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| Actor Cha Eun-woo sits in a cafe in Gangnam District, Seoul, during an interview for Tving's original series "Island," Tuesday. Courtesy of Tving |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Since launching his entertainment career with a minor role in the 2014 drama film "My Brilliant Life," singer and actor Cha Eun-woo has been building his acting portfolio by starring in different genre films and series from romantic comedies to action.
In his latest acting project, Tving's original series "Island," the actor took on the challenge to play the lead in his first fantasy, action piece.
The series, based on the webcomics of the same name, follows the grim journey of three main characters ― a half-human, half-immortal Van (Kim Nam-gil), rich heiress Won Mi-ho (Lee Da-hee), and exorcist Johan (Cha).
The three join hands to unveil a dark secret that has been hidden on Jeju Island and fight against the supernatural power to stop it from destroying the world.
The first part of the series ended last month, and part 2 will be released on Friday. It was directed by filmmaker Bae Jong, whose previous work includes the 2005 smash-hit film "Welcome To Dongmakgol."
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| Cha plays the character of a priest, Johan, in the series "Island." Courtesy of Tving |
Cha plays a priest who was adopted overseas but comes to Jeju to perform an exorcism. The actor said he was drawn to the character as he deviates from a stereotypical priest.
"What I found to be attractive about Johan is that he is a priest who isn't like a priest. He's usually really playful but when he is performing an exorcism or acting in god's power, he shows his powerful self, which also felt interesting. Because this character had so many layers that I wanted to express through acting, I was drawn to take the role," he said during an interview with The Korea Times, held at a cafe in Gangnam District, Tuesday.
He added that he had to prepare a lot for the role and the action sequences throughout the series, but he felt it made him grow as an actor.
"Since I've never played such a character before, I needed to prepare a lot. I had to study Latin and Italian, learn the attitude of a priest and the action sequences for performing an exorcism," he said. "But through that process, I was able to learn and gain some know-how from that experience. It also encouraged me to be more ambitious about my acting career. The series taught me a lot."
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| A scene from the series "Island" / Courtesy of Tving |
Cha shared that one of the biggest reasons for taking part in the series was his co-stars, Kim and Lee.
"I saw this as an opportunity for me to work with Kim and Lee, and learn from them," he said, adding that he learned how to approach acting from them. "Kim would joke around and be funny behind the cameras, but during rehearsal or when we are shooting, he fully gets into his character. And Lee always stayed in her character, Mi-ho. And seeing their acting styles and how they are on the set has affected me," he said.
The actor said that his first experience in such a dark, fantasy, action genre series helped him be more open to different genres.
"(The experience from this series) allowed me to break away from my fear of genres. Of course, every work and character is unique, and I would need different things for each character, but from this experience, I hope to challenge myself for another action project."
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