Jang Hyuk 장혁

[phoenix24]

1 hour ago, Biology Lesson said:

I'm glad JH's friend is on the cast. Seems like he is so friendly, he will be helping everyone to bond. Made me think about what JH said abour MC, that he felt lonely on that shoot, cause most the other actors were younger than him and I guess they felt anxious around JH. Here it looks like a different feel. I like it!

Also, the senior cop lady is beautiful! I hope if there will be romance, it will be with her

Nice to see JH smiling and laughing.  I always thought that Yang Se Jong looks happy to see JH although I'm not sure about the others in MC.

[budgerie]

2 hours ago, Biology Lesson said:

I'm glad JH's friend is on the cast. Seems like he is so friendly, he will be helping everyone to bond. Made me think about what JH said abour MC, that he felt lonely on that shoot, cause most the other actors were younger than him and I guess they felt anxious around JH. Here it looks like a different feel. I like it!

Also, the senior cop lady is beautiful! I hope if there will be romance, it will be with her

That friend acted with JH in a number of drama right? I can only remember off hand SOGC. The senior lady cop also acted in SOGC, did I recognise correctly? Wasn't she the one working in the brothel?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dramafan33]

15 minutes ago, budgerie said:

That friend acted with JH in a number of drama right? I can only remember off hand SOGC. The senior lady cop also acted in SOGC, did I recognise correctly? Wasn't she the one working in the brothel?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, they are friends since they were students, the male actor’s name is Ryu Seung Soo and has worked with Jang Hyuk in Thank You (he was the town’s Dr who was always scared) Tree with deep roots, SOGC, Beautiful Mind (first eps), Wok of Love (the gangster who was Chilsung’s great rival) and I might be forgetting some role

 

And yes, the female cop was also in SOGC  

[budgerie]

29 minutes ago, dramafan33 said:

Yes, they are friends since they were students, the male actor’s name is Ryu Seung Soo and has worked with Jang Hyuk in Thank You (he was the town’s Dr who was always scared) Tree with deep roots, SOGC, Beautiful Mind (first eps), Wok of Love (the gangster who was Chilsung’s great rival) and I might be forgetting some role

 

And yes, the female cop was also in SOGC  

Thank you! Haiz, my memory is failing.

Oh ok, he's the timid doctor in TY. I didn't think it was him, I mean I couldn't recognise. He looked cute in TY.

BM - what did he act as? I really cannot remember now.

[dramafan33]

26 minutes ago, budgerie said:

Thank you! Haiz, my memory is failing.

Oh ok, he's the timid doctor in TY. I didn't think it was him, I mean I couldn't recognise. He looked cute in TY.

BM - what did he act as? I really cannot remember now.

In BM he only appeared on first eps, he played a CEO or sth, LYO detected he was going to have some sort of attack as he entered an elevator just by observing his body language (Im not too sure this is very accurate since my memory is also failing haha) but yeah he wasn’t a super nice guy, LYO wanted to broadcast or film his surgery and sorta blackmailed him to get his consent. But I think LYO’s dad interfered? (I might be mixing things up at this point )

[The Reel Life]

6 minutes ago, dramafan33 said:

In BM he only appeared on first eps, he played a CEO or sth, LYO detected he was going to have some sort of attack as he entered an elevator just by observing his body language (Im not too sure this is very accurate since my memory is also failing haha) but yeah he wasn’t a super nice guy, LYO wanted to broadcast or film his surgery and sorta blackmailed him to get his consent. But I think LYO’s dad interfered? (I might be mixing things up at this point )

You got it all right. I just watched it last month so it’s fresh in my memory haha. 

[budgerie]

2 minutes ago, The Reel Life said:

You got it all right. I just watched it last month so it’s fresh in my memory haha. 

Oh you finished BM already. So how is it? Do a marathon - from FTLY to MF to BM to... BPP next? I guess you can skip WOL though. Lol.

 

 

[Biology Lesson]

1 hour ago, budgerie said:

That friend acted with JH in a number of drama right? I can only remember off hand SOGC. The senior lady cop also acted in SOGC, did I recognise correctly? Wasn't she the one working in the brothel?

Yes, she was the madam of the brothel, that worked with Wang so. I have to say I really like her vibe. I kinda wish she was the main female lead. Looking at this poster, she is the only one who comes close to match JH's intensity. Would love to see them playing a couple in a relationship- 

 

[azureblue7]

More bts Pics!

 

 

[The Reel Life]

34 minutes ago, budgerie said:

Oh you finished BM already. So how is it? Do a marathon - from FTLY to MF to BM to... BPP next? I guess you can skip WOL though. Lol.

 

 

Haha BM was good. It was something I had to grow to like though, I didn’t love it at the onset just like how I did with FTLY. Money flower was my introduction to JH, then I marathoned FTLY, and now I completed BM. 

 

I partially didnt warm up to BM as quick because I disliked the politics in the hospital. It was so amateurish, esp the rich man’s son and his hosp Director sidekick. They weren’t interesting antagonists. The mystery at the beginning was interesting but the female lead was fumbling and being irrational constantly that I was abit annoyed too. And then the mystery suddenly died off? And they focused more on LYO’s character development. I did grow to like the couple and the female lead later though, after she took him to the countryside then she was better after that. I also disliked the “power rangers team” as much as I know general audiences like them. I dislike caricature-ish characters and to me they served that purpose. Money flower was serious throughout and the characters carried weight - in other words no silly characters. 

 

But overall, I liked LYO’s character development. I agree JH played it really well. I attribute my lack of excitement over the show to the procedural feeling of things. One hospital case after another. That’s why I’m not a fan of procedurals personally, but I know many enjoy it. But for a procedural medical drama, they did really well in focusing on character development! I do still feel that his performances in money flower and FTLY touched me and moved me more. 

 

I just hope that TMWYS does justice to JH character development wise. I know my expectations are abit lofty though, because it’s OCN after all, and they may want to focus more on creating a dark show with interesting cases more than creating emotionally compelling characterizations. But fingers crossed this can take the route that Signal or Tunnel used to take. Procedural but emotional. 

[Prettysup]

Westwood pics

 

 

[Biology Lesson]

3 hours ago, The Reel Life said:

Haha BM was good. It was something I had to grow to like though, I didn’t love it at the onset just like how I did with FTLY. Money flower was my introduction to JH, then I marathoned FTLY, and now I completed BM. 

 

I partially didnt warm up to BM as quick because I disliked the politics in the hospital. It was so amateurish, esp the rich man’s son and his hosp Director sidekick. They weren’t interesting antagonists. The mystery at the beginning was interesting but the female lead was fumbling and being irrational constantly that I was abit annoyed too. And then the mystery suddenly died off? And they focused more on LYO’s character development. I did grow to like the couple and the female lead later though, after she took him to the countryside then she was better after that. I also disliked the “power rangers team” as much as I know general audiences like them. I dislike caricature-ish characters and to me they served that purpose. Money flower was serious throughout and the characters carried weight - in other words no silly characters. 

 

But overall, I liked LYO’s character development. I agree JH played it really well. I attribute my lack of excitement over the show to the procedural feeling of things. One hospital case after another. That’s why I’m not a fan of procedurals personally, but I know many enjoy it. But for a procedural medical drama, they did really well in focusing on character development! I do still feel that his performances in money flower and FTLY touched me and moved me more. 

I agree that in the beginning BM was a mess, as its focus was on the wrong thing, and it sure paid the price for that in terms of ratings, but there was one thing in the show that was consistent, and that was the plot thread around LYO character development. JH's acting was brilliant in the show, and the way his character changed was incredible. The writing of his character blew my mind- so subtle and real! It was something that you rarely see in kdramas. 

Me personally, from the moment the show changed it hit its stride. I loved almost everything about the show, except the plot around the other main doctor. That bored me. He was kinda screwed cause he was relegated with the initial mystery. Poor guy!  

But the rest- I loved! I loved the love story, the main nurse, and, at the end, I loved LYO's ex and dad. I even loved the five "power rangers" and I kinda wish we had more of them. I loved the show's sense of humor, which was mostly subtle. It did go overboard at times, but just a bit. I just watched The Fiery priest, and that show was much worse. No subtlety there! If you want to see caricature-ish characters and over the top humor and acting, that's the show for you! Also , it had something BM didn't have, and that is- lots of bad acting! Seriously, Lee Ha-Nee is not a good actress... 

BM wasn't perfect, but when it was good- it was amazing! There are so many scenes and moments in that show that I love- the moment the girl asks him "should I scream if I'm glad to see you?!", the lie-detector scene, LYO keeping mementos from the girl without even knowing why, telling her about thinking that all the other people are aliens, the first kiss, how the girl actually scared LYO... I can go on and on...

Even though I think MF has some of JH's best acting, that show doesn't make me want to rewatch it.

Like you I hope this new show will focus more on the characters and will not be just another procedural...

[The Reel Life]

1 hour ago, Biology Lesson said:

Even though I think MF has some of JH's best acting, that show doesn't make me want to rewatch it.

Thanks for sharing in detail what you loved about BM! I understand all that you said.  

What show would of JH would you rewatch then @Biology Lesson? Of course, I have only watched 4 of JH's dramas, including MC, and I'm already such a big fan now so I can only imagine how bigger fans you guys are, haha. For me, I would rewatch FTLY and MF again and again. Those 2 shows just don't bore me at all! Because of the overall cast, their acting are just too good. Even when the screentime is not on JH, I still feel compelled to watch because of how good and how much chemistry the rest of the cast of those 2 shows had.

[Biology Lesson]

1 hour ago, The Reel Life said:

Thanks for sharing in detail what you loved about BM! I understand all that you said.  

What show would of JH would you rewatch then @Biology Lesson? Of course, I have only watched 4 of JH's dramas, including MC, and I'm already such a big fan now so I can only imagine how bigger fans you guys are, haha. For me, I would rewatch FTLY and MF again and again. Those 2 shows just don't bore me at all! Because of the overall cast, their acting are just too good. Even when the screentime is not on JH, I still feel compelled to watch because of how good and how much chemistry the rest of the cast of those 2 shows had.

Well, I have re-watched:

 FTLY - an embarrassing amount of times . I can actually rewatch it immediately after finishing it.

BM- a close second- I will admit I am probably gonna rewatch it this week after our conversation

Robbers- really like the acting in it and the themes in this show.

SOGC- mainly the middle part, that part is so much fun and Wang So is hilarious!

DRT- I really liked this show on the first viewing, for the plot more that JH's acting, but when I tried to rewatch it, I found myself stopping in the middle. The main female lead is really difficult for me to watch.

MF- there are scenes I want to rewatch in this show, like the moment the driver realizes who Pil Joo is- I loved the expression change on JH, but not the entire thing. 

[The Reel Life]

55 minutes ago, Biology Lesson said:

Well, I have re-watched:

 FTLY - an embarrassing amount of times . I can actually rewatch it immediately after finishing it.

BM- a close second- I will admit I am probably gonna rewatch it this week after our conversation

Robbers- really like the acting in it and the themes in this show.

SOGC- mainly the middle part, that part is so much fun and Wang So is hilarious!

DRT- I really liked this show on the first viewing, for the plot more that JH's acting, but when I tried to rewatch it, I found myself stopping in the middle. The main female lead is really difficult for me to watch.

MF- there are scenes I want to rewatch in this show, like the moment the driver realizes who Pil Joo is- I loved the expression change on JH, but not the entire thing. 

What's DRT?

 

Also just curious, what makes MF less of a stand-out to you compared to the rest of JH's shows?

[dramafan33]

@Biology Lesson I just want to say, I love BM so much! For all the reasons you mentioned! I understand the drama had flaws (like you said, the mystery aspect of it wasn’t the best) but everything related to LYO, his development was just so...perfect. I even love the flashbacks that revealed more about his character every episode (not saying I don’t understand that some of the drama flaws can be a turn off, but I was so in love with the good aspects of it as well)

 

And I know this is OT but want to quickly vent about TFP since you mentioned it. I started the drama because of the positive comments and I like KNG as an actor (he was my first k-love) and finished watching it because I watch dramas with my mom and she was enjoying it but, I was so annoyed half the time! I find it very surprising how much praise, ratings and awards it got. I still think KNG is a good actor but, this is definitely not my favorite work of his. Lee Honey drove me nuts in a bad way and I actually was in love with her based on her character and performance in “Rebel” (a sageuk) and I has found her to be decent in SOGC. She was amazing and charismatic in Rebel but so obnoxious (to me) in TFP. When it won so many awards I thought how much I wish JH to be in a successful drama like that but at the same time, I wish it was in a drama that “deserves” it (or at least in my personal un-objective view of course) 

 

I sort of “fell out of love” with DRT after a recent rewatch too. I actually loved that drama and rewatched it a couple of times. Its my first JH drama and Ddolbock, I loved him despite his loudness. Its the first character that introduced me to JHs intense eyes and martial arts, and raw heartfelt crying, but its almost as if other JH characters and interpretations surpassed him so much that now my first love is no longer so special (I feel sad confessing this omg) On a recent rewatch I noticed how he went OTT many times and he was also not at “his handsomest” so, sadly I had to remove DRT and Ddolbock from my top pedestal (I swear I feel weird admitting this). Freaking Bangwon’s performance kind of ruined him for me too, since I did my rewatch after MC. It makes me want to agree with some of you who mentioned there’s a clear evolution in his performances, he is now more in control of even his own body language and micro expressions (I want to believe this although there have been some hiccups imo with Gaekju and Voice) and interestingly his acting in Chuno was more nuanced in comparison to DRT, but then again, the direction must have influence, of course. 

 

Still, there are some Ddolbock scenes that are always in my heart like the scene when he sees and talks to his father’s ghost by the river. His beautiful eyes brimming with tears  

 

My most rewatched show is Robbers  I can’t explain why, cause I don’t think its his best drama or my favorite but every once in a while I feel like rewatching his scenes and once I start I can’t stop. I did a rewatch of most of his scenes recently during Christmas eve morning. Somehow this one didn’t suffer the same fate as DRT for me, I still love it. 

 

A drama that no longer seems to be so popular among newer fans (and I understand why cause its a bit dense) is Chuno. That one and Daegil (as a character) are still on my top.  Thank You is a drama I rewatched a few times and plan to rewatch soon. It’s very heartwarming overall (I just need to remember to get some tolerance for Dr Min’s macho act and his ocasional yelling) 

[Biology Lesson]

18 minutes ago, The Reel Life said:

What's DRT?

 

Also just curious, what makes MF less of a stand-out to you compared to the rest of JH's shows?

DRT- Deep Rooted Tree.

 

I know that many fans loved MF, and you have every right to like it, but I mainly had a problem with the writing of the show- I think this is another show that was made great mainly by JH's effort. Without him it would have been bland and boring. It's very clear that the sensuality in this show was injected mainly by him, as none of the other characters matched it. It was only around him that you could feel the heat rise, even with the guys Scenes without him were mostly a-sexual. Even when it was a kissing scene! and lets not forget how bland and flat was the main female character.

Also, even thought the whole revenge plot and machinations by Pil Joo were great, I constantly felt the story of the characters could have been better, especially from an emotional stand point. I thought the background of how and why Pil Joo was where he was when we joined his story made absolutely no sense. There is no way this 40 year old man, who is smarter than everyone around him, would spend more than 20 years plotting his revenge. I thought they could have given him a better back story. I thought the fact that Mal Ran was crazy and so vulnerable made Pil Joo's entire effort pointless. She just wasn't a worthy bad guy! I thought it would have been much better had she been a devious femme fatal, which would have made the strange sexual vibes between them make more sense.

And finally- Pil Joo, unlike LYO, was a flat character. We never see him change. He merely reacts to changing situations, but he himself never changes. And that to me, at the end of the day, was boring. This is one of the reasons why I think Midas had a better story, because JH's character there had a breaking point and he changed. The only thing to me that makes MF better than Midas was JH's acting. It's interesting that JH said that it was his regret over his acting in Midas that made him look for a similar role, that turned out to be MF 

[Biology Lesson]

1 hour ago, dramafan33 said:

@Biology Lesson I just want to say, I love BM so much! For all the reasons you mentioned! I understand the drama had flaws (like you said, the mystery aspect of it wasn’t the best) but everything related to LYO, his development was just so...perfect. I even love the flashbacks that revealed more about his character every episode (not saying I don’t understand that some of the drama flaws can be a turn off, but I was so in love with the good aspects of it as well)

I kinda wish for a season 2 of BM, as I want to see LYO in a relationship, but sadly I know we won't be getting that. The only thing that makes me hopeful, is what we know of JH by now, that he looks to improve his previous roles, so maybe we'll meet a different iteration of LYO

1 hour ago, dramafan33 said:

It makes me want to agree with some of you who mentioned there’s a clear evolution in his performances, he is now more in control of even his own body language and micro expressions (I want to believe this although there have been some hiccups imo with Gaekju and Voice) and interestingly his acting in Chuno was more nuanced in comparison to DRT, but then again, the direction must have influence, of course. 

Looking at JH's acting, I feel like the change in him started in BM. I feel like he took more control of his characters from that point on wards. Of course directors have to be taken into account, which is how I explain Voice, and also- JH's character didn't exist in the original script of Voice, right? So I guess we need to make allowances for that  His acting is indeed getting so good that it's mind boggling, and he isn't afraid of experimenting, which is why I view him as one of the best actors I've ever seen. JH is an entire package that is very rare. Now the only thing that remains is for him to get scripts that are worthy of him.

 

1 hour ago, dramafan33 said:

And I know this is OT but want to quickly vent about TFP since you mentioned it. I started the drama because of the positive comments and I like KNG as an actor (he was my first k-love) and finished watching it because I watch dramas with my mom and she was enjoying it but, I was so annoyed half the time! I find it very surprising how much praise, ratings and awards it got. I still think KNG is a good actor but, this is definitely not my favorite work of his. Lee Honey drove me nuts in a bad way and I actually was in love with her based on her character and performance in “Rebel” (a sageuk) and I has found her to be decent in SOGC. She was amazing and charismatic in Rebel but so obnoxious (to me) in TFP. When it won so many awards I thought how much I wish JH to be in a successful drama like that but at the same time, I wish it was in a drama that “deserves” it (or at least in my personal un-objective view of course) 

I completely agree with what you wrote about TFP. That show was fun, nothing more. It had a lot bad acting, and even more over acting, including by the lead actor. I know that JH is often criticized for over acting, was KNG also criticized? Lee Honey was horrifyingly bad. Horrifyingly! I was shocked by her, as I only saw her in SOGC. The fact that that show won so many awards is a testament of the reality of awards shows- they mostly award highly rated shows, not those that are quality. TFP felt like it was made according to a recipe- take this amount of humor, this amount of angst, this amount to action, mix well and- voila! you have a successful show! No heart or art in that show...

As much a I also want JH to be in successful shows, the fact is I don't like most of them. I want him to be in a show that has good writing and emotional arcs, and hope that it will be successful. I know we don't agree about MF, but on one thing we do agree- JH was mind boggling in it! I would love to see him doing similar shows, only I wish they would sex them up a bit

[The Reel Life]

Its always fun reading other fan’s accounts of their love for JH’s past role! I didn’t have the privilege of journeying with him since he started or much earlier but this gives good insights to his evolution as an actor. I must say reading from what you guys said, he definitely grew a lot because the actor I see him today is incredibly nuanced and not that OTT, although I can see streaks of it. I somehow feel he generally ENJOYS being OTT at times though, it’s as though he gets a kick out of it. That’s why he said recently in an interview that he enjoys sageuk because it allows for more expressive acting, didn’t he? 

 

I totally understand both of your love for BM and LYO, and how Pil Joo could be seen as a flat character. I didn’t read too much into PJ as a character, I was too busy being mesmerized by JH’s insane intensity as an actor in the show. He just brought his acting to a whole new level in MF I feel. 

 

However, I want to give credit to the director of MF too. I think she did a wonderful job creating the tension and suspense with the close ups, camera work, slow-mos and using music at appropriate times. Without that, JH alone can’t create that effect. That’s why I really hope that JH can reunite with her in another show. I think she appreciates JH a lot and they have great camaraderie. 

 

9 hours ago, dramafan33 said:

When it won so many awards I thought how much I wish JH to be in a successful drama like that but at the same time, I wish it was in a drama that “deserves” it (or at least in my personal un-objective view of course) 

 

Oh how much I want this as well. His last BIG hit was money flower, but not of recent works. Although his acting was great, the materials weren’t popular and yes like you guys said ratings are almost EVERYTHING in drama world. Ratings is what gets you noticed. I often wonder, what’s the combination that can get JH those ratings hit? I so often wish he gets a wonderful script and wonderful partner/cast, because I know that his acting is already top notch and ratings is now out of his locus of control. 

 

Do u guys think JH has a tendency to pick more eccentric or non mainstream roles these days? Which then leads to it being hard to be a ratings hit? Or is it primary the material that is holding him back? Or lack of a critically acclaimed/immensely popular co-star in the show? I always still feel that the latter is harmless, not that JH alone can’t carry a show, we’ve seen it so many times, but I think truth is the more number of popular actors you have in the same show the more buzz and fans it draws in. 

 

—————

Anyhow. These days, he’s really topping his previous works each time. I hope we will get to see the same for TMWYS. My only wariness is the director, but we shall see! 

 

Oh and @Biology Lesson I said I watched 4 JH shows only ie. FTLY, MF, BM and MC. But I totally forgot that I watched Voice as well. Why was it so unmemorable for me? I feel bad now LOL.  

 

 

[Biology Lesson]

5 hours ago, The Reel Life said:

I totally understand both of your love for BM and LYO, and how Pil Joo could be seen as a flat character. I didn’t read too much into PJ as a character, I was too busy being mesmerized by JH’s insane intensity as an actor in the show. He just brought his acting to a whole new level in MF I feel. 

Oh, let me make something clear- even though it's not my favorite, it was actually MF that made me a JH fan  and it also wasn't so long ago, maybe two years...

You see, I first watched FTLY at the recommendation of my brother. And I really loved that show, so I thought I'll watch more shows of the same actor. Didn't even know his name at the time. So I watched a few more, I think BM, DRT and SOGC, and I loved all those shows too! But at this point I thought that it was Kdramas that were that good, I didn't think it was JH. So a few months later I watched Black, and I really like it, so I thought I'll watch Song Seung-Heon shows, the same as I did with JH. But to my surprise, I didn't like any of his shows. I didn't even finish them. So I was like "wait... it was the actor?!"

 I went back, and looked for another JH show, and this time I found MF... And, as you've said, JH's acting was so controlled, so intense, that I found myself literally grabbing my head in disbelief (seriously, I actually did that  )- I just couldn't believe I was seeing what I was seeing! And that made me an official fan. I went online, started checking for information on him, which led me to find that just before filming MF he did The dragon club. So watched it, and that was when I fell in love. Just a bit...   and the rest is history... 

5 hours ago, The Reel Life said:

Do u guys think JH has a tendency to pick more eccentric or non mainstream roles these days? Which then leads to it being hard to be a ratings hit? Or is it primary the material that is holding him back? Or lack of a critically acclaimed/immensely popular co-star in the show? I always still feel that the latter is harmless, not that JH alone can’t carry a show, we’ve seen it so many times, but I think truth is the more number of popular actors you have in the same show the more buzz and fans it draws in. 

I do think he has a tendency for more eccentric roles. Look at Robbers, that even many of his fans hate, Dae gil, LYO... His characters are usually gray. Look at Bad papa. That character was very hard to swallow and the show didn't give us much of the typical elements in Kdramas- even though it had an element of Sci-fi in the pills, it was very real. Even if I didn't like that drama, it made me respect JH's courage in doing it. It seems like JH does only characters that HE wants to do, not characters that will guarantee success. In his recent interviews he spoke about getting to do as many different characters as he can before he gets too old, and he spoke about having fun. So I guess he's looking for a challenge. A role that will push his abilities...

5 hours ago, The Reel Life said:

Oh and @Biology Lesson I said I watched 4 JH shows only ie. FTLY, MF, BM and MC. But I totally forgot that I watched Voice as well. Why was it so unmemorable for me? I feel bad now LOL.  

believe me I understand why that role is not memorable to you... The role in Voice is actually an example for a typical kdrama role that will guarantee success. The show went by the typical formula of OCN shows, and it worked. The general public seem to love that show, it's just JH's fans that don't...