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2020.12.20 FORBES: Lee Do-Hyun Hopes His Acting Has A Positive Influence On Audiences

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When things start to go crazy in the drama Sweet Home, Lee Do-hyun’s character takes control, bringing a sense of order to a horrific reality. His character lives in an apartment building where the residents start turning into monsters. He’s a natural leader—even in the midst of an unimaginable situation.

 

“I play the character Lee Eun-hyuk,” said Lee. “He is calm, composed, and realistic and does his best as a leader to escape from where he is with others. He separates those who are in the process of turning into a monster from others, locks them up in a room.”

 

Lee considers himself lucky to have been cast in the drama, which co-stars Song Kang, Lee Jin-wook and Lee Si-young, as he really likes his character.

 

“I love the character Eun-hyuk because he is a realist,” he said. “He makes choices that seem too cold, but his choices are convincing and logical. People may criticize Eun-hyuk, but you can’t criticize his choices.”

Lee stars in 'Sweet Home' with Song Kang, Lee Jin-wook and Lee Si-young.

 

Lee made his acting debut in 2017, playing the younger version of Jung Kyung-ho’s character in Prison Playbook. He played a member of a rowing club in Still 17 and a tae kwon do athlete in Clean With Passion, then attracted more attention playing IU’s lost love in the drama Hotel Del Luna, which became one of the highest rated Korean dramas in cable television. In Hotel del Luna, his character is a royal guard during the Goguryeo era. His tortured destiny with IU’s character sets the rest of the plot in motion. 

 

“People started to recognize me after the series,” said Lee. “I used to think that historical drama wasn’t an easy genre to act in, but choosing Hotel Del Luna was a great starting point for me to get familiarized with the genre, so I’m thankful to have been given the opportunity.” 

 

Actors sometimes find it hard to say goodbye to a character they’ve played. So far, his Sweet Home character Eun-hyuk has stayed with him the longest.

 

“It was the first project that made me realize that I do get affected by my character—I became quite angsty and on edge while filming Sweet Home. I think being in the character for the series everyday really affected me.”

 

Just how angst-inducing is Sweet Home? Do viewers need to watch the horror drama before dusk?

 

“I think it’ll probably be better if you watch the series in darkness to immerse yourself in the story,” he said. “And watching it with your friends will be more fun because then you might end up thinking about what kind of monsters you and your friends might turn into if you were in the same situation as the characters.”

 

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Lee recently starred in the JTBC drama 18 Again, about a man who wants to magically revisit what he remembers as an easier time in his life. Yoon Sang Hyun plays the lead at age 38, but when he is suddenly 18 again, Lee takes on the role of his younger self. So, Lee had to act the part of a 38-year-old man, who found himself in an 18-year-old body, and at the same time, mirror Yoon’s mannerisms and actions.

 

It might be too soon to ask if Lee has a time in his life that he wants to return to. At 25 he’s a sought-after actor and the future looks promising.

 

“I don’t want to go back in time to a particular period in my life, but if I had to choose, I’d probably choose to go back to high school years and try to enjoy a more normal life as a high school student appreciating spending time with my friends.”

Although he attended an acting academy in high school, his dreams of becoming an actor crystallized while studying film and theater at Chung-Ang University.

 

 “I wanted to become an actor because I loved how my acting encouraged the audience,” said Lee. “I hope to continue to be an actor that could have a positive influence on the audience.”

 

He takes acting seriously, as he sees its potential to comfort and encourage viewers. Facing his work with that sense of responsibility does make him seem as conscientious as his Sweet Home character Eun-hyuk. 

 

 “I hope that my performance as an actor can give strength to the audience that will help them gain the energy that they need to see the positive aspects of life,” said Lee. “I plan to continue to train myself as an actor and study harder so that I can grow as an actor and be better at what I do to inspire others.”

 

source

 

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@abs-oluteM @Tofu Do Hyun recommends watching this in darkness :laugh:

Edited by mademoiselle
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:Party02:Sweet Home made it into the Top 10 Shows of Netflix USA :Party01:

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It's Top 1 in other Asian countries - Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan. It is also popular in the Middle East. It is currently Top 8 in the US and made it into Top 10 in France.

 

I usually don't care about rankings and statistics but it's considered an achievement since Sweet Home is intended to enter the Western entertainment industries because I notice they not only provide English subs but also English audio. Making this easier for non-Koreans to tune in. Although for us, original audio is still the best.

 

 

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[Herald Interview] ‘I almost became a monster’

‘Sweet Home’ director Lee Eung-bok talks about monsters that drove him crazy
Published : Dec 22, 2020 - 14:50       Updated : Dec 22, 2020 - 14:50
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Megahit director Lee Eung-bok made his Netflix debut with the webtoon-based, monster-packed drama series “Sweet Home” on Friday, opening a new door for K-drama.

Lee, who has directed numerous local hit series including “Descendants of the Sun,” “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” and “Mr. Sunshine,” returns with “Sweet Home,” which is void of the romantic stories for which Lee is known. Instead, residents of apartment complex Green Home display bonds between humans as they fight grotesque monsters of many shapes and forms that reflect human desires.

Lee reflected on the creation of the drama as well as the behind-the-scenes stories in an online interview with press Monday.

“It was my first time working with Netflix. The story was already interesting to me from the early production stages,” said Lee. “I think Netflix allows flexibility. It allows expansion of contents by providing the opportunity to deal with topics rarely shown in traditional media.”

However, the creation of the TV drama was not an easy task, despite the best special effects team available from Netflix, which worked with “The Avengers” and “Avatar,” assisting Lee.

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Muscle monster (Netflix)

“I almost became a monster while creating the drama. The producers constantly told each other ‘let’s not become monsters’ because it was that difficult,” said Lee. “All the monsters were difficult to create, but the muscle monster was the most difficult. Other monster movements can be filmed with a choreographer but monsters that are much larger than humans had to be created by CG (computer-generated imagery).”

One idea for a monster reflecting human desire that Lee thought would be interesting but ended up not including in the series was a beast of vanity.

“If there is to be a second season, I want to include the kind, funny monsters in the original webtoon that I didn’t have much chance to include in the first season,” said Lee.

Although over 30 billion won ($27 million) was put into the 10-episode drama, Lee said meeting the standards of fans who had read the original webtoon on portal site Naver -- where it has over 1.2 billion views -- was a greater pressure than the astronomical production cost.

With the serialization of the webtoon scheduled to end in July, Lee was informed of the webtoon’s conclusion while filming for the series earlier in the year.

“I knew roughly how the webtoon ended because the author tipped me off. I thought it would be better for the ending of the drama to differ a bit from the webtoon because we’re showing on different platforms,” said Lee.

As for the casting of the actors, Lee said that he prioritized synchronicity with the original webtoon characters.
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One of the monsters in “Sweet Home” (Netflix)

One thing that Lee strived for was showing the human aspect of the crisis rather than just people fighting off the monsters.

“Director Bong Joon-ho’s ‘The Host’ shows the entire family uniting to take back the kidnapped daughter from the monster. I think that is what makes the work emotional and fun to watch,” said Lee.

Despite reaching Netflix’s top drama series spot in multiple countries and entering the top 10 in the US -- a first for a Korean series -- Lee thinks many parts of the drama could have been executed better, such as monster transformations and fight scenes.

Meanwhile, Lee will return to the small screen with tvN’s “Jirisan,” starring Jun Ji-hyun and Ju Ji-hoon, next year.
 
Edited by mademoiselle
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Although Sweet Home is dark and gory at times, it doesn't forget to insert some humour.

 

NOTE: This is OK, not exactly a spoiler.

5592681e08cc1d76df47e25151dea1aebef0c868

855738e70caa78b2a69885e99448443d777f6f0d

 

Spoiler

  

... and then there's some heart-felt moment too. *SPOILER* - DO NOT ENTER BEFORE WATCHING

ed18340f7fd474bf4b854243174d3ae6f5075d5c

 

 

Edited by mademoiselle
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18 hours ago, Tofu said:

I saw the Swoonie interview, that's because he doesn't mind scary/horror movies. I will go with whatever Lee Jin Wook says.

What's the time zone difference between you and @stroppyse? Maybe you two can stay connected on the phone via Wi-Fi and watch it together in the dark :laugh:. I watched episode 1-2 late Friday night before bed. It was ok and these 2 episodes had much scarier looking monsters than other episodes combined. You guys (and @abs-oluteM) should be fine if chicken little here was fine. :smile:

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Oh No I was spoiled but still don’t get it. Lol lol 

Can’t wait to watch that scene. 
Just finished episode 2 abs I was awed by the Cliffhanger 

Cast is doing an amazing job and loving it. Give it 5 stars 

The story amazing. I can’t seem to remember the characters name. 
The Monster I like so far is 

CHA Hyun-Su is becoming was so sexy. 
The one that say I CAN’t See is also quite interesting because he can talk . His hearing is is quite high

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Favorite Favorite Artist  Bae Doona, Moon Chae Won, Gong Hyo Jin, Cho Seung Woo, Jang Hyuk,, Jo In Sung,  Gong Yoo

Drama watching now: Plot Love,  Chimera ,The Psychologist, Always have,Always will , Show Windows: Queens House

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Cha Hyun Su , Im Young-Sook 

Spoiler

are infected but are still sane. I like this twist and looking forward to see what happens next. 

It seems like these two characters both suffer from major trauma. This trauma is mental not physical. Is that why they don’t seem eager for hunger.
 Cha Hyun Su’s story is so sad and his family really suffered as he did but their lack of understanding couldn’t help him heal.

Im Young Sook admits she knew her daughter/ baby was dead already and just refused to let go but ???? Please watch

 Being surrounded by selfish people check, some people who are empathetic check.

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Favorite Favorite Artist  Bae Doona, Moon Chae Won, Gong Hyo Jin, Cho Seung Woo, Jang Hyuk,, Jo In Sung,  Gong Yoo

Drama watching now: Plot Love,  Chimera ,The Psychologist, Always have,Always will , Show Windows: Queens House

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On 12/21/2020 at 2:06 PM, mademoiselle said:

@Lynne Do you have a particular monster you find intriguing/unique??

hmmm...... hard to say... 

From what i read, the monster is a manifestation of your heart and desire, so from that alone.. I would gravitates to the ones that makes me touched. I think its the baby incubator monster.. from the mother that lost her child. That monster came from a feeling of someone that wants to protects. and that touched me so to speak... lol 

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@Lynne Spoiler - everyone keep out unless you've finished.

Spoiler

I'm actually interested in Eun Hyuk's monsterisation but too bad they didn't show it. He was supposed to become a cocoon and protect Hyun Soo at the end because his desire is to protect the others. However that's how it got adapted in the live action.

 

The transformation of the mother who lost her child confused me at first coz I thought she "might hatch" and attach Doo Shik ahjussi but looks like she just turns into a baby inside the womb and that's it.

 

Apart from the Good Hearing monster, I was amazed with Hyun Soo's. Good Hearing monster I liked it for the thrill during the watch. It was exciting.

 

Some BTS photos

And to me, this scene showed women empowerment **SPOILER**

Spoiler

https://

twitter.com/NetflixKR/status/1341307490332499968?s=20

 

Edited by mademoiselle
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Just done with this series! Liked it quite a lot, having not a clue what the webtoon is like. So I have no source material to compare the series adaptation to. I have seen comments/reviews online from people who have read the webtoon and it seemed like most didn't like the Netflix series, so fortunately I watched it with a blank slate perspective.

 

At first, I was hesitant to start the drama because I'm a coward when it comes to horror-ish genre. Decided to give Ep 1 a try (with some company lol) and enjoyed it so I binged the rest in 3 days. Anyway, I felt that it wasn't that scary after Ep 4/5. Eps 2-4 did give me some jump scares though. Eep.

 

The Good:

Some shots and transitions were great.

A few of the characters were written quite well and made me get attached to them. This came back to haunt me.

Some of the monsters were hard to look at, so I suppose this is a compliment.

Cliffhangers (because some shows don't bother and so I also don't bother continuing to the next episode LOL)

 

The Bad:

Soundtrack. The over-use of Warriors is laughably bad.

Some cuts made me ???. Sometimes the flow of the storytelling could be better.

 

8 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

And to me, this scene showed women empowerment **SPOILER**

I totally 'Whooped' at this scene! But at the same time cussing at the men lol

 

BTW, any news on Season 2??:pandapopcorn:

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So. Because after completing episode 10, it left me wanting more I went on a re-watch. LOL. It helps a little in capturing other details I had missed during the first time.

 

I had no idea Sweet Home would be this good and did not pay attention to what is in stall at all on the plot etc., and boy am I glad that I didn't pass it out due to the genre. I guess I have Lee Do Hyun and Song Kang to thank - since they were the lure in the beginning.

 

Anyone tried to watch it with other audio languages? Haha, so weird.

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@im0202 Yay, chingu! So happy you've watched it too! Yep, I've read some comments from webtoon readers that the webtoon itself is way better and more detailed. It's like that with any book I guess. But they did say if they hadn't read the webtoon they would think it's well-made so that's a plus, and I'm glad I hadn't read the webtoon too else I'll be the same as them.

 

Like you there were some ??? moment especially towards the near end, one of them being Doo Shik ahjussi which looks like the editing went south for his scenes.

 

It was nice seeing the women join forces saving Ahjussi while the men cower in fear however it also appeared very intentional due to feminism being the trend these days.

 

No news with Season 2 yet. PD Lee Eun Bok is monitoring viewers' reactions. The reception is good so I'd think there is a high chance for S2. I kinda wish they have already filmed the next 10 episodes and are just pulling our legs at the moment.

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@bairama @abnoch You two have to check this out! ^ ^

 

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Interactive Sweet Home

 

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