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Interview: Park Min-young, Park Hee-soon, Joo Jong-hyuk on Prime Video's 'Confidence Queen'
Interview: Park Min-young, Park Hee-soon, Joo Jong-hyuk on Prime Video's 'Confidence Queen'
At A Glance
- The series will premiere on Sept. 6
Korean actress Park Min-young and actors Park Hee-soon and Joo Jong-hyuk will be acting as clever swindlers working to take down corrupt villains in the upcoming series “Confidence Queen” that will premiere on Prime Video on Sept. 6.
“Confidence Queen,” a blend of comedy and action, will have 12 episodes with two episodes airing weekly every Saturday and Sunday. It will be available on Prime Video in over 240 countries and territories.
In the series, Park Min-young, who starred in “Marry My Husband,” plays the role of Yun Yi-rang, a brilliant woman who reinvents herself as a master con artist and teams up with James (Park Hee-soon) and Myung Gu-ho (Joo Jong-hyuk) to expose criminals and take their ill-gotten gains.
It is directed by Nam Ki-hoon (“Destined with You,” “Kiss Sixth Sense”) and written by Hong Seung-hyun (“Criminal Minds,” “Cheo-Yong”).
In an interview with Manila Bulletin and other media outlets, Park Min-young and actors Park Hee-soon and Joo Jong-hyuk talked about working together and their roles.
On why she chose to star in “Confidence Queen,” Park Min-young said she was drawn to her character.
“As a lot of you may know, I think I was an actor that people expected a lot of rom-com genre from. But honestly only about three titles in my career were rom-coms and I think I've always had a thirst for other genres,” she said.
She added, “When I read this script, I think that this character is such a great character that I don't think there would be an actress who wouldn't be drawn to her. And as for the cast as well, I have long said that I am a big fan of Hee-soon so getting to work with him was a huge plus. And also I had been following Jong-hyuk's career as well and having worked with him, all I can say is he's just really too adorable and with everyone that worked on this show, we really put our hearts and souls into it. So I think that was why I was drawn to this.”
Park Hee-soon, who recently appeared in “Squid Game,” said. “For me as well because I've portrayed a lot of really fierce and intense characters, I think I was in a place in my career when I wanted to do something different and I also had a thirst for that.”
“I also wanted to do comedy and I also wanted to transform into a different kind of character. And because this drama series had both of those elements, I happily joined the project. And because Min-young was the lead of the cast, I thought that she was someone, an actor who was capable of really being at the very heart of the story and also a great boss to work with. So that's why I decided to join,” he said.
Joo Jong-hyuk, whose acting credits include "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," "D.P.," and "Yumi's Cells," said, “For me, I think I saw a lot of possibilities in my character. I thought that this was a character through which I could perform a lot of different aspects. So while I was a bit concerned too, it was a challenge that I really wanted to take on. But more importantly, these two actors sitting next to me when I heard that they would be the cast that I'd be joining, I really just wanted to be a part of the team and I wanted to create something wonderful as a team.”
Characteristic
Their characters in “Confidence Queen” are con artists who use different methods to take down people obsessed with money and desire.
On one characteristic of their character that they want to have, Park Hee-soon said, “For me, I like to learn how to be able to disguise myself into so many different characters. Even though in real life I have no problem getting around I think it'd still be fun to take on a different character, maybe imitate other people. I think that'd be quite thrilling.
Park Min-young said, “For me, Yun Yi-rang is a very clever, smart, quick learner in everything. So I want to be a little smarter than I am now.”
“For me, I think it would be empathy,” said Joo Jong-hyuk.
The three stars also answered the question on what they have realized about themselves while doing the series.
“For me, my character had to be in a lot of costumes that were quite outdated and corny but surprisingly I looked very good in them. So I realized oh, that's the kind of style that really suits me,” said Park Hee-soon.
For Park Min-young, she said, “Well, for me, for this drama I started to learn how to smoke cigars for my character and I kind of felt like it fits me. So it was interesting. I don't smoke anymore, but it was a very good experience.”
Joo Jong-hyuk said, “For me, I had to dress as a woman, and honestly, I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. I thought my Adam’s apple and my more masculine features would make it difficult. But to my surprise, I actually looked pretty good.”
The three had fun on the set.
“I don't think any of us tried to prank each other while we were filming but we did have a lot of fun together, and messed around a lot with each other. I remember one day I ate a lot the day before shooting so I felt like I was a little bit bloated in my stomach. I didn't have those abs, and they had a lot of fun teasing me about it. They were making fun of me,” said Joo Jong-hyuk.
Park Min-young said, “I have been on a lot of different productions and titles up to now and usually Korean male actors tend to really look after their bodies, right? But we had this scene where I had to put a band aid on him and all I can say is his physique that day felt very familiar, something that wasn't really made up. It was cute though.”
Park Hee-soon said, “You will learn of this when you watch the series, but all three of our characters have different backstories and also, they're from different age groups. But despite that, they become very close friends. And I think that was the case for the three of us in real life as well. We had a lot of fun, you know, shared a lot of laughs and we would talk a lot. And that chemistry would immediately transfer onto the screen as soon as the camera went on. So I think that was how we built our chemistry.”
On their impressions of each after working in the series, Park Hee-soon said, “For Min-young, I feel like she's someone who just knows how to pinpoint what's important in a particular circumstance. So she's very good at reading the flow of the drama or the arc. She knows what's important to portray her character and also how to maintain that. I feel like she is very capable of knowing what's important, the important points and maintaining that.”
“As for Jong-hyuk, he has such solid and very strong fundamental skills that no matter what comes his way, he's never nervous or perplexed. And I think despite his very young age, he's someone who's very skilled at that,” he said.
Park Min-young said, “For me in the beginning when we first started out, I thought that Hee-soon and Jong-hyuk were very different from each other. But throughout production I realized that they're very similar.”
“It's almost like they're maybe distant cousins. I feel like whether it comes to the emotional expression or the way they carry and portray their characters with their eyes and their glances it was so impressive, and I really loved it. And you know how they say that it's really all about the scene partner when it comes to how you perform as an actor. And I think I was very lucky to be a partner with these two,” she added.
Joo Jong-hyuk said, “For me, anytime I stumbled upon something that I felt was very difficult or when I felt like I was at an impasse these two gave me a lot of their ideas as well and they would always be something that I didn't expect or didn't predict or something that I missed along the way.”
“So I was very grateful for their input and support and also to know that my castmates are people who are capable of looking at the entire forest rather than just focusing on their own characters. All I can say is I relied a lot on them and they were very supportive,” he said.
They also gave reasons why people should watch “Confidence Queen.”
Park Hee-soon said, “So my answer would be, isn't your life quite boring and mundane? Don't you want to laugh? If you do, you should watch it.”
“Are you stressed out? You have to watch it,” said Park Min-young.
“Are you perhaps a bit depressed? If you find yourself always having to turn something on your TV, then it has to be Confidence Queen,” said Joo Jong-hyuk.