Actor Cha Hak-yeon shared his thoughts on working with his acting senior, Kim Hyang-gi.
On the morning of the 11th, Cha Hak-yeon sat down for an interview with iMBC Entertainment in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to discuss the Coupang Play original series ‘Absolute Value of Romance’ (directed by Lee Tae-gon).
‘Absolute Value of Romance’ is a teen series about a high school girl who writes BL novels featuring flower-boy teachers, only to find herself the protagonist of a chaotic school life as she encounters them in real life in unexpected ways.
Cha Hak-yeon plays Ga Woo-soo, a genius math teacher known for being a “cold beauty.” He captured viewers’ attention by seamlessly switching between comedic and serious acting.
During the interview, he mentioned that since it was a comedy, he was the one laughing the most on set. Recalling the experience, he said, “Kim Hyang-gi’s comedic acting was the funniest. Even the staff laughed along. The atmosphere was so infectious that we even had NGs because of the laughter. It felt like I was spending my school days all over again.”
He also talked about his chemistry with Kim Hyang-gi, who is his senior in acting despite him being ten years older. Cha Hak-yeon emphasized, “I was impressed by how she remained unfazed by anything. I reacted to every little thing. There were times when I lost focus because it was so funny, but Kim Hyang-gi didn’t. Seeing that made me realize I have more to learn.”
He added, “She definitely provided a grounding weight to those scenes. Comedic acting can feel light if we just do it for fun, but Kim Hyang-gi’s level of focus was truly extraordinary.”
Cha Hak-yeon also mentioned that he didn’t add anything special to his acting just because ‘Absolute Value of Romance’ is a BL drama. He explained, “I didn’t think it was significantly different. I tried to act exactly as written in the script and understood it as it appeared.”
‘Absolute Value of Romance’ is released every Friday at 8 PM on Coupang Play.
