'Casino' Choi Min-sik "Every time I meet a character, I feel like I'm in a deep love relationship"

“I don’t know if there are any fingers that don’t hurt from biting off ten fingers, but regardless of the work’s likes, dislikes, ups and downs, I have affection for it. If I didn’t have affection, I wouldn’t have done this work. Even if I raise my children well, regrets and regrets remain, and this work is even more so. “I still have this feeling of regret, wondering what it would have been like if I had expressed it.”

Choi Min-sik, the protagonist of ‘Casino’, said this, revealing his strong affection for the work. 'Casino', which was released until the last episode of Season 2 on the 22nd, is about Cha Moo-sik (played by Min-sik Choi), who has become a 'casino legend', faces a crisis and struggles with the fate of his life against the persistent pursuit of Seung-hoon Oh (played by Seok-gu Son) of the Korean Desk. A story about starting the final bet. Choi Min-sik showed such lively acting that people say, 'Choi Min-sik is Cha Moo-sik and Cha Moo-sik is Choi Min-sik.' Choi Min-sik said, "Every time I meet a character, I feel like I'm in a relationship. As expected, I feel like I've been in a serious relationship from last winter to early fall."

'Casino' recorded the highest viewing time among Disney+ Korean originals in both seasons 1 and 2 in the first week of its release. In particular, Season 2 broke the record for the highest viewing time among Disney+ Korean original content in the first week of its release (as of February 21). This surpasses the record from season 1. When Season 1 was released, it achieved the highest IMDb score (as of January 5) among domestic OTT series released at the same time. Choi Min-sik laughed, saying, "It would be a lie if I said I didn't care about the result at all, but I shouldn't think about it. I've made it all, so what am I going to do? If I focus on numbers, I become exhausted. I have to live in the fun of making it, so what can I do if I have regrets about it when I've already made it?" However, he said, "Now that we have time, we will watch episodes 1 to 16 again. We will review what we found disturbing and what we expressed well, and we will try to reflect on ourselves for the next work." .

Cha Mu-sik dominated the casino world by taking advantage of loopholes in the law and relying on those in power. Even though Cha Mu-sik did something illegal, viewers actually cheered him on. This is because it was refreshing to see him punishing other evildoers. Choi Min-sik revealed the reason for expressing it three-dimensionally, saying, "If Cha Mu-sik had been a one-line bad guy, I wouldn't have done it. Even if it was portrayed that way in the scenario, I don't want to be portrayed that way." He then emphasized, "Can a person be 100% bad or good? There are two sides, right? What I focused on for the character Cha Moo-sik is that he is an 'ordinary guy.'" He continued, “I wouldn’t have done it if it were a symbolic villain or a villain.” He added, “The fact that an ordinary guy can become such a villain and live such a harsh life. He’s not someone from Superman or the Avengers from birth. In that sense, “I think this character has implications,” he said. He also said, "As we live in this world, don't we sometimes end up in muddy water? That's what happened as a man lived his life in a special situation called a casino. It's like the footsteps of an ordinary man."

Cha Mu-sik is ultimately killed in vain by his subordinate Yang Jeong-pal (Lee Dong-hwi), who is like his right-hand man. Regarding the ending, Choi Min-sik said, "I have no regrets. At the beginning of the drama, '11 Red Flowers' does not appear as a line. I really liked it. When director Kang Yun-seong wrote that line, at first I thought, 'What kind of unexpected 11 Red Flowers is that?', but there are no red flowers for ten days. “It showed that no matter how intoxicated one is with power, the end can be like that,” he said. He continued, "When you prepare for the last dinner, you pick flowers. I asked the art team, 'Are there any flowers around that are a little wilted?' I wanted the flower petals to wither when caught on camera. I also wanted the ending to look like petals falling. "Suddenly, I was (being abused) by the junior I loved the most. I thought it was the right ending for a guy who was going crazy with desire. I think that's in line with the theme of this work and the Hwamu Shibi Ilhong that was mentioned from the beginning."

Choi Min-sik, who is in his 60s, also played Cha Mu-sik in his 30s. Face de-aging and AI voice synthesis technology were applied to Cha Mu-sik's youthful appearance. Choi Min-sik was embarrassed and said, "I don't want to do that anymore. I believed in the power of science and technology, but my face worked, but my body didn't follow. That somehow didn't work out." He then confessed, "I couldn't overcome my external image, so if I thought, 'I have to try something different somehow,' it would be over-the-top. Anyway, they said that science and technology would help me, so I believed it and did it comfortably." He also said, “There is a 10 to 20 year difference in age, but if you look at me, I still feel the same as when I was young and now,” and added, “I focused on the story because the appearance was expressed through a cinematic device.” However, he burst out laughing and said, "I will never go back to the past again. I will live as is."

The characters in 'Casino' ultimately face destruction due to their excessive desires. When asked what his current desire is, Choi Min-sik laughed and said, "It's my desire for work. This is the only thing I can rely on. Now I can't even post my resume anywhere." He confessed, "I have a desire to do better works more and more. My desire to play various works and various characters is becoming stronger." He also said, “I want to tell not only provocative stories, but also romantic stories between opposite sexes, as well as stories between family, siblings, and friends, and healing and warm stories.”

Choi Min-sik also wanted romance and romantic comedies. He said, "I talked to Lee Hye-young (who plays Chairman Ko) and Kim Joo-ryeong (who plays Jin Young-hee) a few days ago. 'Joo-ryeong, don't you want to do a romantic comedy with me?' “I thought he would say, ‘Senior, come to your senses,’ and he said it was good. He asked me to do a play if I had the chance. He has good diction and sound, so I think he would do well in a play.” He also revealed his cheerful side, saying, "I also want to do comedy. Lee Hye-young and I both seem to have a bit of an angular image. I think it would be fun if a middle-aged man and woman meet and show a romantic comedy."

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