Kim Seon-ho goes to the ‘dark side’ in action thriller ‘The Tyrant’

Kim Seon-ho during the press conference of ‘The Tyrant’ in Seoul, South Korea. Image: Courtesy of Disney+ Korea

After several projects that have him playing goody two shoes roles, K-drama actor Kim Seon-ho now wants to show that there is more to him than his bedimpled face and youthful looks.

Kim’s characters in his 2023 film “The Childe” and more recent series, “The Tyrant,” showed the actor dabbling in darker characters.

In “The Tyrant,” Kim portrays the role of Director Choe, a young director of the South Korean intelligence agency and the supposed mastermind of a top-secret project. The action thriller tells the story of The Tyrant Project, a secret operation conducted by the South Korean government that aims to collect a bioweapon that can enhance human abilities.

However, the project was uncovered by the US government, which forcibly led to its cancellation. However, as soon as the bioweapon was about to be handed, it was mysteriously interrupted by an unknown assailant, leading to a mad chase between the US and South Korean governments.

“He is the youngest director in the unit, but he’s someone who wants to protect ‘The Tyrant Program’ at all costs. As you can tell, aside from being the director, he’s calm and cold-hearted and can even have a nice brunch. That’s who he is,” Kim said of his character at a press conference in Seoul.

While the four-episode drama marks Kim’s second time working with director Park Hoon-jung, the filmmaker shared that the actor had doubts if he could give justice to his role.

“Seon-ho told me that [Director Choe] is an intriguing character to play, but had some concerns because he didn’t do something like this before. But I had complete confidence in him that he would do very well. I continued to tell him so, and to just do it,” Park said.

In stark contrast to Kim’s past work, the actor wore a stoic expression in majority of his scenes in the crime thriller. His eyes did most of the talking, portraying him as a character who mostly wrestled and struggled within himself.

“And because [Seon-ho] has a very wide range and a huge spectrum in terms of his acting, so I think you’re going to get a very charming and appealing character,” said the series’ director, while praising Kim’s acting prowess.

Seon-ho on Director Choe

One of the reasons why Kim accepted the offer to join the series is he had always been a fan of director Park’s work, particularly of the horror flick “The Witch” and its sequel. According to the director, “The Tyrant” shares the “same worldview” as the film franchise, although its story revolves around the “opposite side” of the spectrum.

Kim Seon-ho during the media conference of ‘The Tyrant’ in Seoul, South Korea. Image: Courtesy of Disney+ Korea

Kim’s co-actor Cha Seung-won also shared in the press conference that “The Tyrant” and “The Witch” happened in the same universe, with both events happening at the same time.

“I’m a big fan of the ‘Witch’ franchise and I’m happy that the universe is something that we share. The chaser and this director is someone I haven’t played in my past works. I can show a new facet of myself in this character,” said Kim.

The “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” star also touched on his eye acting in the series, saying he wanted to portray Director Choe as someone with “conviction” while remaining “calm and poised” at the same time.

“[Director Choe] always tries to stay calm and poised. And he has conviction. I thought about what kind of decisions he would make and words he would say and actions he would do,” he said. “The innocent face with glaring eyes is the only thing I shared with my past character in [my past film] ‘The Childe’ because I have the same eyes.”

Kim also shared that Director Choe is someone with a “lot of conflict,” while sharing that portraying someone with a huge internal struggle was a challenge he welcomed.

“He’s weaker and more fragile. He’s more lonely. [Director Choe] has a lot of concerns swirling inside his head. I would have to say that physically, it’s less draining because I don’t have a lot of action scenes. I have a lot of struggles and internal conflicts,” he said. “Physically, I was pretty much relaxed. I feel sorry to my [castmates] who worked a lot physically.”

Kim Seon-ho in a scene from ‘The Tyrant’. Image: Courtesy of Disney+ Korea

Aside from Kim and Cha, the four-episode thriller also stars Kim Kang-woo and Jo Yoon-su.

Kim is best known for his appearances in the K-dramas “Start-Up,” “Welcome to Waikiki 2,” and “100 Days My Prince.”