Five Fun Facts About Kim Jae Wook
Kim Jae Wook, who plays the ghostly boyfriend in "Who Are You?" is known for taking unusual roles. He's not afraid of what others might think of him. That's probably why he felt comfortable playing a gay chef in the film "Antique Bakery" and a transgender character in the musical "Hedwig." But he also played Moon Geun Young's contracted husband and drama CEO in "Mary Stayed Out All Night" and a waffle-maker with a fangirl following in "Coffee Prince."
Here are a few more facts you may not know about the actor.
1) He speaks Japanese because he lived in Japan until he was seven. That's when his family returned to Korea.
2) While attending the Seoul Institute of Arts, he formed the band Walrus. They released their first album in 2011. They have been together for a decade but during that time Kim Jae Wook focused on modeling and acting while drummer Kim Tae Hyun and guitarist Yu Sung Bum played with other bands. Even though their careers interfered with their performing together, he can't imagine playing with anyone else.
Once his dream was to go on tour with the band and live together in the bus, like the band did in the film "Almost Famous" but that would be hard now since he is actually famous. Kim is not worried about the seemingly slow arc of their success.
"None of us are the type that try frantically," he said.
3) He is very thorough when preparing for acting roles. For his role in Hedwig, he bought skirts and high heels, which he wore around the house.
"I always carried my dress and high heels with me so that I could change into them for rehearsals," said Kim. "I wasn't used to skirts so I sat with my legs open at first a person's attitude changes depending on their posture, so I practiced with this in mind."
He even worked at a transgender bar in Itaewon.
"I hadn't intended to work there at first. I wanted to observe and talk to people, like I did for "Antique" by going to a gay bar, but the first day I went, I felt that I should be there more often. It was great hanging out and working with them every night. They were people who had already passed a line that ordinary people consider an absolute line so they were very free-spirited and easy-going.
4) After making his acting debut in 2002 in the drama "Ruler of Your Own World, he decided acting was too difficult and he quit. Five years later he made his second debut in "Dalja's Spring," followed closely by "Coffee Prince." "Who Are You?" was his comeback role after serving two years of military duty.
5) He likes to clean and he's thorough about that too. Think of the immaculate house his character had in "Mary Stayed All Night" and you might get the picture. He can easily spend four to five hours cleaning his house and enjoy a great sense of satisfaction when he's done. It's a quality likely to endear him to many female fans.
