On March 24, actor Park Bo Gum had an interview with the Korean media while Netflix's drama "When Life Gives You Tangerines" was receiving great attention.
The film is set in Jeju Island in 1960s, Park Bo Gum plays Gwan Sik as a young man who is quiet but trustworthy, always appreciating and loving the female lead Ae Sun (IU) for 4 seasons.
According to Yonhap News, When Life Gives You an Tangerine brings a story that people of all ages and genders can sympathize with. However, there are also some opinions that the depiction of pure, strong love like iron and steel that Gwan Sik gave Ae Sun is unreal.
But according to Park Bo Gum, the character Gwan Sik could actually be any of us. The actor said: "Everyone has a heart that knows how to care for and appreciate their loved ones like Gwan Sik, it's just that they can't show it. I think a person like Gwan Sik is still living somewhere.
The actor found himself to be about 70% similar to this character and explained: "He loves his family and wants to take care of everyone. I think the way he expresses his feelings when in love is quite similar to me.
However, while Gwan Sik does not proactively express himself through words, I think I am the type of person who tries to speak as much as possible.
Regarding the reason for deciding to play the role of a husband and father, Park Bo Gum shared that after serving in the army, his perspective on work became more daring than before, making him want to take on a more challenging character.
According to Park Bo Gum, thanks to the convincing script of screenwriter Im Sang Choon, portraying the character of a man living in the 1960s and having 3 children when he was young was not as difficult as he thought.
"That was an era I had never lived in, but when I read what screenwriter Im Sang Choon wrote, I could understand and sympathize with everything. That was the first time I felt all the characters were vivid" - Park Bo Gum recalled and wanted to continue collaborating with screenwriter Sang Choon in his next work.
Playing Gwan Sik, the actor paid more attention to appearance to express his personality. Park Bo Gum revealed: "Because Gwan Sik is a swimmer, I tried to increase about 4-5kg to create a more explosive character.
The makeup team used dark powder for me from head to toe. The skin that was exposed was completely covered with dark makeup to make me feel like I was a long-time Jeju resident, with skin that was more radiant from the sunlight.
Although Park Bo Gum's appearance time was cut when actor Park Hae Joon replaced him as the middle-aged Gwan Sik, Park Bo Gum said that this was necessary and affirmed that he had known in advance the time he would take screenings.
Park Bo Gum also expressed his admiration for his co-star IU: "When I watched IU perform as Ae Sun and her daughter Geum Myeong, while I could still prepare for her own concert, I thought IU was truly someone with impressive endurance. I want to tell her that you have worked very hard.
