He cut his hair and became completely different.. Jeong I-chan "First leading role 'Doctor Shin', burden and excitement coexist" [Interview ①]

*This content was translated by AI.

• TV Chosun Saturday-Sunday drama 'Doctor Shin' Interview with actor Jeong I-chan, who plays Shin Ju-shin

Actor Jeong I-chan shared his thoughts on taking on his first leading role through the drama 'Doctor Shin'.

Recently, StarNews conducted an interview with actor Jeong I-chan of the TV Chosun Saturday-Sunday drama 'Doctor Shin' (script by Lim Seong-han (Phoebe), directed by Lee Seung-hoon), which concluded on the 3rd, at the company's office in Seoul Jongno-gu.

'Doctor Shin' is a medical thriller about a genius doctor who challenges the realm of God and a woman who loses her soul as her brain deteriorates overnight. It is the new work by writer Lim Seong-han, presented about three years after his 2023 TV Chosun drama 'Miss Durian' concluded.

Jeong I-chan took on the role of Shin Gyeong-oe-gwa (Director) and orphanage director Lee (President) Shin Ju-shin. As the character who performs 'brain change' surgery, he anchored the center of the medical thriller and strongly revealed his presence as a first leading role since his debut.

When asked about his thoughts on the conclusion, Jeong I-chan said, "I am grateful that viewers loved Shin Ju-shin," while also expressing a foreign investor sentiment, and added, "Actually, I was worried that the character might be disliked. But as Shin Ju-shin's humanity gradually came out, it seems they loved her even more. It was a very surprising and grateful experience."

Jeong I-chan, who finished filming 'Doctor Shin' earlier this year, drew attention with a completely different look after cutting his long hair. He laughed, saying, "During filming, I actually grew my hair quite a bit and also used hairpieces. Many people were surprised when I cut my hair."

Including Jeong I-chan, Baek Seo-ra (Momo), Ahn Woo-yeon (Ha Yong-joong), Joo Se-bin (Geum Ba-ra), and Cheon Young-min (Kim Jin-joo), five actors were selected as 'Lim Seong-han's actors' after a long audition process.

Regarding the audition, Jeong I-chan revealed, "I was happy to learn immediately at the audition venue that I had been cast as the lead, but I pretended to have a poker face and stay calm. Afterward, once I learned the drama title, character name, and the concept of 'brain change,' I truly felt a sense of burden."

He said, "It is a work by writer Lim Seong-han, who has many hit productions. Compared to her existing works, there were fewer characters and the age range was lower, so I had great concerns about whether I could do it well. At the same time, since it was my first leading role, I felt a strong desire. I passed the audition in March last year, and the first filming took place in August that year, so there was some time left. During that remaining period, I tried to abandon myself and live as Shin Ju-shin herself. As I became fully determined to become Shin Ju-shin, my worries and burdens turned into excitement." He expressed his affection for the character.

In the drama, Shin Ju-shin is a doctor with overwhelming surgical skills, referred to as having 'God's hands.' In fact, due to her somewhat mechanical tone of voice and expressions, some even joked that she was an 'AI doctor.'

Jeong I-chan said, "In the first episode, Shin Ju-shin, who was performing surgery, heard the news that Momo had collapsed and only said '119.' Seeing that, I thought, 'Is she a machine? Is she this dry and rational?' In fact, I think the script contained expressions like 'dry,' 'cold,' and 'rational' more than 100 times."

He continued, "To research the character, I interviewed plastic surgeons, dentists, dermatologists, orthopedic surgeons, and thoracic surgeons. For the brain surgery scenes, a real doctor provided filming consultation. In my opinion, more important than the fact that she is a 'doctor' was the person 'Shin Ju-shin' herself." He recalled his journey so far.

He also explained, "I persistently dug into the thought of 'Why?' Looking at Shin Ju-shin's living environment, above the hospital is The Penthouse, and below is the SECRET operating room. I thought she was a character living a colorless, gray life. Regarding her tone of voice, since she lived with nurses who could not speak, Park Soo (played by Park Ju-yong) and Lee Sim (played by Park Ae-rin), she might have become more accustomed to talking to herself and using abrupt, cut-off speech patterns rather than exchanging conversations."

When asked about his acting chemistry with the other actors, Jeong I-chan immediately replied, "They are really like family. The chat room is still noisy," and smiled.

He said, "When the actors gathered to introduce themselves, we said, 'Hello, I was born in 00.' No one was surprised. My natural voice is low, so if I say I was born in 2000, many people are surprised. But no one was surprised, which was strange. Later, other actors asked, 'Didn't you say you were born in the 90s?' and that made me laugh. We were really close and relied on each other a lot. We intentionally tried to get used to each other's lines by exchanging dialogue as if we were speaking lines, and we spent time together that way." He expressed his affection for his colleagues.

How did he accept the somewhat bizarre setting where the brain of future mother-in-law Hyun Hwan-hee (played by Song Ji-in) is transplanted into the body of his fiancée Momo, and later, the brains of other characters like Kim Jin-joo are literally 'changed'?

Jeong I-chan said, "I have two pet dogs. The first one, Leon, is a 17-year-old senior dog. When I think of Leon from my childhood, I want to see him run and play one more time. I thought Shin Ju-shin might feel the same. When she saw Momo, who could do nothing, perhaps she wanted her to smile, walk, and talk one more time."

Jeong I-chan said about the work 'Doctor Shin' to him, "'Shin Ju-shin is a character I will keep for a lifetime,' and added, "'Doctor Shin' itself and the actors I worked with all seem like people I will have for a lifetime. I really wanted to live as Shin Ju-shin. At the final filming, the sea was truly beautiful, and I think it will remain as a precious work that reminds me of my original intention in the future." He revealed its significance.

(Continued in Interview ②)

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*This content was translated by AI.