# Nam Joo-hyuk Talks about Building Guchen in Netflix's 'Donggyung' [Dispatch=Reporter Park Hye-jin] Typically, when an actor portrays a character, they work to immerse the character into that world. They make the figure blend into the story without standing out. Nam Joo-hyuk went the opposite direction. Within a palace bound by discipline, a restrained world, he placed a man who doesn't belong. He designed him to drift, creak, clash, and discord. 'Guchen' is a figure who crosses between the world of ghosts and slays evil spirits. Before the laws of the palace, he walks and speaks as he pleases. He bows to no one. He is arrogant and unrelenting. Nam Joo-hyuk portrayed one of the most depleted characters in his filmography. Through the Netflix series 'Donggyung' (written by Kwon So-ra and Seo Jae-won, directed by Choi Jung-gyu), he showcased not only underwater action but brutal combat against invisible malevolent spirits. Dispatch met with Nam Joo-hyuk on the 21st. We heard about the process of building Guchen and his struggles poured into 'Donggyung'. "I think I demonstrated 120% of what I dreamed and imagined during my military service. Guchen was a character who demanded that I pour all my energy into. I approached it with the determination to give everything."(Nam Joo-hyuk) ## Starting from Loneliness Nam Joo-hyuk received the 'Donggyung' script while serving in the military. He was drawn into the atmosphere that the ghost world gave. He said, "Just imagining it, that world was so vivid. I was curious how it would be realized." He quickly became fascinated with 'Guchen' as well. "He was a character who really didn't fit the palace. I thought about how to bring freshness in a palace that operates under rules. I wanted to make the character more multidimensional," he said. Guchen stands at the boundary between the world of ghosts and the human world. Neither completely belonging to the living nor the dead. He must somehow survive without becoming an evil spirit. Nam Joo-hyuk rooted Guchen in loneliness and derived his emotions from there. When crossing into the ghost world, the color tone and air of the screen change. "Rather, when in the ghost world, I expressed Guchen more authentically," he said, adding "I think of it as a complete Guchen that originates from loneliness within that space." The point he thought about the most was 'discord.' "Since Guchen was a child who existed in his own isolated world, I thought he couldn't synchronize with any other character and wouldn't rely on anyone," he explained. "Then I thought about when he'd be most free, and I realized he could go around appearing wrong in everyone else's eyes. I saw that as Guchen's freedom. So I thought more about how to create discord with the people in the palace." From his tone of voice to his gait and gaze, everything was as if he had just been dragged from a temple. He said, "If I had used traditional historical drama speech, the current Guchen would not have emerged." ## The Struggle with Water After establishing Guchen's internal foundation, he refined his external form. Since most of it was action scenes, Nam Joo-hyuk attended action school even during filming. To prepare for variables that arose on set, he prepared more thoroughly. At home, it was nothing but practice. "I got a toy sword from action school and kept practicing my movements at home," he explained. "In action, foot movement is crucial, so I started with basic footwork." He approached it through defensive rather than offensive action. He infused the action with desperation and urgency. "I had a strong desire to send the ghosts to a good place. I wanted to show intense action without any flourish, for saving everyone," he added. The action with the grandfather with murder suspicions and the crown prince in the latter half was the highlight and physically most grueling scene. That's because he had to shoot two of the most important action sequences back-to-back. Another mountain was 'water.' Water serves as the medium for crossing into the ghost world. Nam Joo-hyuk learned swimming from childhood. He even won a gold medal. But underwater filming was a completely different story. "My childhood was not helpful at all.(laughs) It was truly water all around, and I had to express the turning point where Guchen enters the ghost world within it, so I was scared. When I thought 'Oh, I have to go in again?', I think I truly became Guchen's heart." The depth of the underwater set was about 6 meters. The actor had to descend directly 3-4 meters. He went into every place with water—underwater sets, ponds, jars, wells. He developed water trauma at the time. But the result was satisfying enough to make him forget the trauma. In particular, he said the scene where Guchen first enters the ghost world "is the starting point of 'Donggyung' and most clearly shows the shift in light and shadow." ## The Struggle with the Invisible The ghost world is an unseen, unknown realm. It was actually invisible too. Since most of it is CG post-production work, he had to act using imagination while on set. Nam Joo-hyuk said he actually liked it. "I like imagining things. Since I'm familiar with 'movie cuts' (the cinematographic scenes that appear in games) from childhood, I could quickly adapt to the space of the ghost world," he said. Artistic completeness was added to this. "There were sets constructed like the action scenes with star-sensing ghosts and the action scenes with the 13 palace ladies, elaborate enough that much CG wouldn't even be necessary," he added, "so I could quickly approach the ghost world." In particular, 'Kkeomeoksali' is a character that disarms the heavy atmosphere of 'Donggyung.' It's monopolizing viewers' affection. But Kkeomeoksali is also CG. Nam Joo-hyuk had to act opposite an invisible character. He laughed, "I was confident Kkeomeoksali would work out well. During acting, there was a model of Kkeomeoksali. But when the shot rolled, we had to remove that model. I had to act with coexistence despite its absence." "Depending on how I move, Kkeomeoksali's actions can change too. For example, there's a scene where Kkeomeoksali is being eaten by a snake, and all the action that comes from there can only be created by me, so we flip over together, roll around hugging. The director and I created it together through discussion." ## An Actor Who Doesn't Half-Do Things As the story progresses, Guchen becomes more depleted as his vital energy is stripped away. In fact, Nam Joo-hyuk lost about 7 kilograms. "When first dragged to the palace, he's plump, but I wanted to show him gradually becoming emaciated," he said. He said, "If the vividness was well conveyed to the audience, then the hardship and suffering I went through is not hardship or nothing at all. If it became mulch for creating good scenes, that alone would be enough." Through 'Donggyung,' Nam Joo-hyuk added a new image. He showed not only brilliant action but an arrogant yet endearing Guchen. He completed a multidimensional face. He hoped that "viewers would think 'Nam Joo-hyuk really isn't an actor who half-does things.'" He wants to become freer in his acting. "There was a part where I used to exclude characters myself before, but I think it would be good to be more free and play more in front of the camera," he said. He is still unsatisfied. While saying "I'm not satisfied with myself," he said "I think my shortcomings will ultimately help me grow. I want to show better work as an actor, and to do that, I'll keep thinking about how to grow more." "An actor inevitably receives evaluation each time. I think I'll approach works with the same mind going forward. I'll continue studying and researching, dedicating this body."