On the morning of the 19th, Kim Seon Ho sat down with iMBC Entertainment to discuss his role in the Disney Plus original series The Tyrant. The action-packed thriller follows the chaos that ensues when the final sample of the “Tyrant Program” goes missing, and various parties converge with different motives, leading to a tense game of cat and mouse.
Kim Seon Ho plays Director Choi, the mastermind who has secretly overseen the “Tyrant Program.” As the youngest director in the South Korean intelligence agency, his character is an elite agent known for handling crises with calm precision.
Reflecting on the release of The Tyrant, Kim Seon Ho shared, “It was truly special to work with such respected actors. Honestly, it was thrilling,” adding, “Before the release, I kept wondering, ‘How exactly did I perform? How did my scenes turn out?’ Once it was out, I found myself thinking, ‘Ah, that’s how I was back then,’ and ‘That’s what we did.'” He went on, “The reviews for ‘The Tyrant’ have been overwhelmingly positive. Initially, I was too nervous to look at any reactions, but the PR team compiled them and sent them to me, and they were all so great. I ended up spending two hours just sitting there, searching online. It felt amazing,” he shared with a laugh.
The Tyrant was initially planned as a film but was later adapted into a four-part series for Disney Plus. Regarding this shift, Kim Seon Ho explained, “That decision was made by Director Park Hoon Jung and the production team. If it had remained a film, we would have had to condense the story and reduce the character arcs, but turning it into a series allowed us to explore the characters more fully. I think that’s a real advantage.”
This marks the second consecutive project where Kim Seon Ho has worked with Director Park Hoon Jung, following last year’s film The Childe. “I was really happy when the director invited me to join his next project after ‘The Childe.’ He’s not just a great director to me; he’s like a brother. We’d hang out, go on walks, and visit our favorite restaurants. It was a fun time, and I’m grateful that he brought me on board again,” Kim shared.
He then continued, “After ‘The Childe,’ the director really started trusting me. There’s a brunch scene in ‘The Tyrant’ where he told me, ‘Can’t you make it more interesting? Not just funny, but richer. You can do it.’ So I gave it my best shot, and after the take, he said, ‘See, I knew you could do it.’ That moment made me realize he truly believes in me. When a director has that kind of faith in you, it gives you the confidence to make the scene even better.”
When asked if there was anything specific he focused on while portraying Director Choi, Kim Seon Ho replied, “As I went through the script, I spent a lot of time thinking about how to express this character. I felt that Choi’s essence was more about what’s inside rather than what’s on the surface. I wanted to emphasize his inner world, but I was also scared. I kept wondering, ‘What if I give it my all and still fail to convey it?'” He continued, “Even though I was afraid, I kept pushing myself to try, and in the end, I was able to bring it to life. I had my fellow actors and the director backing me. With their help, I was able to express the character well,” he said, crediting his colleagues for their guidance.
All four episodes of The Tyrant are now available for streaming on Disney Plus.
>> Disney Plus’s ‘The Tyrant’ Takes Viewers by Storm, Climbing the Charts Just Hours After Release
Source (1)
