Actor Park Yoohwan who was recently cast in the lead role of new channel A drama series, 'Strongest K-Pop Survival' recently took some time to share his thoughts on his acting role and his famous brother.

Yoohwan is the brother of JYJ member Park Yoochun, and he recently went through a heartbreaking experience, having to lay his father to rest. As soon as the funeral was over, without much rest, Yoohwan returned to work. Though his good-natured face looked gaunt, he did not lose the spark in his eye.

"The encouragement from the staff members, fellow actors and actresses were of a big help to me," he said. "Growing up, I never had a dream. Becoming an actor eventually was my first dream. I know that my father would want me to work as hard as I can to achieve my dreams."

The actor first made his name known with a smaller role in hit SBS drama 'Thousand Days' Promise',but this is the first time he has been cast for a lead role in a drama series. In the 'Strongest K-Pop Survival' script, Yoohwan plays the role of Woohyun, the leader of idol group M2. M2 switches out members according to popularity, and the episodes reveal the things that occur while new members are constantly being selected for the group.

"There was a lot of pressure, as this is the first time I'm playing a lead role," he continued. "I was afraid that I would inconvenience others, and I lost sleep trying think of how to display my character. I got a little more comfortable after the first two episodes aired."

His character Woohyun is an intimidating figure in the story. With his fans, he is known as the 'young prince' with a charming smile, but to his label juniors, he is the hard to approach, intimidating type.

As the story unfolds, Woohyun opens his heart to Seungyeon, played by actress Go Eun Ah. Seungyeon is a female trainee that disguises herself as a man.

"I know that Woohyun comes off as really cold, but I think he is a rather sad character," Yoohwan stated. "He worked so hard to get to the top, but he's in a situation where he could be replaced by a junior any second."

Park Yoohwan in real life has a rather quiet personality. He is so shy that he has trouble ordering his food at restaurant at times. Having a timid and introverted personality, it was hard to play the role of Woohyun who is completely the opposite, but he says it had it's appeals as well.

"Coming off as cold, being irritated, lazy, tired, these are all different things," he said. "Trying to be cold with each emotion was the most difficult part. But as I acted out this character, I saw that I was able to bring out his character from within my timid self, and I was really surprised."

When asked about his singing and dancing talent, he remarked, "My brother is really talented, so I was sure that I possessed some of those genes as well. But when I tried, I realized that I sure didn't. I prefer to watch and listen to other people perform."

His brother Park Yoochun is currently playing a lead role in new SBS drama 'Rooftop Prince'. When asked if he had referred to his brother for acting tips, he answered, "More than giving me acting advice, he tells me how I should behave now as a celebrity. I would like other people to see us and say, 'Those brothers are alright. Those brothers are really brave'."

Check out a scene where Yoohwan displays his piano playing skills below.



Source & Image: DongA Ilbo via Nate