[Dispatch=Sky Yoo] There are no easy roles in actor Byun Yo-han's filmography. Each time, he has chosen characters that can only be completed by pushing himself to the limit. For him, pain is part of acting.

The film "Tazza: The Beelzebub Song" (hereinafter "Tazza 4") was no exception. Over approximately five months before filming, he built his physique. He pushed himself with an obsessive intensity. Eventually, he ended up in the emergency room due to hypoglycemic shock.

"Don't you think the fragrance reaches the audience only when the actor is suffering? As an actor, I believe that anguish, loneliness, and a certain degree of pain are necessary."

The pain in this work was not confined to the physical. Byun Yo-han had to bring the long journey of the "Tazza" series to a close. He constantly questioned himself: how to end it well, whether he was on the right path, and what unique color the final installment should have.

Dispatch met Byun Yo-han on the 14th. We heard about the process of putting everything into the final gamble of "Tazza," and his concerns in completing Jang Taeyoung.

◆ "The Last Tazza, I Cast Off the Burden"

"Tazza 4" is a spinoff of the "Tazza" series. It tells the story of Jang Taeyoung (played by Byun Yo-han) and his best friend Park Taeyoung (played by Noh Jae-won), who accumulated illegal wealth through an online casino business. It depicts Jang Taeyoung, stripped of everything, seeking revenge against Park Taeyoung, who betrayed him.

Byun Yo-han felt burdened. The finale of the "Tazza" series spanning 20 years. Just as previous works left their own intense impressions, inheriting that name itself was a challenge.

But he didn't want to avoid it. Byun Yo-han revealed, "If I passed it to another actor out of fear, I thought I would become a coward."

His goal was clear: not to imitate the previous work. He had to convince audiences of the "Tazza" title without relying on the existing series' identity. Byun Yo-han resolved to "create it with our own color."

The answer lay in the relationship between Jang Taeyoung and Park Taeyoung. Rather than focusing on card skills, Byun Yo-han concentrated on the emotions between the two friends. He placed at the center of this work the relationship that starts with friendship and becomes tangled with jealousy, ambition, betrayal, and downfall.

"If I focused only on hand techniques, there would be continuity with previous works, but it wouldn't be our own 'Tazza.' Though it carries the same title, ultimately I think of it as a film about friendship."

◆ "You Don't Look at Cards That Have Passed"

The core of Jang Taeyoung as Byun Yo-han interpreted him was composure. Even after losing everything to a trusted friend, he doesn't immediately burst into anger. His insides boil, but he watches his opponent and waits for the next move.

It wasn't a direction decided from the beginning. Byun Yo-han deliberated whether to carry the betrayed character with anger or push him forward with madness. The deeper he dug into the character, the more he judged that suppressing emotion was more true to Jang Taeyoung.

"My analysis of Jang Taeyoung was that he was a composed person. There's anger inside, but he continuously watches his opponent. It's similar to Hold'em. Once you sit at the table, your rear end has to be heavy."

Byun Yo-han learned Hold'em over several months. He played repeatedly with actual players, including Hong Jin-ho. At some point, he began to read his opponent's psychology.

The principles of Hold'em resembled Jang Taeyoung's life. If you cling to cards that have passed, you cannot move forward to the next game. Jang Taeyoung, though raised with difficulty, has no crumples and does not dwell on the past. He lets go of what has passed and moves forward.

"I thought about what it means to be lucky. It's accepting the past, forgiving yourself from that time, and moving forward. It's an attitude of accepting without wavering at any moment, I think."

◆ "Actors Are the Key to Tazza"

Every time Byun Yo-han met a fellow actor, he discovered a new face. With Noh Jae-won in school uniforms, taking on a mentor-student relationship with Cho Woo-jin, and colliding with Yoon Kyung-ho, Moon Ji-hoon·Yoshi Ayaka and others, he filled in Jang Taeyoung.

"I didn't know what my own color was. But by meeting the actors, I found the answer. I created Jang Taeyoung through the energy they gave me. Many unexpected emotions came out too."

He particularly breathed closely with Noh Jae-won. Byun Yo-han described him as "a scholarly and tenacious actor." Even off set, whenever ideas came up, they exchanged phone calls and together pondered the relationship between the two characters.

"When acting, we gave each other space. When I came in with momentum, Jaewon would go to the corner, and when Jaewon took the lead, I would back off. There were many moments where we yielded to each other in an invisible line."

Ultimately, the "our own color" that Byun Yo-han sought could not be created alone. Different actors each brought out their own interpretations and adjusted their energy to match their counterpart. That collision and yielding completed the final "Tazza."

◆ "Pain Fills Me"

Byun Yo-han expressed Jang Taeyoung's timeline through his body as well. He lost approximately 10kg in a short period. It was to show his changing appearance in line with the flow of time spanning from Korea to Vietnam and back to Korea.

"Whether I do well or poorly, I try to pour everything out. Still, I always feel I'm lacking. As an actor, I have a sense of mission to convey emotions accurately. I want audiences not to stop at watching and listening, but to feel it through their skin."

For him, pain is not simply self-torment. In the process of completing a character fiercely, he also fills in the emptiness within himself.

His recent appearances without pay in "A Trip to Gyeongju" and "Dad's Home Cooking" stem from the same context. He emphasized, "If it's a set where I can learn, I want to run toward it unconditionally. My body reacts first."

This time, the name "Tazza" made him contemplate. He pushed himself to the physical limit and learned Jang Taeyoung's life at the card table. For Byun Yo-han, acting is pouring himself out, then filling himself back in.

"I want to praise myself just for not avoiding what I wanted to avoid. We shot with an intensity that cannot be expressed in words. I hope that heart is conveyed well to the audience."

<Photos provided by CJ ENM>