Ji Chang Wook reveals why he avoided building muscle for intimate scenes with Nana in 'The Scandal'

Ji Chang Wook has opened up about how he approached the intimate scenes he filmed with Nana for Netflix’s The Scandal, revealing that he deliberately avoided changing his body just to make the scenes look more visually impressive.

In a recent interview, Ji Chang Wook admitted that filming intimate scenes was naturally stressful, but said he trusted director Jung Ji Woo and focused on what each scene meant for the characters rather than its level of exposure.

“Because the story itself has that kind of tone, it couldn’t completely avoid revealing scenes, and there are bed scenes, so of course I felt nervous,” he explained. “But I think I found the courage because the original story is a classic and I trusted director Jung Ji Woo’s style.”

Before filming, Ji Chang Wook said he and the director had detailed discussions about why the scenes were necessary.

“We talked a lot about what the bed scenes meant within the relationship, rather than simply showing something provocative,” he said.

That approach also influenced how he prepared physically.

“I intentionally avoided going to the gym more or trying to build extra muscle,” Ji Chang Wook revealed. “I didn’t want the visual aspect to become the main focus. I wanted to concentrate more on the meaning of the scene and the direction.”

Ji Chang Wook said filming the scenes remained uncomfortable despite the preparation. According to the actor, many of the intimate scenes were filmed later in production, after he and Nana had already developed their chemistry through earlier scenes.

“Nana and I had already built a certain relationship and rhythm through the scenes we filmed before,” he said. “That doesn’t mean those scenes were comfortable. There are many staff members watching, so it can never really feel easy, but it helped that we had built enough trust to rely on each other.”

He added that director Jung Ji Woo was particularly careful and considerate while filming the scenes.

Ji Chang Wook also explained how he viewed Jo Won’s emotional connection with Nana’s character, Hee Yeon. Rather than simply defining it as romance, he said the key emotion was warmth.

“I think the fact that Jo Won felt warmth from Hee Yeon was itself a huge shock to him,” Ji Chang Wook said.

According to his interpretation, Jo Won had spent much of his life believing his complicated feelings for Lady Cho, played by Son Ye Jin, were love. His relationship with Hee Yeon introduces an unfamiliar sense of warmth that forces him to confront emotions he had not experienced before.

Ji Chang Wook added that while Jo Won clearly wanted to protect Hee Yeon, he did not think the series necessarily defines those feelings as love.

For the actor, keeping the focus on that emotional change rather than the physical side of the scenes was central to how he approached Jo Won in The Scandal.