The idol boy band 2PM, who debuted in 2008, drew great attention upon their debut and they still boast high popularity after five years of their debut. The 2PM members throw down a gauntlet to acting like other top idol stars do so.
Taec-yeon
debuted as an actor in an assisting role in KBS2 drama series
'Cinderella’s Sister' in 2010 and grew into a main actor of tvN drama
series 'Who Are You' in three years. Jun-ho debuted this year on the
large-scale movie 'Cold Eyes' and played his character very well even
among the top actors and actresses such as Seol Kyung-koo, Jung
Woo-sung, and Han Hyo-joo.
They
are in the same team, but Taec-yeon and Jun-ho are very different in
terms of images created by their appearance, roles in the team, and
characteristics as an actor. Brave Talk now begins to talk about Ok
Taec-yeon and Lee Jun-ho, who are totally different but share the common
ground that both of them are promising actors.
# Taec-yeon, the hard-worker with fierce desire for acting 
Taec-yeon
started the acting career earlier than Jun-ho. Taec-yeon, who had a
great desire for acting, spoke on how much he wanted to act several
times and he snatched a chance to appear on KBS2 drama series
'Cinderella’s Sister' in 2010. He started as a supporting actor, but his
presence was actually not small. His character had a typical feature of
a nice man who has a pure heart for the main female character.
The
focus on his acting at that time was placed on how well he spoke with
an accent rather than on how well he expressed the character’s emotion.
It is probably because of a shock from the gap between his sex appeal on
stage and the pure-hearted character. Fortunately, his accent was not
awkward enough to make viewers’ toes curl up. At that time, the public
applied a higher standard for idol-star-turned-actors, but he received a
positive comment that his acting was more natural than expected. That
means, however, the public did not have much expectations for his
acting. Actually there was little stories that could be told by
Taec-yeon in ‘Cinderella’s Sister’. Some said that his acting should not
be evaluated since he had a very few lines.
One
clear thing is that Taec-yeon made us have expectations for him instead
of disappointing us. The public had bigger expectations for the actor
Ok Taec-yeon that he would be able to show a very different color from
the idol star Taec-yeon.
Taec-yeon has been clever in selecting a character. As the public is familiar with his sexy image, if he continues to repeat the same image, they will want something stronger over time. He has made a rather safe choice by showing his different aspect by moving himself away from the expectations of the public.
Taec-yeon, who showed consistence as an actor by playing a dark character on KBS2 'Dream High‘,
now finished his first work as a main actor 'Who Are You'. Taec-yeon’s
passion for acting is second to none. At an event to brief on 'Who Are
You', he said, "People will say that this drama is my first work where I
played a main character. I am doing my best not to feel ashamed of
myself in the future.” His remark showed his determination not to
separate himself from the acting occupation in the future.
In
the early stage of 'Who Are You', his acting had some awkwardness
probably due to a sense of pressure in the first work as a main actor.
However, he naturally sank himself into the drama in a good teamwork
with others over time. At some point, he showed skilled acting. It was
visible that he came to assimilate himself with his character over time.
There
is another work that helps us to explore his potential as an actor. It
is 'Marriage Blue' to be released in November as his first movie.
Taec-yeon said, "My character Won-cheol in 'Marriage Blue' has a similar
personality with mine.” It sounds like he played the character with
comfort. Unlike drama filming, it takes longer time for a movie to be
made. Much time and efforts are put into it. Taec-yeon, who is not
professional yet, must have felt more comfortable in movie filming than
in TV drama filming since he is given more time. 
rector
Hong Ji-young of 'Marriage Blue' highly rated the ‘actor Ok Taec-yeon'.
She said, "Won-cheol is a very difficult character where an actor
should express a matured emotion of a man in love for the seventh year.
The general critique is that Taec-yeon is a very promising actor. He has
such a great concentration power and immediately understands
directions." She said that Taec-yeon’s strength is a strong
concentration power driven by a fierce desire for acting. She added, "He
may lack experience, but I was impressed by his passion to learn more
even about a trivial thing. I saw the eyes that can be seen only in
people with great desire.”
Director Hong said that Taec-yeon is a persistent hard worker. She said that he has great room to improve as an actor.
The director spoke about her impression on Ok Taec-yeon at the filming site. She said, “Seeing
him trying his best despite a tight schedule due to overseas promotion,
I confirmed the truth that nothing can surpass efforts.”
Taec-yeon’s
homework is to build experience in many different genres. Making a bold
choice to do what he wants to do regardless of what the others say
instead of making a careful choice for what he can do will help him grow
into a better actor. There many have been small mistakes, but they were
never fatal enough to shake the actor Ok Taec-yeon. He is doing fine
and improving little by litte.
# Jun-ho, the late-discovered brilliant actor
Jun-ho was an unexpected harvest in the movie ‘Cold Eyes’.
Older generations who do not know 2PM thought that he was a good new
actor. Some belatedly said, “What? Squirrel was 2PM’s Jun-ho?” Jun-ho
played his part well among the professional actors and actresses such
as Seol Kyung-koo, Jung Woo-sung, and Han Hyo-joo. In addition, he
removed his idol star image and became one with his character.
A source with a long acting career said, “It
is no exaggeration to say that he showed 200% of his acting ability. In
fact, it is most difficult to act without standing out alone. In that
sense, Jun-ho succeeded to receive a passing mark from Chungmuro (the
movie sector).”
Some
say that he was lucky. His character Squirrel was a perfect fit for his
face and image. However, just being lucky cannot explain his right
choice of the character. We have seen many actors make a mistake of
picking a bad character and have a miserable result. Selecting a good
character is an actor’s ability after all.
Director Cho Ui-suk of ‘Cold Eyes’ said, “When
JYP asked me to have an audition for Jun-ho, I was hesitant, to be
honest because there is a negative view on idol stars. However, the
three auditions revealed how good the character analysis and ideas of
Jun-ho are. His rather plain face gave me a fresh feel. He had a great
desire, but he was used to doing his part in a group for long time,
which helped him to understand his role well in the movie. At the same
time, he captured the timing when he has to stand out.”
His excellent acting in the first work made the Chungmuro want him. He was picked for the highly-expected movie ‘A
Touch of Zen' quickly. This time, he will work with Lee Byung-heon, Jun
Doh-yeon, and Kim Go-eun. He will be able to expand his view on acting.
He plays the fighter ‘Yul’ full of ambition and love for Hong-yi (Kim
Go-eun), which is totally differnet from Squirrel from ‘Cold Eyes’.
The
fact that he had a chance to try another character without repeating
the successful one demonstrates that the movie world found his another
potential ahead of others. A source said that director Park Heung-sik of
‘A Touch of Zen’ really liked Jun-ho in a meeting with him. We cannot help but look forward to his acting.
While
Taec-yeon is a persistent hard-worker, Jun-ho is a genius type born
with excellence. He fascinated the audience in the debut work and the
second work gave him a good chance to move ahead. Why didn’t he start
the acting career earlier? Jun-ho’s acting spectrum, however, is not
extensive enough, of course.
The
two idol stars readied themselves for another challenge by expanding
their area of activity as actors. The future of the actor Ok Taec-yeon,
who showed his growing process where he trained himself like a small
leak sinks a great ship, and the actor Lee Jun-ho, who proved his
potential with the very first try in this new challenge, is greatly
expected.
Written by Bae Seon-yeong (TenAsia)
Photographs from KBS, tvN, NEW, Cinus Entertainment
Photographs from KBS, tvN, NEW, Cinus Entertainment
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