'Nam-gil reminded me to breathe': Cha Eun-woo tenses up doing action scenes in new K-drama Island starring Kim Nam-gil

Hollywood has a 'Hot Priest' and now, K-drama fans will have their own version of a gorgeous holy man to lust over.

Actor and K-pop idol Cha Eun-woo plays Yohan, a demon-slaying exorcist priest, in the new K-drama Island and he shared more about his role in the press conference on Thursday (Dec 22) which AsiaOne attended in Seoul at Prime Video's invitation.

"I watched Nam-gil in The Fiery Priest as reference and he also gave me some tips on wearing the robe to make it more comfortable," the 25-year-old said, referring to his co-star and veteran actor Kim Nam-gil.

"I had some action scenes and I would get nervous sometimes. Nam-gil would then tap me on the shoulder and remind me to breathe."

Based on a popular webtoon of the same name, action-fantasy drama series Island tells the tale of individuals who are fated to fight against evil forces trying to destroy the world.

Nam-gil and Sung Jun play Van and Gungtan respectively, immortal half-human half-monster demon-hunters. Van has protected the world for thousands of years and is vastly different from the silver-haired Gungtan.

Lee Da-hee plays Won Mi-ho, an heiress who has a mysterious past with Van in a previous life. She is destined to be the key to saving the world but has no recollection of her past lives and how to awaken her powers.

Sensing her identity, demons come after Mi-ho which leads to her seeking help from Van. Yohan, the world's youngest exorcist who has lived overseas since his adoption at birth, is then sent to Jeju Island to protect Mi-ho.

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Eun-woo has scenes in Latin and Italian and director Bae Jong shared a funny anecdote during the press conference.

"In one scene, Eun-woo has very long lines in Italian and after he completed it, the scriptwriter said he was really good with his lines," Bae Jong recounted.

"On the other hand, we had a native Italian speaker on set who told us he didn't understand what Eun-woo had said. So Eun-woo went back to learning his lines and he did well in the next take."

'It was like having a dog in the room'

Sung Jun, 32, shared how he bleached his hair seven times during the seven months of filming in order to maintain his flowing silver locks, at the risk of damaging his hair.

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Nam-gil, 42, praised his professionalism and said: "I bleached my hair before for another project and it's really harsh on the scalp. Even though his scalp was burning, he still continued to do it."

He then added jokingly: "When he comes to my room, it was like having a dog around because there were so many silver hairs left around."

The 12-episode Island will be split into two parts, with the first debuting on Dec 30 and second in the first half of 2023.

Director Bae said the first part will be hipper while the second part will be more fast-paced. On the use of CGI in the drama, he added: "There will be one scene in part two which features a lot of demons. It's difficult to bring to life even for movies and we are trying our best to make it seem realistic."

Island is available on Prime Video from Dec 30.

kwokkarpeng@asiaone.com

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