The pictorial of Shin Sung-rok and Choi Jae-rim, who play the roles of ‘Jekyll/Hyde’, which will continue the success of the 20th anniversary Korean production of the musical ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, has been released.

The March issue of ‘GQ Korea’ showed off their unexpected charms by capturing the pure and natural selves of musical actors Shin Sung-rok and Choi Jae-rim, rather than the intense charisma they exude on stage.

In order to focus on the actors‘ stripped-down and empty expressions and gestures, color was excluded and the pictorial was composed of black and white photos. Shin Sung-rok and Choi Jae-rim create a similar yet different atmosphere in this pictorial, raising expectations for the roles of ‘Jekyll/Hyde’, which are deeply imbued with their own colors. The two actors, who have perfect physiques with tall stature, long arms and legs, and slender yet firm bodies, created a sense of unity with simple and neat styling, while emphasizing white and black as points to differentiate themselves.

The two actors are leaning on each other’s shoulders and taking the same pose, but their contrasting images are interesting in their expressiveness. Unlike the act of leaning on the other person, Shin Sung-rok gives off the feeling of building a wall in his heart with his empty eyes and expressionless face, and his ‘Hyde’ side of him opposing the world stands out, while Choi Jae-rim expresses the feeling of his mind and body relying on each other with his slightly closed eyes and comfortable expression, and his gentle and affectionate ‘Jekyll’ side stands out.

The charms of the two people who seem similar yet contrasting are also revealed in their interview with GQ Korea. Shin Sung-rok, who took on the role of ‘Jekyll/Hyde’ for the second time since 2021, talked about the new aspects of this season while preparing for the production.

“‘Jekyll and Hyde’ is a very difficult production,” he said, explaining that the role of ‘Jekyll/Hyde’ requires a variety of sounds and acting, so it is quite physically demanding throughout the performance. “When I first did this production, I just pushed and poured everything out on stage. I didn’t know there was a limit to how much I could do.” What I realized while giving it my all in the performance was “calculation”. That you can act more effectively by showing what you need to show and leaving out what you need to leave out.

In addition, “Jekyll and Hyde have different personalities, but they are the same person. Last time, I expressed the two differently with voices, but this time, I think I should focus on expressing their personalities more differently,” he said, foreshadowing an even more upgraded stage.

Choi Jae-rim, who has been cast in the title role of the musical ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ for the first time this season, said about the ‘Jekyll’ and ‘Hyde’ that he will play, “It will be exactly as you imagined.” Nevertheless, he said, “I want it to be a little newer than expected.” He also explained, “If you expected Choi Jae-rim’s Jekyll to be cool, you might think, ‘He’s weaker than I thought?’ If you expected Choi Jae-rim’s Hyde to be scary, you might think, ‘He’s more bizarre than I thought.’ I won’t act based on calculations, but I hope my interpretation and approach will go in that direction.”

He also revealed his thoughts on singing the representative song ‘This Is the Moment’ of the musical ‘Jekyll and Hyde’. This is because this song was the reason Choi Jae-rim started dreaming of becoming a musical actor. He said, “‘This Is the Moment’ that I encountered anew in the piece felt much bigger than I knew it was,” which makes us look forward to ‘This Is the Moment’ that Choi Jae-rim sings as ‘Jekyll’.

The musical ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ is a thriller romance that deals with good and evil, and the duality of humans. It officially opened on December 4 at the Blue Square Shinhan Card Hall after a preview performance last year. It is proving its reputation as a representative steady seller in the Korean musical industry, receiving much love thanks to the explosive performances of actors Hong Kwang-ho, Jeon Dong-seok, Kim Sung-chul, Yoon Gong-ju, Sun Min, Kim Hwan-hee, Jo Jung-eun, Choi Soo-jin, and Son Ji-soo.

Shin Sung-rok will have his first performance on February 28th, and Choi Jae-rim will take the stage for the first time on March 1st. You can reserve tickets through Interpark Ticket and Ticket Link, and you can see the pictorial and candid interview of the two people who stand out with their unexpected charms in the March issue of GQ Korea and on the GQ Korea website.

Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com reporter jhj@donga.com

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