With his his honey-like voice and boy-next-door look, Korean singer-actor Doh Kyung-soo has earned the reputation of being an effortless charmer, which explains why it was mentally challenging for him to fully embrace his dark side.
Doh is the central villain of the crime thriller ‘The Manipulated’ taking on the role of Ahn Yo-han. He is described as a cold manipulator ‘who designs incidents,’ in which Park Tae-jung (Ji Chang-wook) falls victim.
Park eventually discovers Ahn to be the mastermind of his life’s misfortune, leading to a violent cat-and-mouse chase between the two.
‘Literally, his actual job is a manipulator. And literally, he is a very evil person who designs incidents and manipulates people,’ the actor-singer said of his role at a media con in Seoul before the series’ premiere. ‘When I first received the script, it was, of course, very interesting.’
Since Yo-han is Doh’s first time to portray a villain, he ‘thought a lot’ about how to make a chilling appearance. ‘Since this is my first time playing a villain, I was very curious about what kind of feeling the character would have and what kind of performance would come out.’
‘I thought a lot about how to make Yohan look chilling. So, I dyed and permed my hair, and then dyed it black again,’ he continued. ‘I thought and imagined a lot based on movies, documentaries, and the characteristics of people with those kinds of tendencies that I’ve seen before.’ Yo-han, who often wore ‘clean, very flashy suits’ to give an impression of an upright man, sees Tae-jun as a ‘cockroach’ and ‘ultimate goal.’ This means that he won’t stop at nothing until the latter is finished for good.
‘From Yohan’s perspective, Tae-jun is like a cockroach. He has incredible tenacity and life force. Yohan keeps trying to crush him, but he keeps crawling back up alive. That’s what he’s like,’ Doh explained.
Kyung-soo and Kwang-soo’s friendship
Another villain in ‘The Manipulated’ is Yo-han’s VIP customer Baek Do-kyung, played by actor and variety star Lee Kwang-soo – known as Doh’s close friend behind the scenes.
‘Since Kyung-soo and I are so close, I worried before filming that I might feel awkward acting with him on set. But it was really great when we met on set. There was none of that awkwardness. In a way, thanks to Kyung-soo and Chang-wook, I was able to do everything I wanted to do,’ Lee said of his working relationship with Doh and Ji on set.
‘Because they were so comfortable and accepted everything I did and liked it, I felt like I was going to the set to hang out. I got to do all the things I prepared and wanted to do on set before going home,’ he continued. The series shows Do-kyung being under Yo-han’s mercy, even though the former doesn’t want to admit it to himself. Yet Lee is Doh’s senior on set when it comes to portraying a villain.
‘We usually meet up casually, eat together, and do various things. But when we filmed our first scene together on set, I thought, ‘Ah, this is Doh Kyung-soo.’ He was so different from the Kyung-soo I usually see. Seeing how professional and focused he was on set made me feel and learn a lot,’ Lee said of Doh’s professionalism.
‘That is one of the reasons why so many people like Kyung-soo. It’s truly different when he’s working and when he’s not. Even though we worked together before, seeing him on set this time made me think, ‘This is where Kyung-soo’s great power comes from,” he further shared.
This explains why Doh is grateful that Lee ‘provokes his anger’ while filming. ‘He provoked a tremendous amount of anger. Because the character itself is very ‘thin,’ as he described it. So, what should I say? I was annoyed.’
‘The character Baek Do-kyung is constantly poking at Yo-han. And I really was poked a lot,’ he continued. ‘And personally, since we are close, looking at him while acting could have felt awkward. But he portrayed the character Baek Do-kyung so well that it didn’t feel awkward at all. I was actually able to immerse myself completely.’
Directed by Park Shin-woo and Kim Chang-ju, the 12-episode ‘The Manipulated’ also stars Kim Jong-soo and Jo Yoon-su.