[Dispatch=Yuha Sky Reporter] Actor Noh Jaewon steadily built up experience moving between theater and independent films. His acting abilities drew attention early on, but his name remained unfamiliar to the general public.

He gradually began making his name known. Through works such as 'It's Okay to Not Be Okay', 'The Outlaws 3', 'Intimate Betrayers', and 'Squid Game', he showcased diverse facets.

Then came the film 'Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub' (hereinafter 'Tazza 4'). It was his first leading role in a commercial film. Along with excitement came responsibility. Noh Jaewon focused on portraying Park Taeyoung convincingly.

Noh Jaewon said, "I didn't view Park Taeyoung simply as a villain," adding, "I tried to find the reason why admiration for a friend turned into inferiority complex and ultimately led to betrayal."

Dispatch met with Noh Jaewon on the 14th. He shared the burden faced in his first leading commercial film role and the inner story discovered through the character.

◆ "First Lead Role, Meeting 'Tazza'"

'Tazza 4' is an external chapter of the 'Tazza' series. It tells the story of Jang Taeyoung, who accumulated illegal wealth through online casino business, and his best friend Park Taeyoung. It depicts Jang Taeyoung, stripped of everything, seeking revenge against Park Taeyoung, who betrayed him.

It was a position he had long desired, but anxiety arrived before excitement. More than the title of 'leading role', the greater concern was how to portray Park Taeyoung convincingly.

Moreover, it was 'Tazza'. Noh Jaewon found himself marking the finale of a 20-year legacy. However, rather than being weighed down by that reputation, he focused on the newness of this work alone.

"'Tazza' is such an excellent series. But this film isn't a work that would be overshadowed by that legacy. I felt it was a story we had never seen before—something new."

On set, he collided fully. Director Choi Guk-hee created a platform for actors to freely express what they had prepared. Rather than staying confined to set dialogue and blocking, they tested various possibilities.

Noh Jaewon recalled, "The director let us do everything we wanted to do," adding, "I was passionate and tried many different things. Senior Byeon and I really let loose."

◆ "Why Did You Betray Your Friend"

Park Taeyoung, as Noh Jaewon saw him, was "someone who wanted to be loved." Before hating Jang Taeyoung, he admired his life. He wanted to live like his friend and even wished to emulate the ease and confidence Jang Taeyoung possessed.

For Noh Jaewon, Byeon Yohan was also a senior who gave him much stimulation as an actor. He learned from his approach to acting and his attitude on set. At the same time, a sense of envy emerged. It aligned with the emotions Park Taeyoung felt toward Jang Taeyoung.

Noh Jaewon found Park Taeyoung's emotions in his closest real-life friend. He said, "I have a best friend who is like my alter ego. A friend I greatly admire and respect," adding, "Especially watching how they approach life, I learn a lot."

For that reason, he didn't play Park Taeyoung as a simple villain. Rather than justifying his choices, he delved into why those choices were made. The important question for Noh Jaewon was 'why did he do that.'

That emotion explodes in the final confrontation. When Jang Taeyoung in the film asks, "Wasn't the real lucky bastard you?", Park Taeyoung fires back with "What do you know?" It was an ad-lib from Noh Jaewon not in the script.

"It came out without me realizing it. Park Taeyoung has been constantly compared, and he believed he had no luck. He wouldn't have thought Jang Taeyoung understood his life. I think it was the feeling of 'What do you know about my life?'"

◆ "Byeon Yohan, Someone to Admire"

The connection between the two began with Disney+ 'Uncle Samsik' (2024). At that time, Noh Jaewon was intimidated by his limited on-set experience. That's when Byeon Yohan extended his hand first. He encouraged him, saying he wanted to see him stand as a lead someday.

Those words became reality. The two met again in 'Tazza 4' as co-leads. Just as they transformed from closest friends to enemies in the film, they maintained tense chemistry on set.

"The senior said, 'I'll die acting. I'll beat you with acting. I hope you act with that kind of spirit too.' He was igniting competitive spirit. I tried not to lose that tension either."

Before filming, they talked endlessly. Whenever ideas came up, they called each other, and they deeply explored the relationship between the two friends. But in front of the camera, they collided as their respective characters.

For Noh Jaewon, Byeon Yohan was both a good senior and an actor to admire. Watching from close by, he learned much. At the same time, a sense of envy arose. It aligned with the emotions Park Taeyoung felt toward Jang Taeyoung.

But the conclusion was different. Noh Jaewon accepted that he and Byeon Yohan were different. He noted, "By acknowledging that, I also came to think about the path I can take and my own acting."

◆ "Each Work, Starting Over from the Beginning"

After filming wrapped, he wanted to quickly shed Park Taeyoung. It was because he had carried negative emotions while acting for so long. Noh Jaewon consciously distanced himself from the character to avoid being consumed by those emotions.

But there was something he gained from playing Park Taeyoung. Was Park Taeyoung really unlucky? Perhaps the belief that he was miserable was something Park Taeyoung created himself.

That question came back to him. Noh Jaewon said, "'The fact that I now feel unlucky could also be my own misconception,'" and laughed, saying "I gained the strength to think that. Finding this point through the character felt very fulfilling."

His attitude toward himself as an actor is similar. Though he has moved through significant works including 'Squid Game', he doesn't rest on past achievements. He believes that what his past self accomplished cannot substitute for his acting now.

"The fact that 'I'm someone who did this before' doesn't substitute for my current acting. Acting skills don't grow on their own either. The work I participated in then was me at that time, and now I feel like I'm starting again. Each work is a new beginning like that."

So he always approaches with a newcomer's heart. Noh Jaewon said, "I think the work I'm doing now is my everything," and added, "I go to set each time with the mindset of acting for the first time."

Noh Jaewon is currently preparing for the opening of the solo performance 'Everything That Shines on Me'. It is a work about finding things that shine in life one by one. Having left Park Taeyoung's dark world behind, he plans to face shining moments of everyday life.

<Photos provided by CJ ENM>