"My Dearest Nemesis" Director Lee Soo-hyun and Writer Kim Soo-yeon expressed their affection for the lead actor Choi Hyun-wook.

Recently, on a written interview with OSEN, Director Lee Soo-hyun and Writer Kim Soo-yeon discussed the tvN Monday-Tuesday drama "My Dearest Nemesis," which ended on the 24th of last month.

"My Dearest Nemesis" is an office romance about the Head of Team Baek Soo-jeong, who suffers from a first love that has become a dark history, and Ban Joo-yeon, the 'third-generation chaebol' who lives while hiding her otaku persona of the black dragon. It concluded with its 11th episode on the 24th (Monday).

In particular, Choi Hyun-wook, who took on his first romantic comedy lead, proved his worth while charmingly embodying the character Ban Joo-yeon as if wearing a custom-made suit. Choi Hyun-wook perfectly delivered the line, "Ore wa akuma da" (I am a demon), and portrayed the 'black dragon,' who has a passion for hard rock, comics, and games, adorably, while also showcasing the charisma of the capable deputy minister of Yongseong Department Store, creating a heart-fluttering image as a direct and younger man charging at Soo-jeong.

Regarding the casting behind Choi Hyun-wook, Director Lee Soo-hyun noted, "Choi Hyun-wook is truly a talented actor, and I feel he is an actor whose future is bound to be exciting. The comedy of 'Joo-yeon' is something that cannot be performed without a sense of comic acting, and thus, it was the character that I pondered the most when I first encountered the script."

He went on to say, "As we shot more, I was amazed to see Choi Hyun-wook gradually infusing his own color into the character and effortlessly executing comic acting with his own sense, and I believe that the lovable and cute aspect of 'Joo-yeon' in the work is all thanks to Choi Hyun-wook."

Additionally, Director Lee remarked, "Choi Hyun-wook actively shared ideas while working together on set, contributing many ad-libs as well. Thanks to this, I received a lot of help, and many more interesting scenes were born from the actor's ideas."

Director Lee explained, "What I focused on on set was not to define the acting tone but to help the actor perform comfortably and freely while being able to generate ideas." He continued, "Although it was a character and genre that could not be as free as the works the actor has done until now, I believe Choi Hyun-wook's charm shines through in his momentary sense, so I tried to draw out the actor's ideas. Furthermore, thanks to Choi Hyun-wook's efforts, the charming characters Joo-yeon and the black dragon could come to life."

Writer Kim Soo-yeon also expressed, "I knew he was a good actor, but I was amazed to see how well he handled everything from comedy to melodrama. Personally, I felt that I wanted to see more of his melodrama performances, which were strikingly fresh and good. It must have been a challenging role to oscillate between 'the black dragon' and 'Deputy Minister,' but I am grateful and happy that he perfectly portrayed Joo-yeon, even beyond my expectations and imagination."

(Continues with Interview②.)

[Photo] tvN

[OSEN]