Im Si-wan, even his dullness worked.

Actor Im Si-wan perfectly plays the role of 'Jang Byeong-tae' in the Coupang Play series 'Boys' Generation', going back and forth between comedy and emotion.

Im Si-wan goes back and forth between dramas and movies, showing acting that is assimilated into characters regardless of genre through detailed character analysis and delicate expressive skills. In the drama 'Tracer', he played the role of National Tax Service investigator 'Hwang Dong-ju'. Through constant conversations with the director, he not only set the character's tone, but also built the character by suggesting ideas and ad-libs to enhance the wit of 'Hwang Dong-ju' in each scene.

Then, through 'I Don't Want to Do Anything', he continued his unconventional steps by challenging long-haired styling to achieve a high level of synchronization with the original character. In addition, despite being a character who hides within himself due to childhood wounds and has few lines, he conveys the emotions of 'Ahn Dae-beom' to viewers with just his eyes and facial expressions, enhancing the completeness of the play.

In the movie 'Emergency Declaration', he took on the role of airplane terrorist 'Ryu Jin-seok', breaking his good and upright image and surprising the audience with his creepy, turned-eyed acting. In addition, in the scene where an airplane terrorist attack is predicted in English, the character of 'Ryu Jin-seok', a former international student, was created with great care, including intensive preparation of Korean-style English pronunciation to suit the character.

In this year's movie '1947 Boston', she played the role of marathon gold medalist Seo Yun-bok. In order to build a marathoner's body, she lowered her body fat to around 6% and underwent training similar to that of a marathon coach and active athlete, making an effort to completely blend into the character.

In this way, Im Si-wan, who has shown himself to be one with the new character not only in his acting in each work but also externally, is showing a successful transformation from 'Boys' Generation' to the Onyang scoundrel this time. In the play, not only his tone and facial expressions, but also his gait and visuals, he appears as Jang Byeong-tae rather than Im Si-wan, providing surprise and fun.

The driving force behind this viewer immersion is Siwan Siwan's passion for expressing the character. As the work is set in Chungcheong Province, Im Si-wan took dialect lessons to bring out the realism of the character, and went on a language course in Buyeo to acquire native speaking through conversations with seniors. It was rough.

He also received three months of special training for the short dance scene, and put a lot of effort into perfecting 'Jang Byeong-tae' by coming up with styling ideas such as 80's retro costumes and bobbed hair in the play. Through these efforts, Im Si-wan is permeating the hearts of viewers as 'Jang Byeong-tae' and forming a consensus.

In addition, Im Si-wan increased the level of immersion in the drama by adding emotional lines that melted in the right places, including laughter and deep-seated emotions. In 'Boys' Generation', which was released last week, the real Asan white tiger 'Jeong Gyeong-tae' (Lee Si-woo) searches for his memories and 'Jang Byeong-tae', who returns as a scoundrel, confesses that he is an Onyang scoundrel and cries, or asks his friend 'Cho Ho-seok' for his own comfort. (Lee Sang-jin) was cornered and caused regret. However, he visited Jo Ho-seok's hospital room and apologized for his actions, depicting a more grown-up Jang Byeong-tae, which brought viewers to tears.

Attention is focused on what new challenges Im Si-wan, who continues to expand his acting spectrum by renewing his life's character through efforts close to the challenge of each work, will continue in the future.

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