‘Plankton’ Woo Do-hwan “There is no work where I don‘t take off my clothes... I don’t exercise separately” [DA:Interview②]
On the morning of the 13th, Woo Do-hwan met with Donga.com for an interview for the Netflix series ‘Mr. Plankton’ at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and talked about the work.
When asked about the body he showed in ‘Mr. Plankton’, Woo Do-hwan said, “(There were) so many exposure scenes. I don‘t think there’s a drama where I don‘t take my clothes off. But I really didn’t exercise. After doing it for over 10 years, if I don‘t, I lose weight. Haejo is a character who shouldn’t be overflowing with health. I think it‘s because he doesn’t gain weight easily. I didn‘t exercise separately,“ he explained.
Woo Do-hwan said, ”The joy of life is exercise. My days off when I don’t have filming are days I exercise. When you‘re unknown, there’s nothing to do, right? As an actor, other than practicing diction or studying the script, I felt like I lacked something more. So I thought that exercising every day would be helpful to me. I think that‘s why I started.“ He expressed his love for exercise.
In ‘Mr. Plankton’, Woo Do-hwan showed a ruined appearance, shedding tears and even having a runny nose. Regarding this, Woo Do-hwan said, ”There was a line in the script that said ’runny nose‘. It was because Eo-heung was blowing his nose. I said I didn’t care but I didn‘t know what the viewers would think. But I said, ’You don‘t usually see a runny nose in a drama, right?’“ and honestly confessed, ”I didn‘t think I had to look cool while doing this drama. I don’t think my character is handsome or cool. I wanted to look tough and like a friend you see on the street.“
Woo Do-hwan then revealed that his character in this drama was the most romantic character he‘s ever done. Woo Do-hwan said, ”Out of all the works I’ve done so far, Hae-jo is the most romantic. I‘ve always played characters who fight to the brink of death, but this is a romantic melodrama with a woman. This is the first time I’ve done that kind of melodrama since ‘The Great Seducer.’ It‘s the most romantic character I’ve ever done. I wanted to portray it like a real couple. Just like a couple who might be fighting on the street. That‘s why I tried to make the speech a bit more realistic,“ he explained.
Meanwhile, ‘Mr. Plankton’, released on the 8th, is a romantic comedy that unfolds as the world’s most unlucky woman, ‘Jae-mi (played by Lee Yoo-mi)’, is forced to accompany ‘Hae-jo (played by Woo Do-hwan)’, a man who was accidentally born into the wrong world, on his last journey in life.
Woo Do-hwan plays ‘Hae-jo’, who lives his life like a floating plankton but begins wandering after receiving shocking news that turns his life upside down.
Choi Yoon-na, Donga.com reporter yyynnn@donga.com
