'The experience was very new': Ju Ji-hoon, called 'genius in action', on wearing tight bodysuit for VR combat scene in Blood Free

He's called a genius in action for a reason.

AsiaOne attended a press conference yesterday (April 8) for the new K-drama Blood Free, where South Korean actor Ju Ji-hoon earned his new nickname.

In the series, the 41-year-old takes on the role of Woo Chae-woon, a former commissioned officer who gets hired as a bodyguard for Yun Ja-yu (played by Han Hyo-joo), the CEO of Blood Free, a company producing artificially cultured meat.

Chae-woon has a hidden agenda — he is determined to uncover the truth behind a terrorist attack that he survived several years ago. He set his sights on fellow survivor Ja-yu after learning that her company experienced record growth and profits as a direct result of the attack.

According to the host at the press conference, the stunt choreographer for the series called Ji-hoon a "genius in action", which he humbly acknowledged with a smile.

"This drama is set against the near future so it was challenging to set the details. The director and I wanted to go for a grounded look, especially in the action sequences. We thought a lot about the genre of action," said Ji-hoon.

"There are very tightly choreographed scenes and also scenes with less choreography which look more rash and realistic. Even if you prepare for it a lot, there's a possibility that you could get hurt on set."

While the drama has its realism, it also explores futuristic elements and Ji-hoon recalled how he had to put on a tight bodysuit for a virtual reality (VR) combat scene.

"Chae-woon gets tested for his physical abilities before his final round of interviews for the job. It's done in VR so I had to wear a full bodysuit, and the premise in the show is that Chae-woon can feel pain while wearing it," explained Ji-hoon.

"I had to imagine and do all of the action and combat on my own. It (the experience) was very new to say the least."

Hyo-joo, 37, also had to work with her imagination in a scene where Ja-yu moves holograms around during a speech.

‪Praising his co-star, Ji-hoon talked about how the scene was "impressive‬".

"While she presents, there're holograms and CG graphics but she can't see them (during filming). It's such a long scene and she could imagine all the holograms and make everything perfect," he remarked.

Hyo-joo revealed that she memorised the lines for the speech despite having teleprompters in the scene.

"I really wanted to do a good job so I looked up Ted talks and a lot of references to make sure that I hit the mark for everything. I usually don't like to do many rehearsals to make sure that I look very realistic and grounded," she said.

"I wanted to memorise every line to make sure that the scene turned out perfect."

When asked how it was like working with Hyo-joo for the first time, Ji-hoon sang more praises.

"I personally think that Hyo-joo is a solid actor. She provides very dense performances… When I talk to her and work together with her on set, I feel like she's just such a solid person. I can rely on her while collaborating with her," he said.

Hyo-joo felt the same about him: "He said that he relied on me but on set, I was the one that relied on him. As an actor, he has a great presence on set. He also has the eyes of a producer."

"If something is going to go wrong on set, he would be vocal about it, so as someone working with him… he's such a good person that I can rely on."

Blood Free, which also stars Lee Hee-jun, Lee Mu-saeng, Kim Sang-ho, Jun Suk-ho and Park Ji-yeon, premieres April 10 on Disney+ with two episodes, and two new episodes will be released every Wednesday.

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syarifahsn@asiaone.com

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