Choi Hyun Wook is speaking candidly about his latest role, his recent controversies and the lessons he is taking with him.
Notes from the Last Row is a suspense drama about Heo Mun Oh, a failed writer and professor who becomes obsessed with his gifted student Lee Kang.
Asked about his intimate scene with Jin Kyung, Choi said the moment made sense because it unfolds inside Mun Oh’s imagination.
“Mun Oh is someone whose imagination can run wild, so I thought the kiss and the intimate scenes could exist in that context,” he said. “I talked a lot with the director and Jin Kyung before filming. More than the age gap, we focused on how the scene would play and how it would help viewers stay immersed.”
He added, “She made me feel comfortable, and I just followed her lead.”
Choi also responded to fans who wondered what the role might have looked like if his Weak Hero Class co-star Hong Kyung had played Lee Kang. “I think he would have done an amazing job,” Choi said with a smile. “He studies every role endlessly and always pulls it off. He would’ve made a great Lee Kang.”
The actor then addressed the controversies that have followed him in recent years, including a cigarette butt incident in 2023, a body-exposing scandal and last year’s ceremonial first pitch controversy.
“I have been reflecting a lot,” he said. “I have good people and great colleagues around me, so I am trying to approach everything with more responsibility. Things like that will not happen again. I want viewers to be immersed in my work, and my work only.”
He continued, “I want to keep doing this job for a long time. That is why I am becoming more careful. I want to become better, both as an actor and as a person.”
Choi also pushed back on rumors of tension with Kim Tae Ri after tvN’s Curtain Up, Class!, which ended in April. “For anyone who only saw the Shorts clips, I recommend watching the full episodes,” he said. “I talked a lot with Tae Ri noona because it was my first time in that kind of teacher role. We are still close and keep in touch. We had a lot of fun filming for about two weeks, and I learned a lot.”
Next, Choi will star in Green Light as a baseball player, a role that hits close to home for the former athlete. “I am working hard to get my body in shape,” he said. “For an athlete, physical condition is everything. I’m getting in shape little by little.”
He said playing a baseball-related role has been on his bucket list since he left the sport for acting. “I may not be able to train exactly like I did when I was an athlete, but I am getting ready again,” he said. “Because this was something I always wanted to do, I want to do it better than anyone and get it right.”
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