Lee Jung-ha Sheds 33 Pounds for Role in 'ONE: High School Heroes'

Lee Jung-ha revealed that he lost approximately 15kg (33 pounds) for his role in the drama.

On the 11th, an interview with Lee Jung-ha, who plays the character Euigyeom in the Wavve drama 'ONE: High School Heroes' (hereafter 'Heroes'), took place at the Post Tower in Yeouido-dong, Seoul. 'Heroes' is a drama about Euigyeom, the top student, and Yoon-ki (played by Kim Do-wan), who tries to utilize Euigyeom's innate fighting talent to form a masked group called 'Heroes' to overturn the school's bullying hierarchy.

Previously gaining public recognition for his role as Bong-seok in the Disney+ drama 'Moving', Lee Jung-ha transforms into a character focused on action in 'Heroes'. He shared, "Playing Euigyeom allowed me to experience various action scenes, which was fun," adding, "However, filming so many action scenes in a short period required me to quickly learn numerous action sequences, which was challenging."

To prepare for the role, Lee Jung-ha also lost weight. He explained, "After finishing filming 'Moving', I started shooting 'Heroes' about a month later. I played a chubby character in 'Moving' and weighed around 99kg (218 pounds), but I lost weight for 'Heroes' and began filming at 85kg (187 pounds)." He further revealed, "After completing the shoot, I continued to lose weight and ended up losing an additional 5kg (11 pounds), totaling a 19kg (42 pounds) loss."

When asked about his dieting secrets, Lee Jung-ha said, "I extended my fasting periods to lose weight. Initially, I reduced my usual food intake by half and gradually decreased it further." He advised, "When you're hungry, try not to eat and endure it. It's best to just sleep when you're hungry."

Reported by Se-yoon Jung, Ten Asia yoon@tenasia.co.kr