Priest turns K-pop star in new K-drama Heavenly Idol
Business Proposal’s second male lead star Kim Min-kyu gets to topbill the new South Korean drama Heavenly Idol, his last show before his mandatory military enlistment.
Incidentally, the actor, who is coming to Manila on April 14 for a fanmeet, has actual experience to tap into for this series. For a time, he was a K-pop idol trainee before pursuing his acting dreams.
Heavenly Idol premiered last Feb. 16, with fresh episodes airing Thursdays and Fridays at 9:15 p.m. via Cignal (DTH) CH160 and Smart GigaPlay app, or 24 hours after Korea’s broadcast on tvN Asia.
In this body swapping-themed drama, Min-kyu is Pontifex Lembrary, a high priest from a mystical realm who, after a fierce battle with the devil, gets transported to the earthly world and possesses the body of an infamous idol Woo Yeon-woo of the K-pop group Wild Animal.
To persuade Yeon-woo to switch bodies again, Lembrary is given the condition to make Wild Animal successful. He will be forced to adapt to the entertainment industry and the rigors of the idol life, taking a crash course on celebrity diets, hardcore dance choreography, and projecting oneself.
Co-starring in the series is Go Bo-gyeol (Queen for Seven Days) as Kim Dal, the ultimate fangirl of Woo Yeon-woo. After Yeon-woo suddenly proclaims himself as high priest, Kim Dal works to get hired as Wild Animal’s road manager. She is deadset to make her bias come to his senses and protect him at all costs.
Set to cause chaos in Yeon-woo and Kim Dal’s lives is Shin Jo-woon (played by Lee Jang-woo). Underneath his suave and seemingly chivalrous nature, the CEO of the entertainment company managing Wild Animal is possessed by the King of Darkness, who can manipulate people’s minds with black magic, and is hunting down Lembrary.
In a recent virtual global presscon, the lead stars talked more about the series, their characters and their work experience with each other. Below are excerpts from the interview furnished to The STAR, as translated into English.
On working with each other:
Min-kyu: “When I start a new drama, I tend to look up the past works of my co-star, as I’m curious what they are like. I tend to look up multiple works of Go Bo-gyeol. And she has really big eyes. That gives her a very strong gaze. Initially, I wasn’t able to imagine how her strong gaze would be suitable with Dal, her character.
“But when acting as Dal, her gaze was really great, especially for emotional scenes. And that has been a great help for me, as it helps me focus really quickly and get into the right emotions. I’ve learned a lot in that aspect. She also makes the atmosphere on set really fun so I’m enjoying myself and also learning a lot while filming.”
Bo-gyeol: “I enjoyed watching Kim Min-gue’s previous works, and he has a very solid filmography, which I think shows his diligence and experience, and that made me look forward to working with him. I also felt excited. But after meeting him, I realized he’s quite a cheeky person. He made it really cheerful on set, all the staff really liked him. He has a nice personality and he’s been a big help to me.”
On similarities to their characters:
Min-kyu: “Well, as I’m the one acting the characters, I think there are aspects within me that I try to bring out. So I think both the characters are similar to me.”
Bo-gyeol: “I started with the idea that Kim Dal is similar to me and tried my best to bring out the elements of Kim Dal from within me. There were times when I thought, ‘Can I love him just like how Kim Dal does?,’ ‘Can I be as brave as Kim Dal?,’ which made me start to see parts of her that I’d like to be like. So I can’t say I’m 100 percent similar to her but I was able to be more immersed in the character as there are parts that I’d like to become like her.”
On preparing for role as high priest and K-pop idol:
Min-kyu: “I’m unable to personally find out what their lives are like but from what I’ve experienced indirectly, I realized that not anyone can be an idol star. I really tried a lot of things. I practised singing, and also went for recordings. I also practiced dancing, and danced on stage. I indirectly experienced a lot of the things that idol stars do. That’s what I paid the most attention to.
“In terms of looks, when Pontifex Lembrary comes into the current world…Lembrary is someone who always thinks of himself as a high priest. So, instead of looking like an idol, I focus more on how I could make my character look more like a priest, and show that he came from that world, even though he was leading the life of an idol star.
“Of course, senior Tak Jae-hoon (referring to his co-actor who debuted as a singer in 1990 and plays Wild Animal’s mentor in the series) was a big help to me. I copied a lot of what he’s like when he’s on stage. There’s a very obvious difference between those who have experience on stage, and those who don’t. He was very comfortable to be with, and inspired me. In fact, he was the vocal trainer for Wild Animal.
“There’s a scene where we learnt singing, and many other instances where he was a big help to me. Apart from his experiences as a singer, I also received a lot of advice from him on how to be cheerful.”
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