Lee Hyo-je gains 20kg for 'Girigo': "I was so thin-boned..." [Interview ①]

*This content was translated by AI.

Actor Lee Hyo-je revealed that he even gained 20 kilograms for his character.

On the 14th, I met with actor Lee Hyo-je at the StarNews building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to discuss the Netflix series 'Girigo'.

"Kiliggo" is a story about high school students who have been warned of sudden death due to the curse of the wish-granting application "Kiliggo," and who struggle desperately to escape that curse.

Lee Hyo-je played the role of Hyeong-wook, a prankster who loves playing with his friends in the drama and is the first to get involved with Giriko, leaving a memorable impression.

Released on the 24th of last month, "Girigo" ranked first among the global top 10 non-English shows in its second week, boasting immense popularity. Lee Hyo-je said, "The most noticeable change is the number of SNS followers. It's fascinating to receive direct messages in various languages, and it feels real as many people actually recognize me."

Lee Hyo-je joined 'Girigo' through an audition. Previously, director Park Yoon-seo stated that the role of Hyung-wook was the most difficult to cast.

Lee Hyo-je said, "The casting of four other actors had already been decided, and only the role of Hyung-wook was open," adding, "I received the script for the first part and prepared for the audition; the fact that I was given the script in the first place was deeply moving."

He added, "Since I have mostly taken on weighty roles until now, I imagine the director was wondering, 'Can this friend pull off an otaku role?'" He continued, "The director reportedly saw the movie 'Concrete Utopia' in which I appeared, felt that the character's image resonated with Hyuk-wook's, and therefore called me for the role."

He also recalled the moment he heard the news of his acceptance. He said, "It was a time when I had been rejected from all auditions. Even the works I thought might make it to the final round were all rejected. In fact, when I auditioned for 'Giriko,' I didn't have high expectations. I decided to do my best as usual, but not to be overly concerned with the results."

He also stated, "In fact, even after the audition, I was still unsure, but I received the news of my acceptance a week later. It was the first time I had received contact so quickly, and it had been a long time since I had heard acceptance news, so I thought, 'Is this a lie?' It didn't feel real until I started gaining weight, at which point it became real."

It was Manager Park Yoon-seo who proposed the weight gain. Lee Hyo-je said, "Actually, I didn't think I would gain weight just by reading the script. But when the manager asked, 'Do you think you could gain weight?' I felt it would help with forming the image."

Lee Hyo-je, who gained 20kg, began by saying, "I realized that there is no such thing as a body type that doesn't gain weight. I was originally around 58kg and had what is commonly called a 'skinny' body type."

The process of gaining weight was not easy. He explained, "At first, there were difficult times. I didn't even know what foods to eat to gain weight, and I had never given it much thought. Along the way, I realized things like, 'I won't get tired of this food,' and 'I can eat a lot without getting sick of it.'"

Especially when asked about the food he ate the most, he revealed, "I ordered one menu item and ate two to three servings. After finishing, I felt full for about an hour, but as time passed, I felt hungry again." He added, "I ate four to five meals a day, and tteokbokki was the food I never got tired of. I ate a lot of carbohydrates."

He revealed that he is usually someone who rarely eats snacks. "I usually feel like my concentration breaks, so I don't eat snacks while filming and tend to eat only small amounts of meals. However, it seems my stomach has expanded, so if I don't eat, I get hungry and keep eating things like chocolate bars or snacks. The director also kept paying attention and made sure to provide food," he added.

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*This content was translated by AI.