Joo Ji-hoon: "I declined 'The Remarried Empress' two or three times… The first table read for the role of Sobieski was difficult" [31st BIFF]

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Actor Joo Ji-hoon revealed the reasons why he declined to appear in his upcoming project, "The Remarried Empress," two or three times, and the process by which he ultimately joined the production.

On the 9th, the "Actors House" event of the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) was held at the Shinsegae Department Store Culture Hall in Haeundae-gu, Busan. Actor Joo Ji-hoon attended the event and shared various stories about his life and works.

Joo Ji-hoon will play the role of Emperor Sobieski of the Dongdae Empire in his upcoming work, "The Remarried Empress." "The Remarried Empress" is a romance fantasy epic drama in which the perfect Empress Navie (played by Shin Min-a) is notified of a divorce by Emperor Sobieski, who has fallen for the runaway slave Rasta (played by Lee Se-young), and instead of accepting it, demands approval to remarry Prince Heinrey of the Seowang Kingdom (played by Lee Jong-suk).

Joo Ji-hoon, who has experienced works with settings that transcend reality, such as the "Along with the Gods" series and "Trauma Center," also revealed his own approach to the fantasy genre.

He said, "I think that in order to fulfill the audience's fantasies, actors actually need to keep their feet on the ground." He added, "Once you start thinking, 'This is a fantasy,' it seems to lose its fun. I struggle with how to ground the characters and the story in reality, but that is difficult."

In particular, he confessed that he had declined "The Remarried Empress" two or three times when he first received the offer. Joo Ji-hoon stated, "I thought my understanding of the world-building was lacking. So I think I declined about two or three times."

However, he said that persuasion from a trusted associate moved his heart. He stated, "A person I trust even wrote me a letter to persuade me." He continued, "As a result, I became curious. I started thinking, 'Why is this work receiving so much love and why do people enjoy it?'"

Even after jumping into the project, he said it was not easy at first. Joo Ji-hoon recalled, "The first table read was very difficult. All the actors are of East Asian descent, but even though it is a fictional world, the characters' names are used as foreign-style names, so it was not easy at first."

Nevertheless, he said that he was able to establish his acting direction through the first script reading. He explained, "During the first read, I felt something at some point." He added, "I thought it would actually be more comfortable to approach it like a musical or a stage play, rather than approaching it with an overly realistic tone. In terms of how to approach the acting, I considered aspects that resemble musicals or theater."

During filming in the Czech Republic, he also asked staff questions to directly find out why the work is loved. Joo Ji-hoon said, "I treated the people in the directing department to a meal and asked them, 'What exactly is the appeal of this work?'" He laughed, adding, "Staff members of various ages gave me a lot of explanations, but honestly, even after listening, I thought, 'What are they saying?'"

He continued, "That means there were still points that I did not fully understand." He added, "Since it is a work based on an original source that has already received much love, there were parts where I had no choice but to rely on and trust the power and charm of the original work."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original