Drew inspiration from 'Atomic Blonde', 'The Old Guard': South Korean star Han So-hee on 'My Name'

South Korean star Han So-hee on Tuesday said she referred to Charlize Theron's films ''Atomic Blonde'' and ''The Old Guard'' to prepare for her role in the upcoming action noir series ''My Name''.

Directed by Kim Jin-min of ''Extracurricular'' fame, ''My Name'' is a Netflix series which follows the journey of a revenge-driven woman Yoon Ji-woo (Han So-hee), who puts her trust in a powerful crime boss Choi Moo-jin (Park Hee-soon) following her father's murder.

The series is a turnaround for Han So-hee, best known for K-dramas like ''World of the Married'' and ''Nevertheless'', as she got a chance to front a gritty revenge thriller with loads of action.

''When I had the first meeting with the martial arts director, we looked at different styles. Something that he pointed out was a long-take action sequence in the movie 'Atomic Blonde'. A female lead winning (against) the male opponents has to make sense on screen, so that was something he advised me to look at.

''I also had to focus on hitting the vital parts of the opponent and I referred to a lot of movies and series. We also looked at 'The Old Guard'. I looked at different titles to get some inspiration, especially the ones that were led by a female lead,'' the actor said in a global press conference, also attended by PTI, from Seoul.

Han So-hee put on 10kg to build her physique for the part and said the biggest challenge for her was to ''not hurt others'' while shooting the action sequences. She is currently learning kickboxing, she added.

Describing the action scenes in the show as ''the fight to survive'', Han So-hee said one couldn't fake knowing the stunts as it requires a lot of time.

''I don't mind getting hurt. But if I have not practised enough, other people can get hurt. I wanted to make sure I don't hurt others and finish the project safely.'' Han So-hee also said it was interesting to play two shades in her role as Ji-woo and her undercover persona of a cop Oh Hye-jin. ''I could feel her desperation and determination off the pages of the script... Ji-woo's approach to revenge is one-dimensional. She just runs for it without thinking about anything else. But Hye-jin is more strategic and reasonable, she is less emotional than Ji-woo,'' she added.

Park Hee-soon, who plays Ji-woo's mentor and drug lord Choi Moo-jin, said it was ''both difficult and rewarding'' to play a three-dimensional character who only trusts people once.

''I think the chilling charisma comes from one's position. For me, Ji-woo goes through three phases. First, she is his friend and colleague's daughter, then she is a cartel member, and finally when she is sent undercover as a cop. In all those phases, I concentrated on how I would view the character of Ji-woo, what kind of facial expressions I would have,'' he said.

Park Hee-soon further said the action sequences in the show ''don't rely much'' on the cable wires or Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI).

''It was done first hand, it was very emotionally charged. It's not like a simple hit, you really have to grab someone and go for it,'' he added.

''My Name'' also features ''Itaewon Class'' breakout star Ahn Bo-hyun, ''Kingdom'' actor Kim Sang-ho, ''World of the Married'' actor Lee Hak-joo and Chang Yull. The series starts streaming from October 15 on Netflix.

Ahn Bo-hyun, who plays Jeon Pil-do, the ace of the anti-drug police unit, said his character wants to wipe off the drug menace from the country.

The actor said he boarded ''My Name'' as he became a fan of the director after watching ''Extracurricular''.

Talking about his equation with Han So-hee, Ahn Bo-hyun said he was impressed to see her working so hard when they met for the first time during their training sessions for the series.

''She was so passionate. We had scenes together filled with action sequences and because so much practice went into it before shooting, it helped us create the chemistry. Thanks to So-hee, we were able to create many good scenes and memories together,'' he added.

This is the second collaboration between Han So-hee and Lee Hak-joo after the acclaimed show ''World of the Married'', in which they didn't have a lot of scenes together.

Lee Hak-joo, who plays Jung Tae-joo - the quiet right-hand man of Choi Moo-jin, said he and Han So-hee became close friends after working on ''My Name''.

Kim Sang-ho said while other cast members engaged in physical action, his character was all about the ''brain and verbal action'' as he plays Cha Gi-ho -- the mastermind of the anti-drug police unit.

After playing the role of a police officer on shows like ''Kingdom'' and ''Sweet Home'', the actor said he wanted to essay the character without a beard.

''Having facial hair on screen is often used as a gimmick to portray a character who is like an everyman deep into his tasks and overworked, sometimes. I didn't want to do it with this character. Without facial hair, your expressions are more exposed to the audience,'' he said.

Chang Yull, who was dubbed as the ''dark horse'' on the show by Park Hee-soon, said he wanted to present an unexpected side to the audience through Do Gang-jae, a character he described as ''the bubbling hot magma'' who aspires to be the big brother in the cartel.

''My Name'' will have its world premiere at the 26th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in the inaugural 'On Screen' section this week. The segment was announced this year by the BIFF to ''showcase highly anticipated drama series that will be streamed over online video streaming platforms''.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)