Does actor Lee Joon-hyuk, a ‘classic pretty boy’, also feel pressured about having to look good? He caught everyone‘s attention by saying, “Of course I feel it.” In this work, Lee Joon-hyuk stole the hearts of women with his sculptural good looks, flawless suit fit, and affectionate and delicate manners.

Lee Joon-hyuk recently had an interview to commemorate the end of the SBS Friday-Saturday drama ‘My Perfect Secretary’ at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

When asked whether he felt pressured to ‘look good’ because he had to have chemistry with his co-star Han Ji-min, Lee Joon-hyuk answered, “Of course I felt pressured. Actually, what’s fortunate is that I know now that I‘m not the only one doing this job,“ and added, “When I saw him on screen, I thought, ‘Oh, I did really well.’ ‘I don’t even go outside the house, so how am I going to hold my head up high from now on?’ he whined.

Lee Jun-hyuk then expressed his gratitude to the production team who captured him so well on screen and the staff team who did his makeup, etc. He said, “The team tries to find the best angle for me and helps me to look good. On the other hand, in genre films, they find a way to make this person look really evil. I have no choice but to trust the team. Otherwise, I can‘t act. We create something that doesn’t exist in the world together.

Lee Jun-hyuk laughed when asked about when Yoo Eun-ho started liking Kang Ji-yoon, saying, “Since she‘s Jimin, I think I liked her from the moment I first saw her.

He continued, “Actually, the moment you see a flaw in someone can be quite charming. No matter how perfect a CEO is, there are things I can fill in. And if that’s something I‘m good at, I’ll feel happy as that person changes. He added, ”I think it might have soaked in that part.“


Regarding whether Yoo Eun-ho had done anything to seduce or target Kang Ji-yoon, Lee Joon-hyuk said, ”Eun-ho probably didn‘t intend to seduce Ji-yoon. He really wanted to be faithful and give her what she needed. If he had approached her with the intention of seducing her, Ji-yoon would have known. After all, Ji-yoon is a businessperson. I think Eun-ho really purely wanted to protect the parts of Ji-yoon that were likely to get hurt.“

There is a scene in the drama where Kang Ji-yoon’s father passes away after saving Yoo Eun-ho. Yoo Eun-ho tells Kang Ji-yoon this fact. How would Lee Joon-hyuk have acted if he had encountered this situation? Lee Joon-hyuk answered honestly, ”I think it should be made known.“

He continued, ”I think Eun-ho went to meet Ji-yoon thinking that he would take responsibility for that. I thought a lot about that scene. Should I cry with Ji-yoon? Eun-ho had already met her father, and her father‘s last appearance was calm. But rather than crying in front of Ji-yoon, I had said before, ’I want to protect you,‘ so I thought it would be better to stand firm until the end no matter what happened. Because Eun-ho had decided that he would love Ji-yoon no matter what. I also found that kind of unwavering appearance cool, even if it wasn’t necessarily the opposite sex.“

Then how was it working with Han Ji-min? Lee Joon-hyuk said, ”I have a lot of respect for my fellow actors these days. What you see outside of TV is different from what you see on set. There are always enormous risks on set, and there can be minor problems. There are many problems, such as equipment suddenly not working or pedestrians coming and cursing, but Jimin-ssi is an incredible professional, so he was a very reliable source of support, and I was so happy to meet such a colleague. He was a strong supporter on set, so I felt, ‘He’s cool,’” he said, praising Han Ji-min.

This is the second time he has met actor Kim Do-hoon since ‘Dark Hole’. Lee Joon-hyuk said, “Actually, I didn’t see his face much then, and I didn’t see him much this time either. However, when Do-hoon appeared on set, he was such a bright and energetic friend, so he gave me a lot of strength,” praising Kim Do-hoon.


Lee Joon-hyuk, who is updating his looks day after day with ‘My Perfect Secretary’. To the comment that he looks younger than when he debuted, he said, “That’s true, I was famous for being an actor with old eyes. The article I still remember is that the second place for old-looking actors. My first one-act play was also a role in my mid-30s. In ‘I am a legend’, I was older than Kim Jung-eun. The difficult part when I was acting since I was young was that I always had to act as someone in their 40s. It was also very difficult to create a voice. In fact, Dong-jae created his voice too. He was older than Seung-woo hyung. I did a lot of devices to make him look older. That was possible because I was old-looking and thankfully got the job. Now that I am in my 40s, things have become a little easier,” he said with a laugh.

When I was told that he thought I was trying to look manly because I have a pretty face, Lee Joon-hyuk said, “At that time, all the male actors had beards. I don’t know why I am the only one who is making an issue of it. In fact, I was cast in ‘The Wives Club’ because I had a beard. At that time, my beard was my pride. I just followed the times, but I guess that just didn‘t suit me,“ he said, causing the set to burst into laughter.

There is a line in the drama that says, ”It’s good that I feel like I‘m getting stronger as I age.“ Does Lee Jun-hyuk think the same? He honestly answered, ”It’s much better now than in the past. However, the only difference is that I didn‘t worry about hospital bills (rehabilitation) in the past, but I do now.“

(Continued from [DA: Interview ③])

Kim Seung-hyun, Donga.com reporter tmdgus@donga.com
Photos | Ace Factory, Studio S, IO Contents Group

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