Kim Young-kwang: "For 'Charge Me Up,' We Decided to Go All-In on Clichés from the Start" [Interview ①]

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Actor Kim Young-kwang (39) shared his thoughts on appearing in "Charge Me Up."

On the morning of the 15th, Kim held an interview with StarNews at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. He had previously reached audiences worldwide on the 9th through Netflix's 10-episode original series "Charge Me Up," and the two engaged in a lively discussion about the show.

"Charge Me Up" is based on the web novel of the same name by author Haeban. It is a romantic comedy featuring a spark-filled, electrifying relationship between Baek Ho-rang (played by Kim Young-kwang), a chaebol third-generation heir whose artificial heart battery has run out, and Na Bo-bae (played by Chae Soobin), a drama writer with electrical powers. Within three days of its release, the series recorded 3 million views (calculated by dividing total viewing time by the work's total runtime) and climbed to third place on the global Top 10 list for non-English shows, continuing its popularity surge. Additionally, it has maintained a strong reception by entering the Top 10 lists in a total of 44 countries, including South Korea, Brazil, Singapore, India, Turkey, Chile, and the Philippines.

On this day, Kim spoke about his participation in "Charge Me Up," stating, "I had been continuously playing villainous roles up until now. As a result, I wanted to work on a bright project. Through this work, I wanted to inject vitality into myself, just as the title suggests. When filming a romantic comedy, my heart feels warm and fuzzy."

He then candidly shared, "Director Park Su-won told us from the very beginning, 'We are going to stick strictly to clichés.' I did think, 'Isn't that too cliché?' But since the director said, 'Clichés are good,' (Chae) Soobin and I performed in that direction."

He added, "Baek Ho-rang is a clichéd male lead, but I believed that to make him stand out within this drama, his own sincerity and belief in this worldview were the key. So I acted with authenticity. While it was true that I felt embarrassed and cringeworthy while acting, I believed in the romantic comedy's worldview."

Kim also revealed his affection for the show by saying, "I watched it after its release and binge-watched the entire series. I thought to myself, 'Did I really act like that?' and my face got hot, but since it ended sweetly, befitting a romantic comedy, I felt quite satisfied."

He confidently highlighted the show's strengths by adding, "Our work has the advantage of evoking an art style reminiscent of pure love manga. Aren't there so many serious and realistic movies and dramas these days? In that context, I believe 'Charge Me Up' is a work with a sweet and tingling charm that allows viewers to take a break."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original