[TF Interview] Park Yoon-ho Proves Growth with 'Field Mouse'..."A Running Start for the Next Stage"

Key figure who led the twist in 'The Rat'... Driving force behind No. 1 box office hit in non-English speaking countries"I like the saying that good and evil coexist... I want to show new sides of myself step by step."Actor Park Yoon-ho poses for a photo before an interview at the building in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 30th. /Reporter Park Heon-woo[THE FACT|Reporter Kim Saet-byul] 'The Rat' is definitely special for actor Park Yoon-ho. He broke away from playing a student in a school uniform and, for the first time, portrayed an adult character, appearing as a pivotal figure in the work's major twist. Although his screen time was short, the burden was significant as he had to overturn the narrative. However, Park Yoon-ho did not shy away from this pressure and confronted it head-on. Through 'The Rat,' he gained confidence in his growth.Park Yoon-ho recently met with reporters at the building in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, for an interview regarding the release of the Netflix original series 'The Rat' (written by Lee Jae-gon, directed by Kim Hong-sun). He played Seo Yu-min, a college friend of Moon-jae (played by Ryu Jun-yeol) and the central figure of the incident, and shared various stories about the work and his character.'The Rat,' which released all 10 episodes on August 10th, tells the story of novelist Moon-jae, whose name, face, and life were stolen by a mysterious entity known as 'The Rat.' He teams up with loan shark No-ja (played by Sol Kyung-gu) and detective Sun-yong (played by Lee Kyu-hyung) to track down the identity of 'The Rat' as he tries to recover the stolen money.Speaking at an interview held some time after the work's release, he shared his thoughts, "Filming ended much earlier, didn't it? Perhaps because of that, memories I had forgotten were brought back, giving me a chance to reflect."Park Yoon-ho is still amazed by the attention he has received since the work's release. He found it particularly meaningful to play an important role in the work, despite his short appearance. "I didn't expect to receive so much attention," he said, adding, "I heard it ranked No. 1 in non-English speaking countries, which feels very special."A particularly memorable reaction was the assessment that he had matured significantly compared to his previous works. Park Yoon-ho said, "People who saw me in my previous works told me I had become more adult-like, that I seemed to have shed my youthful image." In this work, unlike his previous roles where he wore a school uniform, he showed the face of an adult character. When asked about this, Park Yoon-ho chuckled, saying, "I was a college student when I wore a school uniform, and I'm still a college student now. So, I finally got to play a role at my actual age."Yu-min was more than just an adult character challenge for Park Yoon-ho. Above all, he played a crucial role that connected to the identity of 'The Rat' in the latter half of the drama. Recalling when he first received the scripts for episodes 9 and 10, Park Yoon-ho confessed, "I realized I had to play such an important role. I ended up leaving class, saying I was going to the restroom. I was consumed by worry and contemplation alone and couldn't escape it for a while."The first emotion he grasped while portraying Yu-min was 'sadness.' He believed that the sadness of losing a loved one led to anger and revenge. Park Yoon-ho explained, "Because he lost everything, that sadness seemed to be the beginning of all his emotions. While carrying that sadness, he suppressed it and harbored a wicked anger to retaliate, and he also had the composure to plan it all out."Therefore, he did not view Yu-min's revenge as an unconditionally righteous act. Park Yoon-ho pointed out, "In the end, I don't think he truly overcame anything. 'The Rat' didn't have a happy ending. I think it led him down a path of further destruction, making one question whether that revenge was the right course of action."Actor Park Yoon-ho poses for a photo before an interview at the building in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 30th. /Reporter Park Heon-wooWhile Yu-min's revenge is extreme, Park Yoon-ho's process of understanding the character started from realistic relationships. He particularly imagined Yu-min's relationship with his girlfriend. Since they had no one else to rely on, Yu-min's girlfriend was his sole existence, and thus, the void he felt upon losing her must have been immense. Park Yoon-ho recalled, "I tried to build Yu-min's emotions by imagining the details of their relationship."Another important task was to differentiate the tone of his performance in the early and later parts of the drama, rather than revealing Yu-min's emotions all at once. Park Yoon-ho said, "There were times when I had to appear as a bad person for the sake of the plot, and times when I didn't. There were many elements that required ambiguity. Personally, I felt that showing too much emotion would be disadvantageous." To achieve this, he expressed only what was written in the script but added subtle clues by putting effort into even passing lines.The scene where he finally reveals the truth was a valuable experience for Park Yoon-ho. Initially, he thought Yu-min's lines would be delivered as narration, but before filming, he was told that the scene would be shot live, capturing both his face and voice. Ultimately, he had to deliver the approximately 5-6 minute scene in one breath."For a rookie like me, getting an opportunity to carry a long scene with my own breath isn't easy. Through this experience, I felt the pressure, but I believe I'll be able to do well if another opportunity arises, based on the experience from 'The Rat.'"Actor Park Yoon-ho poses for a photo before an interview at the building in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 30th. /Reporter Park Heon-wooUpon seeing the completed scene, he understood the director's choice. As past scenes were intercut with a montage, Park Yoon-ho's present self carried the emotional continuity. He remarked, "If it had been just narration, I don't think the same level of emotion would have come through. Because it was my voice, delivered with actual breathing and expressions, it seemed to connect well with the scenes. I was surprised myself."However, the pressure was natural, given it was his first and most significant opportunity, and the support from the set was crucial in overcoming it. Director Kim Hong-sun and Ryu Jun-yeol revisited the emotional intensity Yu-min needed to convey after rehearsals, and Ryu Jun-yeol further explained it in a way that Park Yoon-ho could easily understand.Ryu Jun-yeol's advice, as well as his mere presence, helped ease Park Yoon-ho's tension. Park Yoon-ho expressed his gratitude, saying, "The senior actor made me feel very comfortable and often initiated playful interactions. He also gave me many small tips. As someone who gets very nervous, I was stiff, but he showed me various ways to approach it and told me, 'You can do whatever you want comfortably.'"How will 'The Rat,' a work that left such a strong impression and presented a new challenge, be remembered by Park Yoon-ho? He described it as "a work that served as a running start to move on to the next stage.""It was a good turning point, like gathering momentum on a staircase before taking the next step. It was my first adult role, and I was able to handle difficult scenes based on my past experiences. These experiences feel like I've fought the first round for what's to come. (Laughs)"Actor Park Yoon-ho poses for a photo before an interview at the building in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 30th. /Reporter Park Heon-wooNow, Park Yoon-ho is heading towards new faces. In his next project, 'Proxy College Entrance Exam,' he will wear a school uniform again, but it's not the same uniform for him. He plans to show different sides of himself through various other works, including 'Great Bang Ok-sook' and 'Promoter.'Park Yoon-ho is preparing for another step up after 'The Rat.' He said, "I feel that my upcoming projects all have diverse aspects. As those works will be released one by one, I hope you will watch them with anticipation for my new transformations. There are still many sides of me that I haven't shown, so I will work hard to present them to you in a good light.""I want to continue showing new sides of myself, step by step, for a long time, without rushing. Rather than envisioning a distant future, my priority right now is to quietly fulfill my role within the given projects. There are still many aspects of myself that I haven't revealed, so I hope you will watch with anticipation for Park Yoon-ho's new transformations as I reveal them one by one."sstar1204@tf.co.kr[Entertainment Department | ssent@tf.co.kr]