'When the Phone Rings' goes steady, 'Family Matters' breaks records
Queen of Tears actor Kwak Dong Yeon shared his thoughts on successfully wrapping up the hit K-drama.
Queen of Tears started with a rating of 5.9% and recorded a rating of 24.85% in the final episode, becoming the highest rating in tvN drama history. It also overtook JTBC's SKY Castle (23.77%) to rank third among the highest-rated K-dramas on cable TV in South Korea.
On April 30, an interview was conducted with the actor Kwak Dong Yeon. In Queen of Tears, he took on the role of Hong Soo Cheol, Hong Hae In's naive little brother.
Having successfully concluded such a huge drama, Kwak Dong Yeon expressed his feelings, saying, "I feel happy and proud because I'm getting lots of love domestically and internationally. There were many staff and actors whom I became especially close with, and I feel good because I know how much they sacrificed and worked day and night to get rewarded [for it]."
Regarding the surprisingly high ratings of the K-drama, Kwak Dong Yeon attributed it to the remarkable performances of senior actors. He said, "While filming, what I felt the most was how amazing the power of senior actors is. This is a story about a family, and just like how our seniors were so reassuring and gave amazing performances in every scene, I believe there must be something [in it] that touched the viewers' hearts, just as it touched ours."
It was revealed that Kwak Dong Yeon initially hesitated to join the cast of Queen of Tears. The reason: "I was afraid of the gravitas of the actors who were already cast. I wondered if I could act flawlessly among such esteemed seniors, express the character's downfall, and make viewers satisfied. I decided to trust and rely on director Kim Hee Won, and director Jang Young Woo is also a great person."
Furthermore, he added, "At that time, Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won were already cast, and I was looking forward to working with them. I knew that Jung Jin Young, whom I had worked with before, was a wonderful person and senior actor, so I had high expectations. [Moreover,] the cinematographer and lighting director were [also] people I already knew."
Talking about playing Hong Soo Cheol, who has exceptional paternal love, Kwak Dong Yeon said, "It wasn't easy, to be honest. Those who have children would understand the seriousness of it. I was worried that no matter how much I tried to express it, it might look fake. Then, in the middle of filming, I wondered how my parents would have felt about me, it felt like a college entrance exam."
Actress Lee Joo Bin, who played the role of Soo Cheol's wife Cheon Da Hye, is actually eight years older than Kwak Dong Yeon. While this age gap could have been daunting, Kwak Dong Yeon said, "I was cast first, and then Lee Joo Bin was cast. The director said that no one else could play Cheon Da Hye except Lee Joo Bin, and I agreed. She was a partner with whom I had no regrets as an actor."
About the scene featuring the character called Mansoongi, he said, "The scene with Mansoongi was strategically shot. We had a strategy meeting a few days before filming to think that it would be good to have something like this." The actor also revealed that the production team brought in an ace from Everland [South Korea's largest theme park and considered the Disneyland of the country] to wear the Mansoongi costume. "That's how much effort was put into the production," he said.
Given that Hong Soo Cheol was often depicted in cheerful scenes, many ad-libbed scenes were created. "The scene I put the most effort into was the one where I spoke Chinese. The script just said to say something in Chinese. The director thought I would handle it well. Feeling burdensome, I prepared plans 1 to 8. I was debating whether to fake Chinese like Lee Soo Geun, but in the end, I got help from a friend who speaks Chinese and used a translator."
Kwak Dong Yeon also mentioned that each actor had a role to play on set. "I also contributed in my own small way, but everyone had a role to play, including Kim Soo Hyun. Kim Soo Hyun was like a stimulant. He made us all laugh and cheered us up when we were tired. Kim Ji Won was like a calming agent. She calmly comforted and looked after everyone. I was like anesthesia. I made people forget the hardships of filming, even if only for a moment."
When asked to choose his most memorable from the K-drama, he chose the scene where Soo Cheol searched for Cheon Da Hye (episode 8). The actor said, "I thought that sequence was important, so I prepared a lot and shot it four to five times. Therefore, I put effort into connecting the emotional lines, and since I'm actually good at riding a bicycle, I even contemplated how someone who can't ride a bicycle would do [try to] it."
He also talked about the sequence where he rescues Cheon Da Hye, who was almost kidnapped, saying, "If I may boast a little, at that moment, there was only one train passing by by that place in a day. So, we had to frame it at the right timing, but the director said, 'It's okay. We can handle it with CG' ... I was nervous during the shoot, but fortunately, we succeeded on the first try and saved on CG costs."
In a comment about his on-screen son, Geon Woo, the actor revealed that during the period of filming (which lasted about a year), he was able to observe the child's growth. "At the beginning of the drama, Geon Woo was 11 months old. He wasn't [even] shy back then. As time passed, he started recognizing unfamiliar people. He became friendlier, and towards the end, he opened his heart [to me], held my finger, ran around, played, and interacted with me. Geon Woo is a genius actor. Even during the injection scene, he made the perfect expression needed."
He continued, "Geon Woo was like the most important person on our set, almost comparable to Kim Gap Soo." "When the child wasn't feeling well, we changed the shooting sequence and helped each other to make it work."
When asked how he would remember the K-drama, Kwak Dong Yeon said, "It feels like a work that helped me grow [as an actor]. It's been quite a while since I've had the opportunity to collaborate closely with so many sunbaes [seniors]. Experiencing their wisdom and accumulated expertise has deeply inspired me to incorporate those invaluable insights into my acting. It feels like my perspective has broadened after spending such a long time with such wonderful people."
