| From left, actor Shin Ha-kyun, director Shim Na-yeon and actor Yeo Jin-gu pose for pictures during an online media conference for the new thriller series, “Beyond Evil.” Courtesy of JTBC |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Actors Yeo Jin-gu and Shin Ha-kyun are set to show off their intense chemistry in the new crime thriller series, “Beyond Evil.”
Led by director Shim Na-yeon, whose work includes the teen series, "At Eighteen," the new series revolves around two detectives ― Yeo and Shin ― trying to solve a serial murder case in a small town. It was written by Kim Soo-jin, who also scripted the crime thriller series, "Mad Dog."
“There are a lot of thriller genre works, so the audiences now have a higher standard (on that genre)…What makes this series different is that it has local feelings…a retro sensibility, as in the style of 'Memories of Murder' (by director Bong Joon-ho),” the director said during an online media conference for the series, Thursday.
“And Shin and Yeo's rendezvous completes the picture, orchestrating the tone of the series to be that of a unique genre.”
| Shin plays the lead character, Lee Dong-sik, who is a police sergeant. Courtesy of JTBC |
Shin plays rowdy police sergeant Lee Dong-sik, who used to be a skilled detective in Seoul. He is now stationed at a countryside police precinct in the fictional town, Manyang, where he encounters a murder linked to an unsolved case from 20 years ago that had changed his life.
Describing Dong-sik as the one “who becomes the monster to take down the monsters,” Shin said the complexity of the character inspired him to take the role.
“(When I read the script,) I became more and more curious about Dong-sik...He seems tough, but deep down he's actually not,” Shin said. “I feel bad about how the direction of his life was predetermined by someone else.”
He added that it was especially difficult to express the storms of emotions the character has. “I have been contemplating how I could distinguish through my acting the struggles, pain, and sorrow that he keeps inside,” he said. “It has and will be difficult until the end.”
| Yeo plays an elite detective who is new at the precinct. Courtesy of JTBC |
On the other hand, Yeo described his character, Han Joo-won, as a person who is trying hard “not to become one of the monsters.”
Joo-won is an elite detective who has been transferred to the precinct. He teams up with Dong-sik to discover the truth behind the murder cases and to reveal the secrets among the small-town residents.
“He fights his own battle not to cross the 'line.' He constantly faces questions whether he can stay away from that, as he digs deeper into the cases,” Yeo said. “He has always been more of a brain when it comes to solving a crime. So after coming to Manyang, he faces the tough real world and gains experience.”
Shim emphasized the importance of having Yeo and Shin as the lead actors. “When I work on a project, the most important part is the actors. And (for this series,) I thought to myself, 'it has to be the actors I want. And only then, can I pull off what I wanted to express,” she said. “The writers and I agreed on these two actors and waited for their casting. So I was so happy when they came on board.”
| A scene from “Beyond Evil” with Shin, left, and Yeo as small town police officers in Manyang, with very different characters. Courtesy of JTBC |
This is not the first time that the two actors have worked together. Their first time costarring dates back to 2006 when Yeo played the young version of Shin's character in the action comedy film, “No Mercy for the Rude.”
“I was nine when I worked on that film with Shin,” Yeo said, adding that he made a brief appearance. “I ran into Shin on a set. When we were talking, I told him that I want to work together with him. And after a year later, the wish came true.”
Shin recalled working on the film together, referring to Yeo as “Little Boy.”
“He has grown so much…If I knew he would grow up to be this handsome, I would have had someone else play the younger version of me,” he said as he laughed. “The character, Joo-won, is very difficult because he is an observer. But I feel proud of Yeo, seeing how well he's getting into the character. We make a good ensemble.”
Shin added, smiling: “He's so gentle, but when the camera's on, he gives me a death stare.”
Shim said that the purpose of this series is to show that “everyone can be evil.”
“The main emphasis that I put as the director is that each character in this series can possibly be the evil,” she said, adding that “selfishness” is the story's keyword. “It would be interesting (for the audiences) to watch it with this question on their mind: “How selfish can a person be?”
“Beyond Evil” goes on air on Friday.