쿠팡플레이 드라마“My mother is a drama fanatic. She predicts (the story) while watching the drama, and she is almost never wrong. I thought a lot about ‘How would my mother predict this scene?’ I think this influence will make the drama a little different from viewers’ expectations.”
Director Kim Dong-hwi said this at the production presentation of the Coupang Play series ‘Hyde’ held at the Chosun Palace Seoul Gangnam on the 19th, raising expectations for an unpredictable plot twist.
In 2024, Coupang Play will present Hyde as its first original drama. This drama tells the story of a woman who goes to find her husband who suddenly disappears one day and uncovers a tangled secret.
At the Hyde production presentation that day, actress Lee Bo-young, who plays Na Moon-young, actor Lee Moo-saeng, who plays Cha Sung-jae, actress Lee Chung-ah, who plays Ha Yeon-joo, actor Lee Min-jae, who plays Do Jin-woo, and director Kim Dong-hwi were present.
Why did the actors choose Hyde?
We asked each of the actors in attendance why they chose ‘Hyde’. The overwhelming answer was ‘I was curious about the backstory’.
Lee Bo-young said, “There are twists and turns, so I chose it because I was curious about the backstory,” and “I filmed it while being curious until the end.” He expressed confidence in Hyde’s story, saying that it is not easy to find a drama that makes you curious about the next script.
Lee Chung-ah said, “(I) didn’t appear much in the beginning, so I received an extra copy of the script and read it,” and “I decided to do (Hyde) because I thought I had to see how it ends.” She added, “I like mystery novels, and (Hyde) had a mystery novel-like charm.”
Lee Min-jae said, “I was curious about the next episode, and I wondered if each character was a good or bad character,” and smiled. Lee Bo-young responded, “I’m suspicious of everyone except me,” and smiled.
The actors also mentioned the secrets that the characters in ‘Hyde’ have. The title of ‘Hyde’ seems full of secrets, and each character has a secret. This starts from the common ground of ‘everyone has a secret they can’t tell anyone’.
The characters in the drama ‘Hyde’ each have a secret behind their backs.
Lee Bo-young introduced her role as a character who draws sympathy, saying, “He’s a person who has lived righteously and correctly, but got married without revealing the secrets of his family history.”
Lee Moo-saeng stimulated the audience’s curiosity by saying, “All the actions he’s been hiding are secrets.”
Lee Min-jae said, “I think it’s one of the secrets that people who have a lot of relationships with Lee Moo-saeng (in the drama) shouldn’t know,” suggesting that all the characters have secrets.
What was the point of acting in ‘Hyde’?
I wonder how the actors expressed the secret stories that Hyde contains. I wonder if there were any difficulties in acting. Lee Bo-young said, “I had to act in a situation where I was reacting to the incidents happening around me,” and added, “I felt a little frustrated, but it was refreshing to act like this.”
Lee Moo-saeng said, “Since incidents keep happening to me, I think viewers will have different thoughts depending on what kind of expression I make,” and added, “I talked to my co-stars and the director, and focused on the details.”
Lee Min-jae, who has less acting experience than other actors, said that he approached his acting with the mindset of “not being a nuisance.” “However, it was also difficult because I felt like I hit a wall where I couldn’t keep up with my seniors’ acting.”
Lee Bo-young is a “trustworthy actress,” and she has been drawing attention for returning to dramas after a long time. When reporters asked, “Aren’t you feeling pressured because ‘Queen of Tears’ is your competition?” Lee Bo-young expressed her confidence by saying, “I don’t feel pressured at all,” and “There are enough parts that viewers will like.” Meanwhile, Hyde will be first released on Coupang Play at 10 PM on the 23rd, and will also air on JTBC 30 minutes later.
When reporters asked, “Why is the format different from the existing ones?”, Director Kim replied, “It is difficult to explain the exact mechanism because things related to the broadcast platform are decided by Coupang Play and JTBC.”
Coupang Play is taking a strategy that prioritizes quality over quantity of original content. In response to the criticism that it has a relatively longer cycle of new releases than its rival OTTs, Coupang Play stated that it is unwavering in its position and is producing content with the belief of “quality over quantity.”
Coupang Play also prioritizes “story.” This means that it does not simply decide content based on genre. Just as it created hit films such as “Anna” and “Boyhood,” Coupang Play’s story has brought about a catfish effect in the OTT market. Attention is being paid to what kind of story “Hyde” will tell.
