Ahn Bo-hyun, ‘A thousand faces’, taking off his muscles and wearing a slim look

'Can an actor with a strong, muscular physique play a sickly character?'

When actor Ahn Bo-hyun announced the news of his appearance in tvN's new drama 'Please Take Care of This Student', concerns were raised among some netizens. However, in the unveiled 'Please Take Care of This Student', Ahn Bo-hyun proved to be a 'face of a thousand' with a slim and sensitive visual that excludes the muscular body, as director Lee Na-jeong said, "The face is very different in each work."

'Take Care of This Student', which will be aired for the first time on the 17th of next month as a follow-up to 'Tale of the Nine-Tailed Fox 1938', is a reincarnation story that unfolds as Bang Ji-ji (played by Shin Hye-sun), who remembers his past life, visits the 19th episode of his life, Seo-ha (played by Ahn Bo-hyun), whom he must meet. Romance. It is based on the Naver webtoon of the same name, which recorded approximately 700 million global views. Director Lee Na-jeong of 'Mine', 'Love Alarm', and 'Fight for My Way' took charge of directing, and Shin Hye-sun, an 'undefeated fantasy actor', appeared as the main character.

However, when Ahn Bo-hyun's casting in 'Please Take Care of This Student' was first mentioned, public opinion was not as positive as expected. When Ten Asia exclusively reported the news of Ahn Bo-hyun's appearance in April last year, he was appearing in 'Military Prosecutor Doberman' and was showing off his strong charm, including broad shoulders and strong arm muscles.

The character Seo So-ha, played by Ahn Bo-hyun in 'Please Take Care of This Cadet', is a person with fear due to the trauma of losing loved ones as a child, and is a small, sickly person who often gets sick and collapses, so the reaction was that it was contrary to Ahn Bo-hyun's image.

Accordingly, a debate broke out in the online community about Ahn Bo-hyun's casting, and this intensified in November last year when an article was published confirming the casting with actors such as Shin Hye-sun, Ha Woon-kyung, and Ahn Dong-gu. Some netizens pointed out that the synchronization was not right and that it was a 'miss casting'.

However, some are countering this by citing the example of Ahn Bo-hyun, who was criticized for not fitting in with the original work when he was cast as Goo-woong in the drama 'Yumi's Cells'. After releasing the work, he received a warm response for his delicate acting skills, so expectations among fans are high that he will portray the character well in 'Please Take Care of Me This Life' as well.

Expectations became reality. In the recently released teaser video, Ahn Bo-hyun appeared as ‘Doh Seo-ha’. The bulky muscles from the 'Military Prosecutor Doberman' era were gone, and the facial lines were more sleek and delicate. The bangs were lowered to give the appearance of a boy.

Director Lee Na-young also emphasized, "I thought it would suit our Seo-ha because there are a lot of parts that show the delicate parts inside. The romance between the most delicate and delicate man and the most courageous and straight-forward woman is an interesting point." Author Lee Hye of the original work also expressed confidence in the character synchronization, saying, “I visited the filming set and he just stood there as a character.”

Ahn Bo-hyun took on a new character, erasing the miscasting controversy by erasing his face from previous works. Fans are waiting with excitement to see what new side Ahn Bo-hyun, who has shown his presence in each work he appears in, such as 'Itaewon Class', 'Yumi's Cells', and 'My Name', will show in this work.

Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr