Ok Taec-yeon as Sun Woo-hyeol in ‘Heartbeat’. Image: Courtesy of Prime Video
Ok Taec-yeon has always been a charmer. Capturing the attention of a crowd has something to do with good looks, innate intelligence, and aura — but apart from these qualities, his charm appears naturally.
Taec-yeon had an illustrious career in the South Korean entertainment industry. He started as a “beast-dol” in 2PM until he became a successful actor, where he appeared in many series, such as “Dream High,” “Let’s Fight, Ghost,” and a two-faced antagonist in “Vincenzo.”
But this time, “Heartbeat” is a chance to show his commanding charm as Sun Woo-hyeol, a half-human and half-vampire. Taecyeon, along with his co-stars Won Ji-an, Park Kang-hyun, and Yoon So-hee recently met with select members of the press from Malaysia, Singapore, and Philippines at a virtual roundtable.
Ok Taec-yeon as Sun Woo-hyeol. Image: Courtesy of Prime Video
“I wanted to play a sexy vampire,” Taec-yeon said with a giggle, when INQUIRER.net asked why he chose this project. “That said, the story really did make my heart beat. Rather than it being all about the vampire, I was drawn to and wanted to portray a character who was loyal to his heart.”
The singer-actor then admitted that the series’ “lighthearted” storyline also caught his attention, saying his previous work was “quite dark.”
“Another reason is because my previous work was quite dark and the subject matter was heavy, too. When I was reading the script for this series I enjoyed how lighthearted and fun it was. So I couldn’t wait to portray the character Sun Woo-hyeol as soon as possible,” he said.
He also shared that taking on a lead role in “Heartbeat” feels like a call of “destiny,” since it is also the name of one of 2PM’s hit songs.
“It did definitely feel like destiny had called! Just as ‘HeartBeat,’ the song [that] was loved so much, I hope the drama series ‘HeartBeat’ will also get a lot of love. To tell you the truth, before the English title was fixed I didn’t think much of it, but once the title was fixed I felt like yes… this is destiny,” he said.
Taec-yeon’s character, Sun Woo-hyeol, is a vampire who went through different time periods. After all, he had to take a 100-year sleep inside a narrow coffin in hopes of becoming a full human being. The role demanded a lot of stunts — and a ton of flying — and despite having a “fear of height,” he made sure to give his stunts justice.
“I had to rely a lot on supernatural powers, a lot of it is relying on your imagination. [And] aside from that aspect, I didn’t find the action scenes to be particularly challenging,” he said. “However, I have to say I have a fear of heights, and because there are many scenes where I’m flying around, I had to be hung quite high and that was really scary.”
Won Ji-an as Joo In-hae. Image: Courtesy of Prime Video
The actor-singer also drew laughs from the press when he said that he’s relieved that he didn’t have to sleep in a coffin “for a hundred years,” but what he enjoyed most about his role is to rely on his imagination.
“As for the playing half-human, half-vampire part, I thought about what the drama wanted to talk about and it’s a refreshing POV — what would it be like if vampires were living in contemporary days? It’s a challenge because you can’t reveal your supernatural powers or your identity,” he said.
Park Kang-hyun as Shin Do-sik. Image: Courtesy of Prime Video
“So that aspect of having to rely on my imagination was the bigger focus rather than other challenges. I had to imagine how vampires would act or respond, so based on those, I think we’re smooth sailing,” he further added. But if Taec-yeon had a chance to become a vampire in real life, he wants to “transform into a bat and fly around.”
Since “Heartbeat” is getting attention from K-drama fans, Taec-yeon believes that the concept of love is what piques the interest of the audience. Because for him, it is a “universal” feeling that some even are determined to “live for.”
Yoon So-hee as Yoon Hae-seon and Na Hae-won. Image: Courtesy of Prime Video
“The storyline is very classic — it talks about forbidden love, love between two people who shouldn’t be in love with one another [but] despite all odds stacked against them, they overcome the challenges,” he said. “While it is a very classic storyline, it’s also one that makes many hearts beat. I think that’s why many audiences globally will be able to relate to our drama when they see the show.”
The fantasy-romance series, which premiered last June 26, also stars Yoon Byung-hee, Ko Kyu-pil, Seung-you, Baek Seo-hoo, Baek Hyun-joo, and Jung Young-ki. EDV
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