ‘Dr. Chun’ was because “I thought it had various charms and was a new subject.” “I thought it would be a fun and easy-to-watch movie with a variety of charms. I felt it was fresh in terms of subject matter and story. It was fun.”

Regarding his thoughts after seeing the completed movie, he said, "I think it came out more spectacular than the script. I think he tried to try a lot of new things within the given production budget."

Kang Dong-won took the story to the top with ‘Dr. Chun’. Kang Dong-won, who fills most of the screen from beginning to end, said that he encouraged himself well even under the pressure. "Senior Heo Jun-ho was there, and I was around Som-i Lee and Dong-hwi, but I had to lead the entire story, so it wasn't without pressure. But now that I've shot a lot of movies, the pressure is less than before. I think I can definitely control my speed and pace a little better now.”

Kang Dong-won, who said, “I always feel pressure before the release,” said, “I also keep thinking, ‘It must do well,’ and check the reservation rate.”

Kang Dong-won seemed somewhat embarrassed by compliments on his appearance, such as calling him a 'beautiful subject' at press conferences. He said about his face in 'Dr. Chun', "It was nice to feel the passage of time. I thought I could play other roles appropriate for my age in the future."

“As an actor, it’s good to say that I have a good face. However, in the past, I thought I looked a little younger than my age, but now I feel like I look my age, so I think that’s better.”

Kang Dong-won, who was known to not particularly take care of his appearance, laughed and said, "I'm trying hard to go to the dermatologist these days. That's because my manager nags me a lot, telling me to 'take care of my appearance.'"

"In the past, I think I still felt like I was young rather than like an adult. I think I didn't feel like an old man at all, but this time, when I watched the movie, I felt much older. I felt like an old man. I felt like the years were fading away. It was good. I liked it because I felt like I looked my age.

Regarding his recent appearance on tvN's entertainment program 'You Quiz on the Block', Kang Dong-won said, "It's been a while since I did a variety show. My first words were, 'I'm here to promote a movie,' but I was cut from the broadcast," and laughed, "Even though it's an entertainment show, it feels like a talk show. “I went out thinking it would be nice to go out at least once. I thought it would be helpful to the movie,” he said.

Kang Dong-won, who celebrated his 20th debut this year, looked back on his debut. “When I debuted, I had many shortcomings, but now I feel a little freer,” he said. "When I debuted as an actor, I took acting classes for about 3 years before making my debut. Still, I had many shortcomings at the time. Of course, I still have many shortcomings, but after doing it for over 20 years, I feel very free. No matter what difficult scene comes, I can do it like this. “I tried to express myself in this way and that. I gained a lot of experience and experienced various characters, so I think this is what happened.”

Kang Dong-won, who said that he felt burdened by acting at first, so he memorized the mantra 'Just think I'm crazy', smiled brightly and said that acting now feels free. When asked about the secret to his value as an actor, he said, "I think it's because my batting average is not bad." “I don’t think the box office hit is bad. In fact, it’s not enough for only the directors to like me, but investors, production companies, and everyone else has to like me. In that respect, I think it’s still good.”

When asked what kind of effort he puts in as an actor, Kang Dong-won said, "I think you should not be trapped in your own world. I think you should know how the world works and not lose your sense of reality."

"That's why I watch a lot of news. And I feel comfortable when there is noise in life, so I turn on things like the radio, news, or YouTube. I do other things while watching it. I don't want to lose my sense of reality, so I meet a lot of friends around me. Really realistic people in various fields. "I think it's very important to get along and communicate with various fields. I talk to people not only in the entertainment industry but also in various places and get a lot of inspiration from them."

Now, Kang Dong-won says that he enjoys being on set the most and that acting is fun. “Acting is fun. Being on set has become more fun. In the past, I used to feel stressed when I left the set, but these days I’m not like that. ‘Ah, what should I do today?’ I think things like that are becoming more and more fun.”

Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr