‘I think every character in this series is a villain’: Kim Kang-woo on new drama The Tyrant

When a bio-weapon is involved and two countries jostle for power over it, there may be no good guys in a story.

In the new K-drama The Tyrant, South Korea has created a virus that grants people superhuman abilities through the titular Tyrant Project, but the US catches wind of this and wants the programme stopped and the last sample handed over to them.

Actor Kim Kang-woo plays Paul, a US intelligence agent of Korean descent, and said in an interview shared with AsiaOne: “I think every character in this series is a villain in their own way. Each of the characters has their own agenda, leading to a bloody battle to take ownership of the programme.

“It features mind games, physical combat and shootouts, among other things, offering a comprehensive experience with no dull moments.”

The 46-year-old added about his character: “Paul thinks that the programme is too dangerous for South Korea to handle, and that only his country deserves to run a programme of that magnitude. He’s incredibly conservative and believes that South Korea can never possess technology that’s more advanced than that of his own.”

Playing an American came with its own challenges, Kang-woo added, because he doesn’t speak English fluently.

“But because Paul is a US agent, I wanted to reflect this background in his appearance, gestures and his line delivery. I had countless conversations with the director on how I should go about this,” he added.

Paul faces off against Director Choe (played by Kim Seon-ho), head of the Tyrant Project.

When asked what the programme means to his character, Seon-ho, 38, said: “It is the ultimate goal, one that he considers worth risking his life for, all in the name of helping his country.”

He added: “Keeping control of The Tyrant Project requires countless sacrifices. To make sure his actions didn’t come across as selfish, I wanted to portray his suffering.

“I wanted viewers to understand that he does suffer and feel pain so they could relate to how he feels.”

The Tyrant marks Kang-woo and Seon-ho’s second time coming together for a project by director Park Hoon-jung, with the two previously starring in the movie The Childe (2023).

In a regional press conference in July, Kang-woo said: “In The Childe, we weren’t very friendly, so this time around, I hoped we would be friends.

“But we’re clearly not.”

But things were more casual between the two when the cameras weren’t rolling.

In the interview, Seon-ho shared: “I already admired Kang-woo as an actor in his previous projects, but having worked with him on this series, I became friends with him and he treated me like a younger brother.”

‘An extreme level of dichotomy’

He also expressed great admiration for actor Cha Seung-won, who plays former agent Im Sang who is employed when the virus sample gets stolen to assassinate those involved and get it back.

“I learned so much from him both as an actor and as a person – he taught me how to create a positive and fun atmosphere for everyone on set and how to focus intensely on acting when leading a scene,” Seon-ho said. “I became an even greater fan of his after this project.”

Seung-won spoke in the interview about making Im Sang multi-dimensional.

“When I first read the script, I wanted to portray him as a character who possesses an extreme level of dichotomy: his life seems mundane, but at the same time, incredibly out of the ordinary; he appears to be shy and passive but becomes very violent; he seems old and tired, but he is also incredibly agile,” the 54-year-old said.

“I think director Park and I had similar views on the nature of this character. Throughout the filming process, we tried to bring out these contrasting aspects of the character in any given situation.”

‘She will grow into a spectacular actor’

Newbie actress Jo Yoon-soo plays Chae Ja-kyung, the thief tasked with stealing the virus sample.

“I had about a month and a half before production began, so I alternated between stunt training and working out with a personal trainer every day,” she shared.

The 26-year-old added that she had “five to six” action scenes, and had to focus on training and handling weapons like knives and guns.

“Ja-kyung is also a professional killer, so I trained to achieve a raw, rough look suitable for the primal and savage stunts required of me,” she said.

Despite The Tyrant being Yoon-soo’s first action drama, her fellow actors had high praises for her.

“I was so impressed by her stunt work for the action scenes; I don’t think I could have pulled off stunts as well as she did when I was filming The Childe,” Seon-ho said.

“Every single blow looked so authentic that I would tell her, ‘I can see how hard you trained. It feels real.'”

He added that watching Yoon-soo made him “reflect on my own efforts”, questioning if he was “matching her performance and hard work”.

Seung-won, who had one action sequence with her, concurred, saying: “Despite this being her first venture into this genre, she went above and beyond to play her role.”

He often found himself thinking if he’d be “able to perform at her level” if he were the one playing her character.

“She demonstrated incredible dedication, enduring the cold and many other challenges to bring her character to life,” he added.

“I remember thinking to myself that she will grow into a spectacular actor.”

The Tyrant premieres on Disney+ with all four episodes airing on Aug 14.