Actor Lee Hyo-je has officially caught the attention of global fans, proving his incredible acting skills and shocking visual transformation in the Netflix series ‘Girigo’.
On May 13, Lee Hyo-je sat down for an interview with Newsen to celebrate the release of the young adult horror series ‘Girigo’.
Released last month, ‘Girigo’ tells the story of high school students fighting to escape a curse from a wish-granting app of the same name. The show has already proven its popularity, hitting #1 in the Global Top 10 Non-English shows with 7.5 million views in just two weeks.
Lee Hyo-je plays Hyung-wook, an ordinary high school student who loves hanging out with friends but becomes the first to be swept into a tragedy after using the ‘Girigo’ app. For this role, Lee underwent a drastic change, gaining about 20kg.
He meticulously portrayed the emotional shift from a normal boy to someone consumed by the fear of death through his gaze, expressions, and even subtle facial tremors. His immersion was so intense that staff members on set couldn’t stop praising his performance.
At the interview, Lee Hyo-je looked completely different from his character, sporting a sharp visual. After bulking up to 81kg for the project, he has since slimmed down to 63kg.
Lee noticed the shift in reaction immediately after the release. “Not long after it was released, my follower count started increasing. Seeing people from various countries follow me made me realize it had truly become global content,” he shared. “I was even more surprised to see many articles and have people recognize me on the street. In my 12 years since debuting, not many people recognized me, so this time feels really strange and amazing.”
He admitted to being nervous before the premiere. “I have an anxious personality, so I never imagined I’d receive this much attention. Since this was a project I waited for so earnestly, I’m even more grateful and happy that it’s doing well,” he confessed.
Regarding his weight gain, Lee explained, “I’ve always had a lean build and thought it was hard for me to gain weight. When I filmed ‘Concrete Utopia’ at 18, I was around 70kg, but the director wanted a certain presence, so he asked me to gain another 20kg this time.” He revealed that he had to binge-eat several times a day to reach the goal.
“During the weight-gain period, the director kept an eye on my health and even checked my liver levels. I don’t think there were any major health issues,” Lee said with a laugh. “Losing weight is easy if you just eat less, but gaining weight was harder because there are times when you eat a lot but still don’t gain.”
Recalling the moment he heard about his casting in ‘Girigo’, he said, “I couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality. For a long time, I failed at the final stages of auditions or had things fall through just when I thought I’d get them. Hearing the news during a time of doubt made me feel like all those past processes were leading up to this moment.”
Since the release, the dominant reaction has been that Lee Hyo-je “hard-carried” the first two episodes. When asked about this, he replied, “I was shocked to see a comment about a ‘Hyung-wook revival protest.’ I’m so grateful that people found my short appearance memorable. I believed the first part was the most important section for me, so I decided from the audition that I would do my absolute best within that window.”
