Nam Joo Hyuk Knows What The Fans Want

Nam Joo Hyuk

courtesy of netflix

Nam Joo Hyuk mightiness arsenic good person been dropped present consecutive from a movie.

I mean, if we’re being method past he’s consecutive from a supernatural Netflix show from a fictional Joseon era, but the K-drama girlies cognize what I mean. Dressed down successful a achromatic t-shirt and his signature floppy hair, the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree has changed small successful the 3 years he’s been distant from our screens, and for that we are appreciative.

How Nam Joo Hyuk Got Here

Like galore artists of his time, Nam Joo Hyuk was almost ne'er an actor. Growing up successful Busan, he trained for hoops rather earnestly done mediate schoolhouse earlier a fracture ended that way abruptly. Two surgeries later, he pivoted to modelling astatine nineteen earlier his surface debut successful 2014.

By 2015, Who Are You: School 2015 had put him successful beforehand of a important home audience. By 2016, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo had turned him into a prima while Start-Up (2020) extended his scope internationally done Netflix.

Twenty-Five Twenty-One (2022), successful which he played the journalist Baek Yi-jin crossed an eleven-year arc from his early twenties to his early thirties, is the domiciled that critics and viewers astir intimately subordinate pinch the affectional registry he is tin of astatine his best.

The East Palace is his first domiciled backmost aft his discharge from the subject successful 2024, and instantly topped Netflix’s Korea charts, earning a 100% rating connected the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer.

What Gu-cheon Required Of Him

In The East Palace, presently streaming connected Netflix, Nam plays Gu-cheon, a man who tin traverse the realm of spirits but whose gift is much of a debilitating information than a superpower. A KDrama Demon Hunter, if you will.

"He starts disconnected very devastated and he gets moreover much worn retired and devastated arsenic he goes along," Nam tells me, done translator Park Hyewon. The character's beingness and belief deterioration is portion of what drew Nam in.

"One of the reasons why I really fell successful emotion pinch the characteristic erstwhile I first publication the book was precisely because he was very overmuch different from the emblematic characters we saw successful the play pieces successful the past," he says.

Gu-cheon is arrogant, conspicuously misplaced successful the palace hierarchy, and successful immoderate sneaky ways, dryly funny, successful stark opposition to co-star Roh Yoon Seo’s much determined, earnest portrayal of tribunal woman Saeng Gang.

Nam adds that he wanted to play Gu-cheon arsenic "a much free-spirited characteristic successful the palace," which, fixed that the palace successful The East Palace is fundamentally a haunted bureaucracy tally connected level and dread, benignant of makes Gu-cheon its astir absorbing personification already.

When I propose the barren transportation sounds for illustration it mightiness conscionable beryllium Nam's ain consciousness of humour bleeding through, he disagrees. "In my existent life, I'm not arsenic barren erstwhile I propulsion my jokes," he says, explaining it’s much him holding backmost connected intent arsenic Gu-cheon loses much and much of himself to the tone world. "He still struggles to support that consciousness of humour. So I deliberation I wanted to represent that successful a barren measurement arsenic overmuch arsenic possible."

On CGI, Tennis Balls And Having A Wild Imagination

The East Palace is the astir CGI-heavy accumulation of his career, heavier than Bride of the Water God (2017), successful which he played an existent deity, truthful that’s saying something. The spirits Gu-cheon interacts pinch passim the bid were invisible connected set. "This made maine recognize really important it is for an character to fto their imagination tally wild, particularly erstwhile it comes to a bid that's truthful CGI heavy," he says. “But fortunately, I see myself a very imaginative person.”

He is generous astir the accumulation design, which he credits pinch doing astir 80% of the imaginative activity for him — the soundscape, the creation direction, the props creating a world coagulated capable to propulsion himself into.

The bid is chock afloat of supernatural happenings, pinch evil and malicious beings (both quality and not) astir each corner. Not a awesome spot for an imaginative mind to inhabit, I say.

Fortunately (or not?) for Nam, he didn’t person excessively overmuch clip to dwell connected excessively galore possibilities because what pinch the underwater scenes, stunt sequences and relentless shooting schedules, he collapsed arsenic soon arsenic he sewage home. “When I opened my eyes, it was already morning,” he laughs.

For what it's worth, he does not judge successful ghosts. Asked straight whether he believes successful forces of bully and evil, he shoots disconnected astir 7 rapid-fire "I don'ts" earlier clarifying, "I don't judge successful thing unless I've seen it pinch my ain eyes and verified them."

The Stranger Things Question

Much of the events successful The East Palace return spot successful the parallel realm of Gwi aliases spirits. (You would possibly admit ‘gwi’ from ‘Gwi-ma’, the demon ruler from KPop Demon Hunters.)

The Gwi Realm is simply a desolate, crimson wasteland littered pinch malevolent presence, truthful people location person been comparisons to that different small Netflix show called Stranger Things. Nam, who loves Stranger Things himself, isn’t excessively bothered. "Just the truth to beryllium mentioned alongside specified an astonishing bid for illustration that is specified a awesome honour," he says. "It besides seems to maine for illustration a awesome motion that our bid is heading the correct measurement because it intends that it gave a batch of nutrient for thought to a batch of people."

"I'm having the clip of my life these days."

Eleven Years In, Still Looking Forward

Nam started moving connected surface astatine 21, which makes this his eleventh twelvemonth successful the industry, during which he has been successful rom-coms, younker dramas, crime thrillers and supernatural play dramas. "Back erstwhile I was 21, I deliberation I was focused much connected the future," he says. "I wanted to make the astir retired of my 10 years to come." He pauses.

"I would opportunity I lived up to my expectations to a definite extent, but not 100%."

What he wants now, arsenic 32 twelvemonth aged Nam Joo Hyuk, is stronger characters. "Rather than those that are really grounded and adjacent to home, I want to effort retired a characteristic that has a beardown characteristic that really sticks up," he says. Then, pinch a acquainted impish smile, "In position of the genre, I would for illustration to opportunity rom-coms."

And the crowd says a resounding yes, I show him. Nam Joo Hyuk grins again. "You person to springiness the fans what they want."