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| ▲ This photo, provided by TVING, shows Cha Eun-woo during an interview. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by TVING, shows Cha Eun-woo from a scene in 'Island.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by TVING, shows Cha Eun-woo from a scene in 'Island.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by TVING, shows Cha Eun-woo from a scene in 'Island.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean singer and actor Cha Eun-woo, also dubbed K-pop’s “face genius” for his perfectly symmetrical features and good looks, has been catching the eyes of viewers not only with his fair, finely cut face but also with his improved acting skills in TVING’s original series “Island.”
During an interview held with Yonhap New Agency at a cafe in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on Tuesday ahead of the release of the second part of “Island,” Cha Eun-woo said, “While embracing some personalities of the original character, I also wanted to express the character in my own as much as possible.”
TVING’s fantasy-action web series “Island,” starring Cha Eun-woo, Kim Nam-gil, and Lee Da-hee, tells the story of three people fighting against the evil that is trying to destroy the world. The drama sees Cha as a Catholic priest Johan, who performs exorcism since he was 17 years old. He meets Won Mi-ho (Lee Da-hee), who has been chased after a ghost, and Van (Kim Nam-gil), who tries to save her, on Jeju Island where Johan was dispatched, considering it as a calling of God.
“I thought the acting is called genuine when it is natural, so I tried to blend in some aspects of my actual self while acting,” Cha said. “I think what makes Johan most relatable to myself is that we both like to goof around and are extroverts.”
As this 25-year-old actor is known for playing leading roles that are mostly cold-headed and rigid in “True Beauty” and “Gangnam Beauty,” playing Johan in “Island” was a “brand-new challenge both in terms of genre and character.”
In order for him to act Johan who is exceptionally well-adept at performing exorcism more convincingly and naturally, Cha added that he had to study Latin and Italian as well, which are the two main languages used for exorcism, along with high-level action scenes.
“I actually visited a priest to learn how to pronounce the Latin and Italian words, and I kept listening to the recorded files and tried to make them as natural as possible,” the actor said, adding that he also practiced his action scenes along with the replica of Johan’s sword whenever he had his day off.
Meanwhile, Cha also had to portray Johan as a character who lives with a painful past behind his sly and playful personality. He was adopted overseas with his brother at a young age, and his organs were also removed by his adoptive parents who wanted to save their own children. He also had to endure a lifelong parting with his brother.
He eventually figures out the whereabouts of his only brother (Choi Tae-joon) after going through a long interrogation. However, whom he faces is a brother who had turned into an evil spirit that he eventually stabs with his own hand to save from gross pain.
In terms of Johan’s background story, Cha said, “I was able to immediately relate to Johan as I also have a brother,” explaining, “ I wanted to convey the torment that Johan would have felt when he had to kill his long-parted brother with his own hands, and I was grateful and honored to see the director also being moved with tears while watching me act the scenes.”
Although Cha Eun-woo is yet to go above the fray on his acting skills that haunt many former K-pop group members when they make their screen debuts, the many-sided artist has shown off eye-catching growth in his acting skills in “Island” by playing both enthralling fantasy actions and desperate emotional scenes.
The former member of the K-pop boy band Astro said, “I am usually very strict about myself, so I sure have some disappointments about this work as well,” adding, “Yet I still remember hearing that I look quite comfortable from people around me.”
“The more I act, the more I find acting hard, but I think that is the charm of acting,” the singer-turned-actor said, adding that he made a promise to himself that he would act more sincerely.
“Johan is a priest who practices God’s power and receives a quest. In part 2, he goes through internal conflict, pondering over what God has done while his brother has been going through such a disaster,” Cha introduced his character. “I am confident that it will be enthralling to watch the splendid action and battle scenes that will be more enriched as Johan’s character develops and finally has the power of God inside him explode.”
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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