Actor Yoo Hae-jin had nothing but praise for Park Ji-hoon’s performance.
Speaking at a Jan. 22 interview in Seoul’s Samcheong-dong for the film "The King's Warden", Yoo admitted he went in with reservations. “I hadn’t really seen Park’s acting before this. I’d only caught a glimpse of his action and a few lines in the trailer for 'Weak Hero Class 1',” he said. “Honestly, I was a little worried.”
Those worries vanished once cameras rolled. “When you trade lines, you look into your partner’s eyes to see if they’re truly living in the moment,” Yoo recalled. “In a sad scene, his eyes were already misting over―and that pulls you right in. The opposite was true in lighter moments, too. Watching his eyes, I kept thinking, ‘He’s inside the story.’ It lifted my own performance in unexpected places. That’s real synergy.”
He added, “Playing the deposed young king is incredibly tough. He starts fragile, finds his own footing, and ultimately meets his death―that arc is huge. But Ji-hoon handled it beautifully, and it all comes from that truthful gaze.”
Set in 1457 in Cheongnyeongpo, "The King's Warden" follows a village chief who willingly chooses exile for the sake of his people and a young monarch cast out from the throne. Blending history with imagination, the film traces the exile and death tied to King Danjong’s story. Yoo plays the village head Eom Heung-do, while Park portrays the deposed king Lee Hong-wi.
The film opens Feb. 4.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)