“I’ve never seen such an explosive reaction after a project’s release. I’m getting so many messages from people around me and DMs from international fans, so it’s really starting to sink in.”
Meeting at the Yonhap News office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 13th, actor Lee Hyo-je gave a shy smile as he talked about the worldwide popularity of his Netflix series ‘Girigo’.
‘Girigo’ is a Korean-style occult school drama that follows five high school students struggling to escape a curse tied to a wish-granting app of the same name.
As Netflix’s first YA (Young Adult) horror genre, the series was ambitiously released on the 24th of last month and took the world by storm, hitting #1 in the global non-English show category within just two weeks.
Despite a cast of newcomers including Lee Hyo-je, Jeon So-young, Kang Mi-na, Hyun Woo-seok, and Baek Sun-ho, the show has maintained its buzz, ranking #2 globally in its third week thanks to delicate directing and great acting.
Lee Hyo-je shared, “My SNS followers were around 5,000, but they jumped to 94,000 after the release. Seeing support messages in so many different languages makes me realize the power of a global OTT platform.”
In the series, Lee Hyo-je plays Choi Hyung-wook, the character who kicks off the events by introducing the ‘Girigo’ app to his friends.
The biggest talking point was definitely his physical transformation. To portray Hyung-wook as an innocent ‘deokhu’ (geek), he showed incredible dedication by gaining 20kg.
“While reading the script for the audition, I saw that Hyung-wook plays a huge role in Part 1 and really wanted the part,” he recalled. “During the audition, Director Park Yoon-seo asked if I could gain more weight than I had at the time, and I told him I could absolutely do it,” he added with a laugh.
Following Director Park’s request to “gain as much weight as possible,” he desperately bulked up by eating five to six meals a day.
“I tried many different foods, but the one that helped me gain the most weight was rose tteokbokki with added Chinese glass noodles. I kept eating with the mindset that I couldn’t burn a single calorie for even one second.”
After the release, Director Park publicly apologized for asking him to gain weight, but Lee Hyo-je expressed his gratitude, saying it actually helped make the character more three-dimensional.
Lee Hyo-je put in a lot of effort, even playing the games that Hyung-wook loves. He recalled that acting out Hyung-wook’s complex emotions as he faced the fear of death was not easy.
“I approached the acting by splitting the ego into two,” he explained. “I started as Hyung-wook and then tried to depict the process of the ghost ‘Kwon Si-won’ infiltrating him. I added changes by gradually mimicking Kwon Si-won’s behaviors, like the habit of biting nails.”
Having debuted in the 2014 film ‘We Are Brothers’ and worked as a child actor in projects like ‘Sado’ and ‘Vanishing Time’, the horror genre was a big challenge. He mentioned experiencing sleep paralysis for the first time in his life and witnessing mysterious events on set.
“We filmed at an actual abandoned school. I saw lights in the window of a new building where the doors were locked and there was no electricity. Once, I woke up and suddenly couldn’t move my body. Looking back, maybe that was a sign of a big hit.”
Having been strongly associated with his child actor image, Lee Hyo-je described ‘Girigo’ as a turning point that established his presence as an adult actor.
“I feel like the path I’ve walked so far has been recognized through this work,” he said. “I want to be a ‘litmus paper’ actor who isn’t limited to one image, taking on everything from cruel psychopaths and likable villains to comedy.”
When asked what he would wish for if the ‘Girigo’ app actually granted wishes, he answered without hesitation.
“I’d wish to keep acting until the moment I die. That’s because acting is the most precious thing to me.”
