Choo Young Woo got candid about his early struggles in acting during his appearance on the June 18th episode of tvN’s You Quiz on the Block.
Choo Young Woo, who was so academically focused that he even tutored Korean history, suddenly developed a passion for acting. “During career counseling in my junior year, I had a moment of clarity. I realized I had been ‘studying just for the sake of studying.’ I didn’t even have a dream. The biggest reason was that no matter how well I did, I felt suffocated knowing there would always be someone above me,” he recalled.
When college entrance exams approached, his entire family even moved to Seoul. The actor recalled, “We all moved because of me, and when I went to the academy, everyone all seemed so cool. I felt intimidated because I couldn’t do anything.”
Determined to catch up, he became the first to arrive and the last to leave, dedicating himself to practice and physical transformation. “At one point, I was dieting so intensely I only ate one pack of nuts a day,” he said. “I went from 86kg to 64kg—lost 22kg (approx. 48 pounds).”
His efforts eventually paid off when he passed the entrance exam for the prestigious Korea National University of Arts (K-ARTS) after a gap year. But the acting world wasn’t quick to embrace him. “Between 2021 and 2022, I think I applied to almost every single drama audition in Korea. I failed them all. At least 100 times,” he admitted.
“I was so desperate that I got very nervous. My acting back then was even worse than it is now,” Choo laughed sheepishly.
He then revealed, “At the auditions, people would see I was from K-ARTS and ask, ‘Are you sure you really go there?’ I was really terrible back then. I heard comments like ‘That guy needs to work harder,’ ‘He should practice his facial expressions more,’ and ‘He needs more confidence in his voice.'” Choo confessed, laughing off the sting. “I still remember every comment.”
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