[Dispatch=Reporter Jung Tae-yoon] "The compliment I like best is hearing 'I don't think anyone but you could do this.'"

It's the compliment Ryu Jun-yeol most wants to hear as an actor. In fact, the dual role in Netflix's 'Field Mouse' was quite close to that kind of acting.

Though he played two people with the same face, they were clearly different in emotional depth, speech patterns, and behavior. The difference wasn't made simply by changing appearance.

It wasn't merely a formal challenge of a dual role. It was about clearly distinguishing two characters while gradually blurring that boundary as the story progressed toward its conclusion.

The makeup and voice changes were devices to show that difference. Ultimately, it was his acting—creating different emotions and choices—that completed the characters.

Dispatch recently met with Ryu Jun-yeol. We heard about the process of creating the two faces of 'Field Mouse' and the questions he posed to himself within it.

◆ Field Mouse

'Field Mouse' begins with a familiar folklore in which a field mouse that ate someone's fingernails replaces that person. It unfolds as an unpredictable chase centered around the field mouse.

Ryu Jun-yeol plays Je Mun-jae, who pursues the field mouse that has stolen his life. Mun-jae is a writer who has lived in hiding, disconnected from the world. He also plays Seo Yu-min, who becomes the field mouse.

He said, "After reading the script, I wanted to know what came next, so I looked for the original webtoon. There are stories where clues are laid out but never resolved, right? The original had many stories I wanted to know."

The life of a field mouse who had to steal another's existence. For some, it's a story difficult to understand. Ryu Jun-yeol focused on understanding the heart of someone who must make choices he himself would never make.

"I started with emotions anyone can experience—inferiority, jealousy. Though I wouldn't do those things, I thought deeply about how to drive someone into a situation where they must."

◆ Details of a Dual Role

Details mattered in the dual role. Ryu Jun-yeol said, "The director and actor see things differently, but the director listened to my opinions on every aspect—appearance, voice, costume, and more."

He added, "We thought carefully about making different parts different and identical parts completely identical, so it looks like a completely different character while also looking like the same character."

Seo Yu-min, played by Park Yun-ho, is the character who face-swaps into Je Mun-jae. Seo Yu-min expresses Je Mun-jae by shifting between Park Yun-ho's face and Ryu Jun-yeol's face.

There were times when he had to switch makeup as many as 3 or 4 times a day, going back and forth between the field mouse and Mun-jae. Ryu Jun-yeol said, "When playing the field mouse, I wore contacts with a spot below the white of the eye and also altered the shape of my ears."

The most interesting part is the latter half. The scene where Je Mun-jae and Seo Yu-min meet. Truth and reality blend, and the boundary between the two characters gradually blurs. It's a moment where it becomes difficult to tell who is imitating whose life and where their true self ends.

Ryu Jun-yeol tried to express this through voice as well. "I mechanically mixed my voice with Yun-ho's. I thought about ratios like 9:1 or 6:4. But I thought it would be more impactful if I adjusted it myself, so I manually changed the tone," he emphasized.

◆ Who Am I

The horror that 'Field Mouse' presents lies in the idea that you can be replaced. While filming, Ryu Jun-yeol didn't think deeply about that meaning. Only after seeing the completed work did the horror within it gradually dawn on him.

Ryu Jun-yeol said, "When I read philosophy books, they ask how you can define yourself as a person. If I can't prove it through my name, job, or parents, I don't know where else to prove who I am."

He said, "Right now everyone thinks of me as an actor, but if I don't work for a certain period, I might not be seen as one either. I started to wonder how I should define myself as a person."

The question "Who am I?" led to "What kind of actor do I want to be?" Ryu Jun-yeol said, "In acting too, I want to do irreplaceable acting—work that feels like 'I don't think anyone but you could do this.'"

"When I ask myself why I should do a project, it seems I'm pursuing things others wouldn't, things others can't do. If I act roles anyone could easily play, there's no reason for me to struggle. It seems right to say 'I simply don't choose the easy path.'"

◆ Unfinished Homework

His concern deepened on set about what kind of actor he should be. He said, "If I think about asking Yun-ho what kind of senior I am, I suddenly feel scared," and paused in thought.

"Lately I keep seeing the staff members. Their eyes sparkling, sweating and running around—I wonder if I'm acting with that kind of energy. I'm questioning whether I'm just going through the motions without regret."

Ryu Jun-yeol's interests no longer stay only in front of the camera. He's become interested in film importing, attending prestigious film festivals overseas. He meets with film company executives seeking advice, does writing work, and has already purchased films with import partners.

He said, "I'm working on various projects. I'm also considering a YouTube channel introducing films," and added, "I have a strong desire to create films I want to watch. I want to make things that are difficult to produce easily."

Nothing is decided yet. There's no plan to direct, no concrete production schedule. Whether as an actor or filmmaker, Ryu Jun-yeol is still searching for answers.

How to define himself, what kind of person to become, what films to show the world. Rather than settling on answers, he continues asking questions. For Ryu Jun-yeol, acting still seems close to that kind of process.

"Through working on projects and having various experiences, I keep learning. I'm still doing homework, and it's homework that will never end."

<Photo courtesy of Netflix>