On July 3, Kim Cheol-kyu gave an interview about his newly launched Netflix series, 'Celebrity', and spoke about the reasoning behind the casting of the actors.
'Celebrity' revolves around 'Seo A-ri' (actress Park Gyuyoung), an influencer who reaches sudden social media popularity but soon gets faced with the dark side of it.
The story depicts the hectic world of social media influencers, where you may be on top of the world one minute and in the bottomless pit the next second.
JUNHO was not just on the last episode of 'Celebrity'; he was on the final scene of the final episode, the final cut.
The director mentioned JUNHO's heavily-dutied cameo appearance and told that he needed a well-known actor for the job.
"For the last scene to be memorable, I wanted a well-known actor for it. There is an event that runs across the series and it eventually concludes. But at the very end, another individual arrives, who seems to be hooked on the world of influencers by peering into it. I wanted to leave a lasting impression with the climax, raising the question, 'Will they also enter that world?'."
Thinking of a well-known actor, Kim Cheol-kyu came up with JUNHO who starred in his earlier drama, 'Confession'.
"I contacted JUNHO and almost begged him to participate in the series. He willingly said yes, and I am grateful. It must have been his first time making a cameo appearance."
The director says he sought not-so-well-known actors who are "active on social media" in real life for the series' main cast.
"First, I looked for actors with metropolitan elegance. And I tried to avoid using too many familiar faces for the series to give new, fresh vibes."
He also praised other cast members, Jun Hyo Seong and Kang Min Hyuk for the efforts they put into 'Celebrity'.
"Jun Hyo Seong was scolded several times in our office and practiced a lot. Kang Min Hyuk, too. He is not a terrific actor yet, but he has worked hard to better himself. He kept coming back to ask for directions. He did the same acting again and again, and got better."
(SBS Star)