[Sportschosun Jo Ji-young] Actor Ji Chang-wook, 39, who has undergone the boldest transformation of his career since his debut, shared his convictions about acting.
Ji Chang-wook plays Jo-won, Joseon's greatest ladies' man, who enters a wager to obtain something he cannot have in the Netflix series 'The Scandal' (written by Lee Seung-young and Ahn Hye-seung and directed by Jeong Ji-woo). He met with Sportschosun in Samcheong-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 22nd and discussed everything from his thoughts on returning with 'The Scandal' to the passion he poured into the project.
'The Scandal' tells the story of an audacious and dangerous wager of love between a woman whose exceptional talent makes it impossible for her to live confined to the role of a Joseon-era woman and Joseon's greatest ladies' man, as well as the story of a woman entangled in that wager. The series is a Joseon-era adaptation of French writer Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's 1782 novel 'Les Liaisons dangereuses' and a remake of the 2003 film 'Untold Scandal,' directed by Lee Jae-yong.
Ji Chang-wook's bold transformation in 'The Scandal,' his first drama centered on an affair, has drawn particular attention. He gives a compelling performance as Jo-won, the cousin of Madam Jo (Son Ye-jin)—a gifted man with striking looks, a prestigious family background and exceptional writing skills recognized by the king, yet someone who pursues pleasure and amusement instead of seeking status and success. After accepting Madam Jo's proposal, Jo-won enters a dangerous wager to obtain what he has long yearned for, revealing the character's complex inner life and desires. In the original film, the role was played by Bae Yong-joon, but Ji Chang-wook brings a different appeal to Jo-won.
Ji Chang-wook said, "Personally, it is my project, but I enjoyed watching 'The Scandal.' It was one of the roles I had always wanted to try. Because the story had been made a long time ago and adapted into several works, I had concerns and worries. But I took it on because I really wanted to play Jo-won. Jo-won is a complex character. So, from the very beginning, my starting point with 'The Scandal' was 'a man who loves two women.' I decided that a complex character like that was worth taking on. Of course, there are many original and remake versions, and many excellent actors and seniors have appeared in them. I thought comparisons were unavoidable. Even so, I wondered whether we could create a character unique to director Jeong Ji-woo and to Ji Chang-wook." He added, "If this project had been remade as a film, I might have hesitated a little more. The thought that 'perhaps we can make it differently because it is a series' gave me courage, and I also trusted director Jeong Ji-woo. I expected that, if it was Jeong Ji-woo, he could portray the relationships and psychology of the three characters in a fresh way rather than making them predictable."
Ji Chang-wook took comparisons with Bae Yong-joon in the film 'Untold Scandal' in stride. He said, "Comparisons were unavoidable. It is the same role, after all. From the moment I became an actor, I have considered being compared with someone else part of my fate. In fact, being judged as better than someone else does not seem particularly meaningful to me. I think I expressed my own Jo-won with sincerity. My Jo-won gained a narrative when the story became a series, and he was portrayed as a more complex character. The character himself is not clearly defined, but I think that ambiguity has its own appeal. He may even resemble people in real life."
He continued, "This was also a new experience for me. What I thought about the project on set differed from what I thought while watching the finished version. During filming, I tried hard to understand Jo-won's feelings, but the emotions I felt in the moment were actually different from the emotions I felt when I looked back on them. I do not usually act with one correct answer in mind; sometimes it felt as if I were completing a mission in each scene. When I watched it again, I found myself feeling something new. It was my first experience like this. It is also a work that leaves viewers with a lot of room for interpretation. I think it is a project in which it is extremely difficult to express one's feelings in a single sentence."
He also humbly accepted the harsh reviews surrounding the project. Ji Chang-wook said, "Honestly, it is very disappointing. Isn't it incredibly sad and upsetting when my project receives harsh reviews? I cannot enjoy even the criticism. Still, I had expected it to some extent. I thought it was a project worth attempting, even knowing it might not receive universal praise. I made that choice, and I personally liked the result very much. Even if a project receives only harsh reviews, I still do not think it was the wrong choice. Rankings are beyond my control. Personally, I think it became a project I can feel no shame about." He continued, "Actors cannot receive only praise whenever they work on a project, and there are certainly projects that do not work. Still, I am satisfied that the role itself was incredibly appealing and not an easy one to choose. At my age, being able to try and take on a role like this is something I am grateful for, and I think it carries great meaning."
Regarding his chemistry with senior actress Son Ye-jin, he laughed and said, "Everyone says it was 'the whole nation watching senior actor Hyun Bin's reaction,' but I was not watching his reaction at all. The only crime I committed was loving Madam Jo." He added, "There was a certain tension simply because I was working with Son Ye-jin. I thought the project would only come together properly if the confrontation between us worked well. I prepared very meticulously so I would not be outdone by her. On set, I carried myself differently with Son Ye-jin than I did with Nana. In a word, it was a suffocating set. The scenes with Madam Jo involved incredibly long takes. Director Jeong Ji-woo likes long takes, but one of them was especially difficult. I was so exhausted that I wondered, 'Why is this so hard?' When I checked, I found that the take I filmed with Son Ye-jin had lasted more than 10 minutes. I realized it could not help but be exhausting. The tension and tug-of-war between us had such intensity, and I felt that I would need to prepare more carefully and be more nervous when filming with senior actors in the future."
Regarding his work with Nana, he recalled, "Rather than giving Nana advice, I tried to help her find courage and strength as a fellow actor. It was the same with Son Ye-jin and director Jeong Ji-woo. When I meet a partner on set, I think very carefully about how I can inspire the other person. Creating an atmosphere in which the other person can feel even slightly more comfortable on set is part of that." He continued, "Nana had a truly animalistic instinct. Her acting is fascinating. She is an actor who wants to explore and show the essence of things. Nana was looking for something essential and real, and she seemed to work tirelessly—and suffer—to find it."
Ji Chang-wook, who took on bold nude scenes, shared his own convictions: "I did not worry about whether fans would be surprised. That kind of consideration does not affect my choice of projects. A nude scene is not something that should be judged as 'cool' or 'not cool,' or 'good' or 'bad.' If I had prepared to look impressive for the nude scenes, this project would have failed. The visual aspect of nudity was not important to this project or to the character of Jo-won. I also do not think the visual presentation of nudity was director Jeong Ji-woo's goal. The intent of this project was not to make the human body itself important. I did not specifically build a certain physique, exercise more or sculpt my body simply because there was nudity. If my body had looked particularly good in those scenes, I wonder whether it would have matched the tone of the project."
On playing Joseon's greatest womanizer, he said, "It was fun in its own way. I did not go into the project thinking, 'I need to give a woman's-man look' or 'I need to express an attitude that captivates women.' I simply focused on the circumstances. I did not try to focus on being a womanizer or make that the character. However, 'romantic' is an appealing label that I would like to have. It seems like an appropriate label for promoting 'The Scandal' right now." He added jokingly, "In terms of my real-life dating style, I am not good at playing hard to get. I am not like Jo-won. If I acted like Jo-won in today's world, I would have retired already."
Regarding the daring bed scenes, he added, "A bed scene is inevitably a tense and sensitive process for an actor as well. This was my first time filming a bed scene like this, and I felt something unusual. It would not be quite right to say that I was extremely nervous, but it would also be inaccurate to say that I was not nervous. A subtle emotion emerged. In front of the camera, I tried to bring out as fully as possible the level of intimacy, blocking and intention that the director wanted to express. Rather than doing something specifically for the bed scene with Nana, the bond we had built while working on this project together helped complete the scene. We filmed the bed scene as late as possible, and the feelings that had developed as we worked together, became more comfortable with each other and built a bond were a great help."
'The Scandal' stars Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook and Nana. The screenplay was written by Lee Seung-young, writer of 'The Art of Negotiation,' and Ahn Hye-song, writer of 'Somebody.' Jeong Ji-woo, who directed 'Eungyo,' 'Tune in for Love' and 'Somebody,' served as director. The series was released on Netflix on the 18th.
Jo Ji-young, soulhn1220@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
