Jin Sun Kyu revealed that he approached his new role in tvN’s 100 Days of Deception with one clear goal: to create a villain completely different from Wi Sung Rak, his memorable character in The Outlaws.
Speaking at the drama’s press conference on September 29, the actor said he deliberately tried to move away from the image that many viewers still associate with him.
He explained, “I created this role with the thought that I wanted to erase Wi Sung Rak from The Outlaws.”
In 100 Days of Deception, Jin Sun Kyu plays Sato Shinichi, a high-ranking official in the Japanese Government-General of Korea. He described the character as someone whose desire for recognition grows stronger and is eventually expressed through cruelty toward weaker people.
Jin Sun Kyu said he did not want to make the character seem sympathetic.
“I couldn’t understand him, but I talked a lot with the director so I could portray him. Because he shows the side of an unforgivable villain, I didn’t try to romanticize him,” he said.
The role also required major preparation because the character speaks Japanese. Jin Sun Kyu revealed that he did not even know hiragana before filming, so he spent two months in Japan studying and practicing.
He said, “I stayed in Japan for two months and memorized the script for about seven hours a day. I also took Japanese lessons because I felt I wouldn’t be able to keep up otherwise.”
While Jin Sun Kyu became widely known for his intense villain performance in The Outlaws, he hopes his character in 100 Days of Deception will leave a very different impression.
The historical spy romance also stars Kim Yoo Jung, Park Jinyoung, Kim Hyun Joo, and Lee Moo Saeng. 100 Days of Deception is scheduled to premiere on October 10 at 9:10 PM KST on tvN.
