Oh wow. I am pretty much speechless right now. For some reason this is huge news and it really is. Maybe for me and no one else but this is still humongous huge. Mr. Movie Star Jo Seung-woo is taking his first shot in, drumroll please, a drama! That's right, he's coming to a small screen near you! Yes, it's the crazy, luck of the draw, no sleep for months Korean dramas. And he's doing it out of friendship. Of course you are.
Man, I'm starting to think this man is way too nice. I mean, first he did a movie with Goo Hye-sun because they were friends (and April passed by with The Peach Tree no where in sight!) and he picked long-time buddy Yang Dong-geun to star opposite of him in Perfect Game. Now he's breaking his movie-only rule to star in an MBC historical drama, Enchanted, out of strong bond with an assistant director he met in his early twenties.
The drama is about a horse vet (?) who climbed his way, figuratively hopefully, into being a palace physician. So he started out with big, herbivorous animals and made his way into a doctor to kings. I would question the credibility of this doctor. The drama is set to be directed by Lee Byung-hoon (not to be confused with superstar actor Lee Byung-hun) who is no stranger to sageuk. Some of his works includes greats like Dae Jang Geum, Dong Yi, and Yi San. In terms of crew, he's in good hands.
But I'm worried. Like extremely worried. People stay away from dramas for a reason. And unless you're a masochist, you wouldn't really want to work in dramas if you were given a choice. Basically anyone who hits it big in Korea will opt for movies instead of dramas. The problem is, Jo Seung-woo has never in his entire acting life worked in a drama. And as the wise man he is, he has good reasons.
"The Korean drama system is the kind I can't stand. If all the dramas were to be pre-produced then I would give it a try but if I have to do it piece by piece almost close to live then I can't. Dramas don't even let you sleep. Not sleeping or eating on time changes a person's personality."And if a drama makes him become totally crazy, I'm going to slap someone. The problem is a Lee Byung-hoon sageuk are long, going beyond 50 episodes. And they're not even dailies that are 30 minutes. These are full-pledged dramas at 60 minutes per episode. So basically he's diving head first into the world of dramas.
Then again, he probably knows what he's getting into. He's been in the industry for ages. And if he's going for dramas at this point in his career, he has his reasons. Hopefully more than just friendship. Plus he's always been a busy man anyways. Just last year he starred in two movies and two musicals. He basically has little breathing room from the start. He's also had experience starring in a couple of sageuks in his 13 year career. Heck, his debut film is a little sageuk called Chunhyang. Charming movie, though not for everyone. Quite slow, but that's the charm I guess. If the drama has action, he knows a bit of that too from his stint in A Sword with No Name, a cheesy movie with amazing cast. Catch that if you can, but I won't hurry you.
I wonder if military has anything to do with this. All I can do is sigh and hope for the best. Then again that means Jo Seung-woo twice a week! Score! And does that mean he can finally be internationally famous? Gasp! Enchanted will start production right after Jo finishes his Doctor Zhivago musical stint this June. So busy, busy, busy! Just like always.
Source: Hancinema
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