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[HanCinema's News] Choi Young-joon talks about "Our Blues"

In "Our Blues" the character of Mr. Bang wears goofy clothes and acts a bit slow, managing his local ice shop on Jeju Island. Nevertheless, the father figure loves his daughter even throughout her forbidden teen romance. Choi Young-joon played Mr. Bang to great effect on "Our Blues" and spoke of his experiences in a recent interview. The role is his first as a credited lead- although nearly all of the principle cast of "Our Blues" are credited as leads due to the show's ensemble structure.

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Choi Young-joon claims that he just acted as he always has for the part. Choi Young-joon expressed gratitude for the support of viewers, describing them all as like new friends. Choi Young-joon claims that even masked up at the subway, or just eating at a restaurant, people have been recognizing him more often. Choi Young-joon attributes this celebrity in part to luck- he won the role at a competitive audition when the original choice for the role had to back out.

Purportedly what clenched the role for Choi Young-joon was the script reading with Park Ji-hwan, who plays the owner of a blood sausage soup restaurant with a teenage son who becomes enamored with Mr. Bang's daughter. Choi Young-joon had the best chemistry with Park Ji-hwan of the various candidates. They immediately fell into the natural vibe of buffoonish hostility that so greatly defined their characters to fans of the drama.

Filming for "Our Blues" began last July. Initial scenes for Roh Yoon-seo and Bae Hyun-sung, the star-crossed teenagers, took place on sets with the rest of the drama being filmed on location on Jeju Island. Originally, the character outline for Mr. Bang was to be a dummy for his daughter. But after seeing Choi Young-joon in action, screenwriter No Hee-kyeong amended the character outline to read that he reacts to his daughter like a scorned woman.

This played to Choi Young-joon's strength of seeming more pathetic and jealous than as a hard-working father. Despite the seeming lack of sympathy in this direction, Choi Young-joon pulled off the complex description and became a fan favorite character. Choi Young-joon is currently appearing in "Why Her?" as CEO Yoon, an important corporate figure with his own agenda who infrequently meets and schemes with the lead character played by Seo Hyun-jin.

Written by William Schwartz

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