Actor Choi Dae-hoon shared his thoughts on portraying Son Kyung-hoon, the “human sticky-note,” in ‘Wonderfuls’.
During a wrap-up interview for the Netflix series ‘Wonderfuls’ (written by Heo Da-jung and directed by Yoo In-sik) held at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on May 18, Choi Dae-hoon discussed the efforts he put into bringing the sticky-powered Son Kyung-hoon to life.
‘Wonderfuls’ is a superpower comic adventure set at the end of the century in 1999, where local misfits who accidentally gain superpowers struggle to save the world from villains threatening peace.
Regarding why he chose ‘Wonderfuls,’ Choi said, “I was grateful to be called. I was thrilled that Director Yoo In-sik was leading it. The cast and staff were wonderful, and I really enjoyed the script. However, I did feel some pressure about whether I could pull it off and how to express the technical side of the superpowers. Other than that, it was a great experience. I wondered if I could handle being hung upside down by wires. It wasn’t exactly a dream of mine, but it was a precious moment to experience it. I’m very thankful.”
On portraying the sticky superpower, Choi shared, “It must have been difficult for everyone; we all had our own struggles. While the technical side helped, there were short scenes where it was hard to hide the tricks. For instance, I had to stick coins to my hand, and after doing it so much, they actually started sticking. I even wondered if I had actually gained the power! The staff were a huge help.” He added, “This project probably had the most CG of any work I’ve done. Since I didn’t have much experience expressing things that aren’t there, it gave me a funny kind of reality check. Hanging from the ceiling with wires in four places was challenging, but the staff and the physical team helped everything go smoothly.”
About preparing for the action scenes, he admitted, “Fortunately, my character wasn’t a ‘completed’ or perfectly prepared person, so while I practiced to maintain that tone, I felt less pressure to look cool or have a perfect posture. It turns out making myself look clumsy was also hard. In the end, everything was challenging.”
On being in a lead role, he said, “It felt heavy. I felt it was a position where I had to do better. But once filming starts, I only think about the chemistry and the expression. I believe that’s the only way I can show myself fully, so I don’t let those titles get to me. Whether it’s this role or another, I believe I just need to fulfill my duty, so I didn’t think about it too much.”
He also shared the reactions of his wife and daughter. “My child is young and empathizes quickly. When she saw me in a cockroach hallucination, making ape sounds while catching cockroaches, she said, ‘Were there really cockroaches? Poor Daddy.’ I’m grateful that my wife and child are so supportive at home. My daughter is 11, and she cried during the final scene. I was proud and thankful that she empathized. Actually, she’s a bit young to watch it, so I only showed her the parts she could see, mostly focusing on my scenes. After it ended, she called me and said, ‘It was great this time.’ It’s an embarrassing thing to say, but it was a rewarding and happy moment.”
(Continued in Interview ℹ)
