Kim Sung-chul, who played the role of a pastor with twisted beliefs in the summer drama ‘No Way Out: The Roulette’ and properly played the role of a ‘key player’, showed off his eerie presence once again in the recently released Netflix original series ‘Hellbound’ Season 2 by playing a religious person with a twisted inner self.

In ‘Hellbound’, which depicts the story of various forces becoming entangled in the chaos where an unspecified number of people receive ‘Hell-bound notices’ from the messengers of hell, he played the role of Jeong Jin-soo, the first chairman of the pseudo-religious New Truth Society who went to hell and was resurrected. Kim Sung-chul recalled filming, saying that he focused on the unique “extraordinary” of this character.

○“Comparison to Yoo Ah-in? “It’s inevitable.”

The character of Jeong Jin-soo is an unprecedented character that any actor would find attractive, but he is also a “poisoned chalice.” Yoo Ah-in, who received rave reviews last season, took over the baton after he got off the show due to drug use suspicions. Even director Yeon Sang-ho, who cast Kim Sung-chul, was concerned about the “burden” the actor would have to bear, but Kim Sung-chul himself said, “I wasn’t really worried.”

“What would I have to lose? It’s a charming character that’s hard to come by again, and it’s a drama series that’s been a huge global success, so if I get the chance, I have to do it no matter what. Last season, there may be an interpretation of the character by my older brother (Yoo Ah-in), but I acted while focusing on the original webtoon character as much as possible.”
Since the drama was released, there have been many reviews comparing Yoo Ah-in and Kim Sung-chul’s acting, but his attitude was steadfast.

“Even if Timothée Chalamet or Tony Leung Jo-wi had played this character, would they have compared them to the previous season? Evaluation of acting is subjective. I think that when what I originally know or believe in is ‘forcibly changed’ in an unavoidable situation, everyone will inevitably miss the old things first.”

○“I lost 10kg to act as a resurrected person”

He revealed “I lost 10kg” in order to express the haggard appearance of someone who has suffered all kinds of pain in hell and returned.

“It would be strange if someone who has been to hell became chubby. Since I wasn‘t building my body and losing weight, I didn’t do strength training and just increased my aerobic exercise to lose as much weight as I could. I was a little upset to see my muscles disappear. I barely wore any makeup to keep my appearance.”

The drama says that the hell witnessed by the resurrected Jung Jin-soo and Park Jung-ja (Kim Shin-rok) is different for each individual depending on their experience. So what does “Actor Kim Sung-chul‘s hell” look like?

“My hell is ‘box failure’. Movies and dramas are popular art that require the efforts of many people and a huge amount of money. So I think the box office success is important.”


Reporter Lee Seung-mi smlee@donga.com

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