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| Actor Ahn Jae-hong plays the role of Ju Oh-nam in the Netflix original series "Mask Girl." Courtesy of Netflix |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Actor Ahn Jae-hong's transformation into a half-bald, beer-bellied character in Netflix's latest Korean original series, "Mask Girl," came as a surprise to viewers, with the actor becoming almost unrecognizable.
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| Actor Ahn Jae-hong / Courtesy of Netflix |
The seven-part crime thriller series, which was released on Aug. 18, follows the life of an insecure office worker, Kim Mo-mi ― played by actors Lee Han-byeol, Nana and Go. While working at an ordinary desk job, she invents a double life, putting on a mask as an internet personality, "Mask Girl," every night, until a chain of ill-fated events overtakes her.
The series, based on the webcomic of the same name, is scripted and directed by filmmaker Kim Yong-hoon, who previously led the 2020 crime thriller film "Beasts Clawing at Straws."
Ahn plays the character of Ju Oh-nam, who is Kim's coworker and a dedicated fan of her internet personality. When he connects the dot and discovers Kim is "Mask Girl," he develops a twisted hope to find romance in his lonely, socially withdrawn life
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| A scene from the series "Mask Girl" / Courtesy of Netflix |
The actor shared that it took a meticulous process to create the look of Ju, which helped him get into the character.
"I asked the director that I wanted (Ju) to have a bizarre look that can show his character with a glance. So the special effects makeup director gave a lot of ideas too. At first, I thought 'Should I go this far?' We tested out different versions to create Ju's appearance and physique," he said.
"And when we finally had Ju's look that you see in the series, from the moment I stepped out of the dressing room, I felt like I'd found this strong ground as a character."
Ahn spent two hours for the special effects makeup every shoot for the look and physique on top of gaining 10 kilograms for the character. But the actor explained he also put in a deep thought to develop minor details aside from its appearance.
"He's not the type of person who communicates a lot with other people. So I felt he would have a hoarse voice whenever he spoke. And I also came up with weak, unconfident voice and poor posture for the secluded character, locked up in his own space," he said.
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| The series "Mask Girl" released on Aug. 18. Courtesy of Netflix |
Despite the hassles he had to go through to build and get into the character, the actor said he did hesitate to take the role.
"Until now, I've done a lot of bright-spirited, cheerful characters. But (the character) in 'Mask Girl' is filled with dark and intense energy. So when I was offered the role, it was refreshing. And I thought this was a valuable offer that I couldn't come across easily. As an actor, I felt this is an opportunity for me to show a new side," he said, adding Ju plays an important role in triggering the story's development.
"I believed I needed to portray Ju as a more round character to make this series more interesting and make the character of Kim Mo-mi shine brighter. And the chemistry between Ju and Kim had to be well depicted to fuel Ju's mom, Kim Kyung-ja, to have a stronger motivation (further into the story)."
