Good actor

Sweet star meets Thai fans

By Suwitcha Chaiyong
Photos courtesy of Neo Creation

Talented actor Joo Won has a solid background in acting that began with work in stage musicals which required great singing and acting skills. The brilliant 26-year-old star had a breakthrough role playing a bad guy in the high-rating TV drama, King of Baking, Kim Takgu in 2010.

With his good looks and outstanding acting skills, Joo Won has since starred in several TV shows, including the romantic comedy Ojakgyo Family, the action drama Bridal Mask, and the action comedy 7th Grade Civil Servant.

Joo Won had another big break when he landed the role of an autistic man who becomes a successful pediatrician in the TV drama, Good Doctor. For this role, Joo Won’s believable acting was praised by critics and viewers alike. At the KBS Drama Awards, Joo Won was awarded for top excellence in acting. He also won best actor at the prestigious PD Awards, which is voted by producers from three major TV stations.

Following up this great success, Joo Won is now working on a stage musical called Ghost and a film titled Fashion King.

FUN FAN MEETING

Despite his busy schedule, Joo Won found the time to meet his Thai fans at the recent Sweet Smile Joo Won Fan Meeting in Thailand: First Love event.

At Aksra Theatre King Power on January 19, Joo Won played a lot of games in order to get close to his fans. He also impressed the audience with his great singing skills. The actor showed how well he could hit the high notes when singing ballads. Surprisingly, Joo Won also showed that he could also dance and rap convincingly for the song, “The Road Leading to You,” which was featured in the series 7th Grade Civil Servant. The meeting was definitely a happy event for the fans.

ACTOR INTERVIEW

A couple hours before the fan meeting began, Joo Won met up with Thai press for a group interview. He generously spent a lot of time answering many questions. Here is an excerpt from the group interview.

Question: How do you feel about the fact that the popularity of Good Doctor allowed you to meet your Thai fans here today?

Joo Won: I’m thankful to my fans for giving me an opportunity to hold a fan meeting here for the first time. Please keep supporting me. I’m so happy to receive such a great welcome from fans. Thailand is a very warm country.

Question: What acting techniques did you use to play the part of an autistic person?

Joo Won: I watched a lot of foreign movies and read books about autism to find out about the personalities of autistic people. I found that their personalities were quite varied, so I had to come up with my own character.

Question: What kind of experiences did you have while working on the series?

Joo Won: I learned a lot about how to treat child patients in hospital. I found out that we don’t have enough pediatricians.

I also learned that there are many different kinds of autistic people, but the one thing that they have in common is that they never make eye contact with other people.

Question: How did you feel when you won best actor at the PD Awards?

Joo Won: I was thankful and very happy to win that award. It had been my dream since I was a child to go onstage and receive an award. I have to thank the crew of Good Doctor for giving me the opportunity to win this award. I now plan to work even harder than before.

Question: What was it like working with 2PM’s Chansung in 7th Grade Civil Servant?

Joo Won: I filmed that series more than a year ago, so I don’t remember much about working on the set. But Chansung is a cheerful person. We still meet up and he always gives me support. Despite his younger age, he’s very wise and more mature than me.

Question: Is it true that you like the girl group A-Pink, and if so, which song of theirs is your favourite?

Joo Won: I like their debut single, “Don’t Know.” There are a lot of female singers, but most of them have a sexy image. A-Pink have a cute image similar to older groups like SES and Fin.K.L. Their lyrics relate to everyday life. That’s why I like A-Pink.

Question: What type of girl do you like best?

Joo Won: I like girls who show good manners to older people. Many guys like girls with an attractive appearance, but if a good-looking girl doesn’t have good manners, she doesn’t seem beautiful to me.

Question: How do you normally choose which scripts you would like to work with?

Joo Won: I read and choose scripts by myself. Playing different types of characters is good for experience. I used to want to play unusual characters, but recently I want to focus on playing characters that are around the same age as me. I’m now working on a movie called Fashion King, and I have to wear a student uniform. By the time I turn 30, I probably won’t be able to play a student character anymore.

 

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