Netizens are in heated debate.
Actor Lee Jang Woo’s recent remarks about his casting stories have been a subject of heated debate.
He recently appeared on a YouTube series and revealed the behind-the-scenes stories of how he was cast for the K-Drama, My Only One, which garnered criticism from some netizens.
“I was discharged from the military at 33, but no one was looking for me. Then I heard that writer Kim Sa Kyung would work for’My Only One’.
I drank a lot at night and sent a long text message saying, ‘Please save me.’ I told her that although no one was looking to cast me, I would work hard.”
— Lee Jang Woo
He then received a response saying, “Wait a bit.”
The drama production then came to a complete stop as discussions about casting him began. Ultimately, he was cast in the role of Wang Dae Ryuk.
However, this drew heated debate among netizens, as many felt he could have been using his connections to get the role and possibly even pushing out other actors who might have been considered for the role.
Even after he was cast, he became a hot topic for his hefty appearance, which was different from that of other male leads, leading to even more controversy.
The writer and director wanted me to lose weight, but I intentionally didn’t. I felt that the character’s role as the head of a company would look better with a bit more build rather than being just skinny and pretty.
— Lee Jang Woo
Netizens who saw this felt this was very unprofessional of him.
- “After hearing the story about how he stole the role after casting for the drama was complete, I no longer like him.”
- “It might be fine not to lose weight for a minor role, but for the main role, that’s a bit…”
- “He should just play another role instead of the lead.”
- “Isn’t being seen a part of his job? I mean, unless his role calls for gaining weight…”
- “All I can think is that this is so unprofessional.”
