“I Have the Perfect Playboy Glare”

A new drama will air at 9:55 p.m. every Monday and Tuesday on MBC with charismatic Eric (Moon Jung-hyuk) and Uhm “the Force” Tae-woong playing the lead roles.

Who will be more charismatic?

The new MBC drama “Wolf,” written by Kim Kyung-se and produced by Park Hong-gyun, will start airing on January 16 and features singer/actor Moon Jung-hyuk, 27, and actor Uhm Tae-woong, 32. Both actors were hugely popular last year by playing charismatic male roles with a strong glare and warm, delicate, emotional acting. Moon played the main character in the MBC drama “Super Rookie” and Uhm in the KBS drama “Life Again.” Dong-A Ilbo interviewed the two actors who will face off as rivals in the drama and asked about the “wolves in men” and the “essence of charisma.”

The Encounter of Wolves—

-Do you think either you or your counterpart is a wolf?

Uhm: My nickname is “Hwanggu (brown dog).” I haven’t lived thinking I am a wolf, but lately I have played the roles of playboys, hence I sometimes feel like a wolf. I am really shy so I can’t really talk until I get to know someone well. However, Eric, he is a nice guy, but when shooting a drama with him, he seems like a real Casanova and wolf. (laughs)

Moon: In the drama I flatter a 30-something woman, who is older than me, “Don’t hide it. Thirty-four is such a pretty annual ring,” and then turn around with a smirk saying, “What an old annual ring.” I think I have some playboy traits in me. Uhm is a profound wolf. (laughs)

The plot of “Wolf” revolves around a love triangle with playboy Bae Dae-chul (played by Moon) who lives by ripping off rich women, and Yoon Sung-mo (played by Uhm), the rascal son of a National Assembly member, with both fall in love with the same woman Ji-soo, (played by Han Ji-min) who has her days counted due to a terminal illness.

“Throw Oneself at the Arms” Wolf vs. Huggable Wolf

-Compared to your past dramas “Live Again” and “Super Rookie,” your roles have been switched.

Uhm: Maybe it is because I grew up as the youngest child, but I don’t like seriousness and heavy things. I am proud of the charismatic acting in “Live Again,” but it was very demanding. In contrast, my character Sung-mo in “Wolf” is always slobbering and demanding. At first it was awkward, but it is fun to act.

Moon: I am also closer to Sung-mo than serious Dae-chul. Initially, I thought playing Sung-mo would be easier, but I wanted to find something new from me.

As the plot develops, the villainous Dae-chul, who tricks women but changes because of love, is a man whom women want to throw at his arms, while Sung-mo, who is a high-class wretch learns true love, is a man that women want to hug.

-As opposite rivals, the mutual balance between actors is important, but do you feel any actual rivalry between you?

Moon: I think Uhm is conscious about my looks. (laughs) Rather than feeling rivalry we try to put strength into each other’s acting.

Uhm: I can’t understand actors who hinder each other and compete to have a better look on screen. After all, it is collective work, and everybody is in it together. I want everybody to do well.”

-Do you have the passion to love a woman who is to die soon?

Uhm: Honestly I don’t know. I think I would have said that I could when I was younger,

Moon: I think if you really love that person, I will stay next to her even if she were to die soon. I think that in reality, Uhm has that kind of love.

zozo@donga.com