Actor Heo Seong-tae took on the lead role for the first time in a drama with ‘Bait’. offer| Coupang Play
Actor Heo Seong-tae (46) took the lead role in the drama with ‘Bait’. Heo Seong-tae, who rose from a supporting role in a scene-stealer to a leading role, played the role of an intelligent swindler Noh Sang-cheon in ‘Bait’ and showed a different villain role.
Coupang Play’s original drama ‘Bait’ (script Kim Jin-wook, director Kim Hong-seon) tells the story of people who track down ‘him’ Noh Sang-cheon (played by Heo Seong-tae), who committed the worst fraud ever and hid behind death. Part 1 was released last January with a total of 12 episodes, followed by Part 2 on the 7th.
Heo Seong-tae takes on the role of Noh Sang-cheon, who escapes to China following committing the largest ‘Ponzi scheme’ (multi-level financial fraud) in history.
As Noh Sang-cheon died in a car accident in 2015, the case was closed with no right to prosecute.
Heo Seong-tae said, “The story unfolds once morest the background of a completely different place and era, and the relationship between them becomes closer according to the flow of the play. (While the timeline is jumbled) I was surprised by the neatly organized writing of the author,” he said, revealing the reason for choosing this work. He added, “I will play the life of Noh Sang-cheon over a long period of time. I was excited regarding how I might make changes according to the changing times,” revealing his affection for the character.
‘Bait’ is actor Heo Seong-tae’s first lead role in a drama. Heo Seong-tae said, “I feel extremely burdened.” said in a trembling voice. He continued, “I’ve played a lead role in a low-budget film, but it’s the first time I’ve played a lead role in such a large OTT work, and it feels different.”
Heo Seong-tae, who led the play with his first leading role, tried to give ‘variation’ through his work. Heo Seong-tae said, “As an actor, I thought regarding how to express the change of a character well. The great charm of Noh Sang-cheon was that he was a role that might show that. He looked back and said, ‘What would I have done?’
In ‘Bait’, the narrative does not proceed according to the flow of time, but the timeline is mixed between the past and the present. Heo Seong-tae said, “I was out of my mind,” and “I received a lot of help with makeup and costumes.”
“The filming was also hectic because we had to go back and forth from time to time. We started shooting at the halfway point in a long period of time. At first, I was worried regarding how to change it, but I received a lot of help by changing my makeup and costumes a lot.
I acted while feeling the change of the times depending on the costumes, and I felt a lot of the importance of makeup and costumes.”
In season 2, the foreshadowing of season 1 is retrieved. The biggest question was whether Sangcheon Noh was alive or dead. Heo Seong-tae said, “The actors filmed without knowing everything behind the scenes. I also filmed without knowing the conclusion. If you focus on the scene and shoot it, it doesn’t make a big difference whether Noh Sang-cheon is dead or not (preparing for the performance). The director (who knows the contents) adjusted the acting intensity on the spot,” he said. “The script for the last episode did not open until the end, so I filmed until the end with curiosity.”
How was working with Jang Keun-suk? Heo Seong-tae said, “When I was a non-celebrity, I watched Jang Keun-suk acting as a child on TV, and he became a real man. Appearing in front of me in such a form was fresh and surprising, and it tasted like acting. The meaning was different. It was amazing that I acted with Jang Keun-suk,” he expressed his affection.
Heo Seong-tae expressed his fanaticism for Choi Min-sik, saying, “80% of the reasons for appearing in ‘Casino’ are Choi Min-sik.” offer| Coupang Play
Heo Seong-tae was greatly loved for appearing as gangster Seo Tae-seok in the Disney Plus original ‘Casino’, which ended last month. Wouldn’t it be burdensome to appear in consecutive villain roles at the same time? Heo Seong-tae said, “They are both very different characters. But when I asked the officials on both sides, they didn’t care.”
He said, “‘Casino’ did not have much weight and was filmed in a short period of time. In fact, I mightn’t help but do ‘Casino’ because I was appearing with Choi Min-shik. 80% of the reasons for deciding to appear on the show were Choi Min-sik,” he emphasized. “When I first auditioned for an actor, the acting I did was Choi Min-shik. Working together was short but glorious. There is no other word to describe it other than ‘honoured’. I thought that if it weren’t for this time, we would never be able to be together once more. I was so happy,” he said, revealing his strong fan heart for Choi Min-sik.
Heo Seong-tae studied famous OTT (Online Video Service) works in Korea, from Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’, ‘Sea of Silence’, Disney Plus ‘Casino’ to Coupang Play’s ‘Bait’.
Heo Seong-tae said, “It feels like breaking the OTT seal,” and “I think my luck is very good. Thank you for making good use of me.”
In the meantime, Heo Seong-tae has shown his presence as a villain. He showed off his ‘believe and see’ acting skills with eye-catching villains such as Deok-soo Jang in the drama ‘Squid Game’, Tae-seok Seo in ‘Casino’, Serpent in the movie ‘Crime City’ and Il-soo Ha in ‘Mingjeong’. There are many actors who avoid playing villain roles in succession out of fear that their image will harden. Why is Heo Seong-tae constantly playing the villain?
Heo Seong-tae said, “It is unavoidable that the image is hardened. If I had only considered my career, I wouldn’t have played all the villains,” he said. If I don’t think I’ll be helpful, I won’t appear. Looking at the directors who used me, I thought that I would just have to prepare hard for acting (aside from the bad and good roles).”
He continued, “After playing the villain several times, I worry regarding how to do it differently every time. Because I was lacking, I mightn’t make it 100% different for each project. this is an eternal homework Sangcheon Noh is not a gangster, but a person whose image is important, so he tried to walk stylishly and stylishly. When he plays a poisonous snake, he shows a sloppy posture, and such subtle differences come out without me knowing while acting,” he explained.
Heo Seong-tae is an elite employee at a conglomerate that any job seeker dreams of. He gave up everything he had built up so far and jumped into acting. Heo Seong-tae recalled his past and said, “I went very well. He was a very ordinary office worker,” he recalled.
“The difference between reality and the temperature in front of the camera is unavoidable. Originally, he is a talkative person,” he said. “Everyone has a strong or evil tension. As an actor in front of the camera, doing (expressing) it legally. (Like the villain in the movie) It’s weird if you go around like that every day.”
Heo Seong-tae drew attention not only for his acting but also for his excellent sense of entertainment. He appeared as a host in the Coupang Play entertainment program ‘SNL Korea Reboot Season 2’, which was released last year, and showed off his various talents. In particular, his high-level ‘cocaine dance’ drew attention as a social media star.
Heo Seong-tae said, “I practiced some dancing to appear in ‘Miracle Audition’ in the past. That’s what’s going on with the body. My body remembered the wave I practiced then. I didn’t know,” he said. “I mightn’t understand why it was so popular. I don’t know why it’s called sexy. (To my acquaintances) I told them not to look at the comments. Why did you want to do this to me? I asked the manager, but he said he didn’t know. It looked so dirty. My wife also laughed.”
Heo Seong-tae will also appear in the entertainment program ‘Busan Villager in Sydney’, which will be broadcast for the first time on tvN on the 23rd. He said, “It’s a working holiday concept, but I wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning and go to work. I liked the members so much that I started with a smile and ended with a smile.”
Heo Seong-tae has a sense of entertainment, but he doesn’t want to be greedy for entertainment.
“Entertainment is really too much for me. Entertainers are quick-witted and smart. I can’t keep up with that speed. Even though I was talking, I mightn’t figure out what I was talking regarding, but the entertainers came up with ideas.”
How regarding looking back 13 years following entering the entertainment industry through an audition? Heo Seong-tae said, “What I always talk regarding with my mother is, ‘You are very lucky.’” “I think I’m lucky. Now, if I live my life acting according to the rules, I have nothing more to wish for.”
At the same time, Heo Seong-tae said, “I am not thirsty for roles other than villains. In works such as ‘Surviving as a Celebrity Manager’, ‘Hitman’, and ‘Black Money’, he wore a suit and tried to play a high-ranking person, and in terms of brain sex, in fact, Sangcheon Noh is the best. He showed his affection for Noh Sang-cheon in ‘The Bait’, saying, “It’s a character with good hair and the best hair.”
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