Ahn Bo-hyun, a Thousand Faces

Actor Ahn Bo-hyun's eight-color charm captivated the small screen.

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2021 is a year of different challenges for Ahn Bo-hyun. Goo-woong, the game developer boyfriend in TVN's "Yumi's Cells" is showing a different face at the same time as the ace detective Jeon Pil-do of the drug investigation unit of Netflix's original "My Name". This is an amazing transformation for him, who rose to stardom in 2019 through the role of Jang Geun-won, a villain in JTBC's "Itaewon Class".

He is receiving favorable reviews for his acting that perfectly digested three completely different characters. In a recent video interview with Sports Trends, he said, "I've been getting many messages from overseas fans. I'm grateful and proud that I feel rewarded for my efforts", he said.

"Many people who watched "My Name" or "Yumi's Cells" send messages saying, they didn't know it was the same person from "Itaewon Class". I guess they had no idea because I look completely different on the outside too. I feel really good as an actor to know that viewers think of all my characters as completely different people. If I can, I want to try more characters that are opposite. I want to show many different sides of mellow, action, or genre".

There was also difficulty in digesting the opposite character. He was worried that his role in "My Name" would not match Jang Geun-won, who went to prison for misguided greed and evil behavior. However, "My Name" rose to third place in Netflix's global ranking immediately after its release, and detective Jeon Pil-do, who is full of justice and understands and embraces Ji-woo's pain, is loved by viewers around the world. "I'm deeply moved by this". Ahn Bo-hyun humbly said, "This is all thanks to the K-content craze following "Squid Game"".

"I made up a story for Pil-do that is not in the script. Wouldn't he have lived alone since he was young, and his younger sister was the only family member? I tried to make him a person who could persuade Ji-woo and someone who's never been able to talk about his pain and sadness. I think the part that I thought a lot about came back valuable. For criminal characters, I referred to news, articles, and action noir movies a lot. I didn't think I'd look good in the role of a detective, but I remember the most the compliment comment that I received was that I looked like a veteran detective".

He spoke honestly about the bed scene with Han So-hee. He said, "Han So-hee, the director and I did a lot of talking about. It was supposed to be the part where the human part of Ji-woo, who was becoming a monster, came out".

"I think there were many perspectives to the scene. Some people thought it was good, some didn't but it was not a simple emotional scene but a scene where Ji-woo's human emotions were induced. I think it was a process to show that Ji-woo became a monster again after Pil-do died. I'm disappointed that I didn't get to do another romance this time, though (laughs)".

Ahn Bo-hyun has captivated viewers with his various faces. He plans on meeting the public with characters good or bad, without boundaries.

"It was a year with high accomplishments. I'm grateful that my hard work seems to be showing. There are still many jobs and characters that can be sublimated into acting, so I am always curious. In the story of the drama, characters can be divided into good and evil, but I don't think the villain is evil. They say my eyes look like those of a villain's but I'm also grateful for that and I'm proud to have appealed as a nice character in "My Name". I want to be an actor who can make any other face without any feeling of awkwardness".