Actor Yoon Kyung-ho opened up about his concerns regarding balancing his success in variety shows with his acting career, while sharing his unique acting philosophy.

During a wrap interview for the SBS Friday-Saturday drama "The Manager" (written by Nam Dae-jung, directed by Lee Seung-young and Lee So-eun) held at a cafe in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 27th, Yoon shared his thoughts on the comedic and talkative image he recently showcased in variety shows. In the drama "The Manager," Yoon also delicately balanced sincere emotional acting amidst his cheerful chatter, delivering both catharsis and warm emotion to viewers simultaneously.

"I originally thought variety shows required a special sense of entertainment. I considered myself someone best optimized for acting while hiding behind scripts and characters," he confessed honestly. "I am someone who tends to ramble on and get distracted, going off on tangents, and I never expected people to like even those sides of me. I also worried about how that might affect my acting."

He shared that during a time of deep contemplation between variety shows and acting, recent warm encouragement from fans became a huge source of strength. Expressing his gratitude, Yoon tearfully said, "At a fan signing event, a fan gave me a letter saying, 'You are loved even in variety shows because you act well and pull it off brilliantly, so have confidence in your honest self.' It was like a lifeline of words that steadied me when I was wandering."

He also hinted at a positive challenge regarding the humorous image built through variety shows. "If a talkative and comedic character has become my default value, it means a field of challenge has opened up where I can showcase new facets starting from there," he said. "I don't think my image has been pigeonholed; rather, a new chapter has opened. I want to make good use of that image to deliver profound acting, like a character who smiles but turns out to be terrifying, funny yet cold, or warm yet frightening. Rather than completely erasing my image to take on a challenge, I am resolved to act by blending it in well."

Meanwhile, "The Manager," a revenge action drama about an ordinary father trying to rescue his daughter, wrapped up on the 25th. The final episode of "The Manager" achieved massive success, recording a nationwide viewership rating of 23.0% and 23.4% in the metropolitan area (based on Nielsen Korea). Furthermore, the work ranked first in Netflix's non-English TV show category for three consecutive weeks, maintaining its popularity in the global market.

In this project, Yoon played the role of Park Jin-chul, perfectly portraying everything from the image of an ordinary family man and the comedic friendship among "middle-aged men wearing glasses" to overwhelming action as the so-called "God of the Battlefield," solidly anchoring the center of the drama and leading its box office success.

(Photo: Stills from "The Manager")

Reported by Kang Sun-ae

(SBS E&M, Kang Sun-ae)