“Dive to You” star Jang Se-hyuk, the protagonist who broke through a 120-to-1 competition: “I pushed myself… I will never forget this” [Interview ①]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

• Interview with actor Jang Se-hyuk, who played Yoon Ha-ru in the Disney+ and Channel A drama “Dive to You”

Actor Jang Se-hyuk expressed special affection for “Dive to You,” in which he was cast as a lead after breaking through a 120-to-1 competition rate.

Jang recently shared various stories about the work during an interview commemorating the finale of the Disney+ and Channel A drama “Dive to You,” held at StarNews headquarters in Seorin-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

“Dive to You,” which concluded on the 1st, is a drama depicting top actress Yoon Ha-na (played by Kim Ji-yeon), whose soul was swapped with her twin brother Yoon Ha-ru (played by Jang Se-hyuk) due to an accident, as she travels back in time and struggles to prevent the death of her first love.

Jang took on the role of Yoon Ha-ru, Yoon Ha-na’s twin sibling and a world No. 1 ranked judo gold medalist, delivering a wide range of emotional performances from desperation in crisis to confusion over their swapped souls.

Regarding his thoughts on the finale, Jang stated, “As it was my first lead role, I felt a lot of tension and responsibility, and because I poured affection into this work, I feel a bit disappointed that it has ended. Thanks to those around me, I was able to create the character of Yoon Ha-ru. I want to keep that feeling in mind and grow into a better actor.”

How was his chemistry with fellow actors, including Kim Ji-yeon, who played Yoon Ha-na, his twin sibling in the drama, as well as Park Seo-ham and Moon Seung-yu?

Jang said, “Honestly, I had only seen them on TV before, so it was very strange,” smiling. He continued, “They gave me a lot of help and encouragement to help me adapt well to the set. Because I am a complete rookie taking on a big role, I felt burdened and worried, with an anxiety that things might not go well. But (Park) Seo-ham hyung gave me so much support that my mind became at ease. I am somewhat introverted, but I opened up quickly.” He expressed gratitude to the actors he worked with.

Jang joined “Dive to You” as the last lead actor after breaking through a 120-to-1 competition rate in the audition. He explained, “I prepared for the audition not with the mindset of ‘I will definitely get cast,’ but with the thought of becoming a good actor. Getting a chance at the second-round audition is really not easy, so when I received that call, I was surprised and felt like I had to grit my teeth even harder, preparing as if grinding my bones. Since I originally practiced judo, I brought my judogi with me. I can confidently say that for one month, I did nothing but prepare for the audition except for sleeping.”

“Dive to You” is a fantasy genre drama featuring time slip and body change elements. Was it difficult to act while keeping both of these in mind?

Jang said, “In the beginning, I was naturally conscious of (the genre characteristics), but as time went on, I stopped being conscious of them. I worried a lot on my own and looked up (Kim) Ji-yeon’s previous works to study, but it only gave me headaches. So I decided to just ask Ji-yeon unnie everything, and we had many conversations during script reading, which also helped us become closer.”

He added, “Since the drama is a fantasy romance, there is a thought that (the relationship between the characters) might look like bromance, but I wanted it to be seen as romance.” He continued, “In the ending of Episode 1, I acted hoping my appearance would be seen as Ha-ru rather than Ha-na. There were people who appreciated my delicate acting, and I am simply grateful for that.”

Participating in a work that moves between the past, present, and future also became a great experience as an actor. Jang said, “I thought viewers might get confused. I spent a lot of effort on capturing details within that. Even among the actors, as the situation (in the drama) changed urgently toward the latter half, we sometimes got confused. So I captured the details even more delicately,” mentioning the effort he put in.

Director So Jae-hyun, who directed the series, had previously expressed special gratitude to Jang for finishing filming within the scheduled time. Regarding this, Jang began by saying, “Honestly, I was so discouraged on set that I often pushed myself hard. I thought I had to convince the staff of why I was the protagonist.”

He shared, “There were many emotional scenes in the early filming rounds, and since it was my first time doing emotional acting, I worried about whether I was doing well. But the director said, ‘Hyuk, thanks to you, we finished filming smoothly.’ At that moment, I felt immense relief. In the case of action scenes, I think they shone because the actors went to an action school together and practiced the choreography hard. I could feel that the director loved all the actors, so I am truly grateful.”

What does “Dive to You,” which established rookie Jang Se-hyuk as a lead actor, mean to him? Jang expressed his affection for the work by saying, “Thanks to those who helped me, the character of Yoon Ha-ru was completed. I sincerely thank the viewers and want to promise to show even better performances in the future. ‘Dive to You’ is a work I will never forget in my life.”

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original