Recently, the actual model of Woo Young Woo (played by �Park Eun Bin) in the mega-hit drama, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, has been revealed to be a world-renowned zoologist named Temple Grandin.
According to Hankook Ilbo on the 24th, the production team revealed that the character of Woo Young Woo was inspired by Temple Grandin who is a professor at Colorado State University. Born in 1947, Temple Grandin was diagnosed with autism when she was two years old.
When Grandin’s mother, Eustacia, took her to a neurologist in the 1950s, it was recommended that “she should be placed in a long-term care facility.” However, she grew up to be an expert in her field, obtaining a Ph.D. in animal science from the University of Illinois with the help of her mother and teachers. Since then, she has been putting her heart and soul into animal research.
Meanwhile, professor Temple was selected as one of “The Most Influential People of 2010” by TIME magazine. The story of her life has been made into books and movies in the United States and was also produced in a play titled “Temple” in South Korea.
Kim Byung Gun, a professor at Korea Nazarene University who served as an advisor for the drama, commented, “I wanted to break the widely overrepresented stereotype of autistic people needing the help of others and being successful in only certain fields.” He added, “For the scene where she does her pitch at the courtroom, I referred to one of the ted lectures of Professor Grandin.”
According to Hankook Ilbo’s report, professor Kim and writer Moon Ji Won tried to capture more of the autistic tendency of Woo Young Woo in her daily life and focus more on her intelligence when she defends her clients in the courtroom.
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