When he has glasses on with dull facial expressions, he is the typical 'cold guy in the city', but when he takes his glasses off and brightly smiles, he is just a mischievous child.
With glasses, Choi Daniel reveals two faces from the character Lee Ji-hoon in the MBC drama 'High Kick Through The Roof' and the character Nam Chi-won in the KBS drama 'Jugglers'.
When Choi Daniel is not in the drama, he does not wear glasses since he has good sight.
Because the face without glasses is the real Choi Daniel, he is very lively.
When he had this interview, he bragged his brand-new inexpensive clothes and broached conversation with light jokes.
Although he was chastised for using old men (Ahjussi) jokes, he could not hold his laughter.
From this encounter, it is very hard to expect Choi Daniel played cold, charismatic executive director from the drama.
Choi Daniel played a calm, cold, and mesmerizing executive director named Nam Chi-won from recently ended KBS drama 'Jugglers'.
Although there were some comical love scenes with his partner Baek Jin-hee playing secretary named Jwa Yoon-yi, that was not even a part of real Choi Daniel.
Actors have to perfectly play the role and forget about themselves, and Choi Daniel successfully got rid of his trace as he played Nam Chi-won.
We met Choi Daniel who returned to himself after the drama ended.
A. I am really relieved that it ended. You know, when you are shooting, you always have to be in hurry and think of time. Although I am doing what I want, I was really exhausted as I could not take enough sleep from tight schedule and act in severe cold.
Q. Now I see you, I feel like you look really different from the times when you are in the drama. You look so young and gentle.
A. I played a lot of mature roles. From my debut, I have played roles that are older than me. So I had to behave in much more way, and that was really tough when I was acting. But time has flown, and I am the age of the characters I played. Now I am more confident to play those roles. Every time when I am in the dramas, I think of myself as the assigned character, so when the character is loved by the public and balances out the drama, I am really satisfied. For this time, I think Nam Chi-won was the one loved by the public and fulfilled my standard, so I am really glad.
Q. You look so different when you wear glasses.
A. Because I have good sight, I don't wear glasses. I put glasses for the first time when I was in the MBC drama 'High Kick Through The Roof 2'. The character that I played, named Lee Ji-hoon, had autistic thinking, so the director suggested me to wear glasses and that was the start. I did play some roles without glasses, but people just remember me with glasses on.
Q. You digested totally different roles, the character Lee Ji-hoon from the MBC drama 'High Kick Through The Roof 2' and the one named Yang Soo-kyung from the KBS drama 'Worlds Within'. But you resemble Yang Soo-kyung in real life.
A. I played Yang Soo-kyung from the experience I had fun with my friends during my high school years. So It was a bit easier to digest the role.
Q. So Nam Chi-won must have different personality from yours, and you had hard time to express the character.
A. For the first part of the drama, I could not really express the character. Nam Chi-won should not be too dull but not too exotic. He should be serious sometimes, but not too serious. That was the mission for me to articulate the character. For the first day of shooting, I asked my senior Kim Chang-wan about this issue, and he said just two sentences. He said, "The setting should not look like it's a setting. Just do the way you feel." His short but firm advice was really helpful and gave me much power. As I reminded of his advice, I could keep the balance.
A. I finished my military service on October 2017, and joined 'Jugglers' in December, so I was back on screen right after the service. Right before I was in military, I was in the movie 'Extramural Law', but it ended up with low number of the audience, so people don't really know about the film. That's why they have impression that I took a long break.
Q. How's your knee?
A. I took the second surgery when I served for social services in military. It's not in good condition even now. They said I can't fully recover forever.
Q. You joined 'Jugglers' after you were in the 30s. Since you had a break, is there any difference compared to the past?
A. It had been three years since I was in dramas, so I had a lot of pressure. I constantly thought of how to gather and blend the team, and lead the drama as the main character. Compared to the past, I think I have more responsibilities now. That's why I was tired. But when I was at work, I did not recognize that I was exhausted. In the past, I felt like I was a racehorse running forward. I concentrated on myself besides the surroundings. But now, I value the general atmosphere of the place and the harmony of the actors and the staff. So I have more confidence at the shooting.
Q. You have changed a lot. Did your time in the military influence your thinking?
A. I took four weeks of physical training, and there were various people. At that time, I felt that although I did not realize, I had been with people that resemble me. From that time, I think I have a wider perspective regarding people. Also, when I was serving my duties for social service, I could experience the joys and sorrows of office workers. After I worked over 9 hours every day, I took a short break and went out to see movies, meet people, and go for work next day. I realized this is not an easy thing. And I think I would get really irritated if I paid to watch the movie and it was disappointing. From the one who creates films, I noticed I should make a great film, and that naturally connected to my struggles with acting.
Q. How was the atmosphere at the filming of 'Jugglers'? I expect there were several interesting episodes with comical characters played by Sung-ho and Gyo-jin.
A. The atmosphere was so good. Sung-ho, Gyo-jin, Jin-hee, and all other participants of the show did an excellent job. We could have great crying and laughing scenes. In between other actors and actresses, I did not have to do anything. I just had to balance out everyone and work for the drama.
Q. Jin-hee is in relationship with actor Yoon Hyun-min. Did you feel any pressure from this?
A. I was really into my role to the extent that I did not notice she was in relationship with Yoon Hyun-min. But when we had kiss scene on bed, I was cautious of it. In this scene, Nam Chi-won and Jwa Yoon-yi had to kiss, Jwa Yoon-yi untied Nam Chi-won's tie, took his glasses off, and they fell down on the bed. This scene meant to signify Jwa Yoon-yi takes social mask Nam Chi-won's always wearing, but on the script, it was described as 'passionately kiss'. Although we're all actors, it's possible for Hyun-min to get upset by watching this loving scene. I asked Jin-hee if she was okay with it, and she plainly answered, "It's okay. It's just an acting." So I could concentrate on my work. I asked her again if she was really okay after the scene was on screen, and luckily, she did not have fights with her boyfriend.
A. 3 years ago, I was in relationship before I went to serve the military service.
Q. What's your ideal type of women?
A. I like kind person. Due to my job, I unintentionally ask women show devotion and dedication to me. We don't have fixed time for work. When we work, it's just hectic, and we're too busy, but when we're taking a break, we just rest without any time limits. When I am shooting for the drama, I can't contact my girlfriend for three days. That's why I think I am looking for the one who can understand my situation.
Q. Is there any genre of drama that you want to try?
A. I want to give a try for human dramas. Even if I don't get popularity, I want to be in small independent film, a reality film that does not have any settings but just partially draws our daily lives.
Q. The drama 'Jugglers' just ended. What are your plans for break?
A. I don't have any specific plans, but I want to visit Jeju Island. I am really close to actor Kim Ki-nam, and we're planning to visit Jeju Island together.
Q. January 2018 ends soon. How do you want to spend a year?
A. I want to be in the drama that I want to do. I want to be part of it not because of time but because I am attracted to it. If I am attracted to the drama, I think I can play well. I will not hurry. I believe there will be a chance at the right time.
(Credit= SBS funE)
(SBS Star)