Climax" tells the story of prosecutor Bang Tae Seop (played by Joo Ji Hoon) – who rushes into a powerful corporation to climb to the top, along with the fierce survival story of those around him.
In the movie, Joo Ji Hoon shows strong acting when transforming into Bang Tae Seop - from a poor prosecutor rising to become an ambitious MP candidate, while building a "formal husband and wife" relationship with actress Chu Sang Ah (Ha Ji Won).
In particular, the character Chu Sang Ah is built with the setting of being gay, and both people seem to take advantage of each other to achieve their goals, but Joo Ji Hoon still affirms that Bang Tae Seop's feelings for Chu Sang Ah are "love".
He shared: "The director once asked me: "Do you think Tae Seop loves Sang Ah?". At that time I replied: "Perhaps I love him very much". It is true that the relationship between the two is more focused on the aspect of benefits, and Tae Seop is a bad guy when he considers Sang Ah as a spoils of war to marry.
However, they have lived together, shared emotions and looked in the same direction, so I think something called comradeship has arisen between them.
In my definition, that is also within the scope of love. In fact, in real life, isn't the person who is always humble and inferior to the other person the one who loves more?
Notably, Joo Ji Hoon and Ha Ji Won had a kiss scene in the bathroom that was rated by the audience as "bold".
Regarding this, Joo Ji Hoon revealed that initially the film was rated 19+, but after collaborating with ENA and Genie TV, it was adjusted down to 15+.
The actor also said: "According to film standards, this kissing scene is not bold at all. It's not a scene that reveals skin or expresses excessively, it's just touching lips, but when it airs on television, it creates a much stronger effect, which surprised me a bit.
Regarding his first acting collaboration with Ha Ji Won, he expressed his admiration: "She is a veteran actress, learns very quickly, and is extremely careful in everything she does. I feel that she is a very sophisticated person and knows how to keep her own space.
When focusing on acting, sometimes it can put pressure on others, but she always tries not to burden anyone. Even though I don't talk too much, I still feel those details. Her acting is also very subtle and supports her co-stars very well.
Before the audience's reaction expecting the two to have a clearer love line, Joo Ji Hoon said: "I also like that. Because we are very in sync with Ms. Ji Won, there is no reason not to try making romantic movies.
When he learned that Ha Ji Won also proposed reuniting with him in a romantic project, Joo Ji Hoon replied: "Next time I want to try acting with her in a movie about adult love stories.
