Joo Ji-hoon: "'KINGDOM' was initially met with negativity… I even lowered my fee, yet its success exceeded expectations" [31st BIFF]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Actor Joo Ji-hoon reflected on his filmography and shared candid thoughts about works that received more love than he had anticipated.

The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) "Actors House" was held on the 9th 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 described his filmography to date as "baffling."

He said, "When people work on a project in their respective fields, no one is trying to make it fail, right? I also hope that my works will be loved," adding, "But when they receive far more love than expected, I feel completely stunned."

He noted that there are differences in how he perceives the reception of films versus dramas and series. Joo explained, "With films, you can meet audiences directly and feel their enthusiastic reactions on site. With dramas or series, such direct encounters are relatively rare, so I learn about the response through articles and conversations with people around me."

He then mentioned "Severe Trauma Center," saying, "After the work ended, I met an acquaintance whose child was about 6 or 7 years old. Hearing that the child loved 'Severe Trauma Center' so much, I finally realized that a truly large number of people had watched it."

He also recalled his decision to take on the Netflix series "KINGDOM." Joo laughed and said, "At the time, I didn't really know what Netflix was," revealing, "There were also talks about insufficient production costs, and I joined under conditions with a lower fee than what I usually received."

He stated that he heavily relied on the opinions of people around him when choosing the project. Joo said, "I believe it is ultimately important who the people around you are," adding, "My senior Ha Jung-woo shared many very positive things about Director Kim Sung-hoon with me."

However, he admitted that he was not initially confident in the premise of "KINGDOM" itself. He laughed and said, "At first, I felt like it was some story about a virgin ghost appearing in Texas. I viewed it as very unfamiliar and negative."

He continued, "But the script itself was so well-written that I found the story interesting," explaining, "I asked my senior Ha Jung-woo and Director Kim Yong-hwa, and they said, 'If the script is interesting, do it.' So I thought about it simply. I decided to work with Director Kim Sung-hoon once."

He also said he had not placed great expectations on the Netflix platform at the time. Joo stated, "Since it was a platform I didn't really know, I thought that even if it didn't do well, no one would notice and it wouldn't be a big blow," adding, "But then what do you know, it received huge love, like catching a mouse while backing up a cow," which drew laughter.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original