Ryu Jun-yeol poses a weighty question about ‘blind faith’ through the Netflix original film ‘Revelation’. In an era of confusion where people believe that only what they believe is the truth, the topic he poses through ‘Revelation’ is all the more meaningful.

In ‘Revelation’, he plays the role of Min-chan, a pioneering church pastor who believes he has received a revelation from God, and gives a truly ‘mad performance’. Ryu Jun-yeol, who threw his whole body into acting out the process of how the kind and timid man changes into a madman-like state of going berserk and personally punishing criminals with his eyes glaring, citing God‘s revelation, says, “Aren’t there many cases where people accept everything as fact, not just religious things, but also fake news? I hope this will be an opportunity for us to think about what we believe in,” he said emphatically.

Oh, I‘m a question mark killer!

He always doubts his own acting, and he said that acting in this film in particular was a big challenge for him. He said that he had “an aversion to acting by expressing all his emotions”, but through this film, he “quenched his thirst for expressive acting”, drawing attention.

“I always have a lot of doubts about my acting, so I ask a lot of questions. I constantly asked Director Yeon Sang-ho too. I’m almost a ‘question mark killer’. If you believe that everything you do is right, it might be comfortable at the time of filming, but you‘ll regret it later when you see the work. Even if the process is difficult, I think it’s important to constantly ask questions and be skeptical.”

He doesn‘t believe in supernatural phenomena or revelations like Min-chan in the play, but he said that he has an unchanging belief that the trials he faces are “the process of becoming a good person.”

“Even if it’s not necessarily a Christian perspective, I think that only manageable trials come to all people in the world. I tend to try to overcome unfair or difficult situations. If something difficult comes to me, I believe that there‘s a reason why it happened to me.”

O“I was greatly influenced by Noh Hong-chul”

‘Revelation’ also garnered attention for having world-renowned director Alfonso Cuaron, who directed ‘Gravity’’‘Roma’, as an executive producer. Director Cuaron also praised Ryu Jun-yeol’s crazy acting in this film.

“Director Cuaron is a world-class master whom I respect so much that I studied with him when I was a student, so I‘m so happy that he liked my acting. On the other hand, I’m also embarrassed. When I first heard that he praised me, my back started sweating. Every time I go for a walk, I think about (Director Cuaron‘s praise) and it makes me laugh.”

He, who takes time to recharge by traveling whenever he has time off, recently caught everyone’s attention by revealing a video of him traveling to Switzerland with Noh Hong-chul on his YouTube channel.

“Hong-chul hyung is the person who has influenced me the most among the people I‘ve met recently. He’s the complete opposite of me, but that has had a big impact on me. I try to find meaning in my own suffering, but he‘s someone who finds joy and fun and feels happiness in it. I’ve learned a lot from seeing him.”


Reporter Seungmi Lee smlee@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.