Kim Seon-ho is finally back on the small screen with “The Tyrant” on Disney+. The talented stars of the much-anticipated series include Cha Seung-won, Kim Seon-ho, Kim Kang-woo, and newcomer Jo Yoon-soo. The cast members and PD Park Hoon-jung gathered together to talk about each of the characters and what makes their show the must-watch series this summer.
Kim Seon-ho’s small screen comeback
Three years since his last K-drama “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha,” Kim Seon-ho is back in a new series. On why he chose this project, the actor confesses that he’s a big fan of “The Witch,” PD Park’s science fiction horror film franchise. Aside from being a fan of the director’s films, Kim Seon-ho says he wanted to show a new facet of himself in “The Tyrant” on Disney+.
He plays the role of Director Choi, the architect of The Tyrant project, a plan to develop a powerful virus that could enhance human abilities.
“He’s the youngest-ever director in the unit. He wants to protect The Tyrant project at all costs. He keeps his calm. In the face of a crisis, he can even enjoy a nice lunch,” Kim Seon-ho described his character.
PD Park Hoon-jung, who has worked with Seon-ho in “The Childe,” shared that the actor had some concerns about playing the role of Director Choi. However, PD Park said he had complete confidence in Seon-ho’s acting.
“Seon-ho shared that he had some concerns because he had not played this kind of character before, but I had complete confidence in him. I told him to just do it. He has a very big range, a huge spectrum in terms of his acting. I think you will get a charming and appealing character.”
Kim Seon-ho describes his characters in “The Tyrant” and “The Childe” as polar opposites.
“The innocent face with glaring eyes is the only facet he (Director Choi) shares with ‘The Childe’ character. But this time around he’s weaker, more lonely. Director Choi has a lot of conflicts inside. He has a lot of concerns swirling in his head. Physically, it was less draining because I didn’t have a lot of action scenes.”
Action-packed thrilling ride
While Kim Seon-ho did not have a lot of fight scenes in “The Tyrant,” the opposite can be said about his co-stars Cha Seung-won and Jo Yoon-soo.
Cha Seung-won plays the role of Lim Sang-won, a former agent who was commissioned to go after the missing sample of The Tyrant project. He chases the young Chae Jagyeong, who stole the last sample. Jagyeong is played by newcomer Jo Yoon-soo, who has impressed his seniors with her superior action skills.
“I went to stunt training. Because I had so many action scenes, even during production I would go stunt training. Bringing up my stamina is so important. I learned about choreography,” Jo Yoon-soo described.
Cha Seung-won is all praises for his young co-star. “I had a lot of action sequences with her. That choreography, action choreography is so important. She was very good.”
Meanwhile, Kim Kang-woo, who plays Paul, a US intelligence agent tasked to destroy The Tyrant project, had another challenge – his English dialogues!
“Paul is someone from an overseas intelligence unit. He learns about The Tyrant project being run in Korea and he wants to demolish the project. He’s ethnically Korean but he’s also American so I had to practice a lot of English dialogue,” Kim Kang-woo described his character.
‘The Tyrant’ in ‘The Witch’ universe
“The Tyrant” is PD Park Hoon-jung’s first foray into directing a series. The acclaimed director is known for his science fiction horror films “The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion” and its sequel “The Witch: Part 2. The Other One.” Fans of the movie franchise will be excited to learn that “The Tyrant” is also a part of the same universe. PD Park even teased that there will be some Easter eggs to look forward to in the Disney+ series.
“The Witch is about the eastern side, and The Tyrant is about the western side. Sometimes they meet. The universe is the same but it’s happening in different areas of the world,” Cha Seung-won further explained.
Kim Seon-ho, Cha Seung-won, Kim Kang-woo, and Jo Yoon-soo are set to make the audiences’ hearts race with “The Tyrant” on Disney+ this August 14.