Park Hyuk Kwan Shows His Range In Two Current Drama Roles
On "Secret Love Affair," Park Hyuk Kwan is an immature husband more concerned about his career than his marriage. He's emotionally needy and not very giving. And while he's obviously a talented musician, he does not seem very competent without the help of his assistant or his long-suffering wife.
However, in "Three Days," his character Gu Ja Kwang is more than competent. You don't get to know much about his personality, as he's more of a puzzle piece than a well-developed character. But he is the man in charge of finding out who tried to assassinate the president. And he means business.
The actor's face is different when he's playing this role. His features are composed and focused, whereas when he plays Hye Won's husband Kang Joon Hyung, his facial expression is so petulant. His muscles are so relaxed, he seems indulgent and hardly the man who should be trusted with important career-changing decisions.
His character changes are so subtle but well crafted he has been in dozens of films and dramas but viewers may not realize that he is the same actor they saw before. His most recent films were "26 years," "The Gifted Hands" and "Short! Short! Short! 2013." His drama appearances include "Horse Doctor," "A Wife's Credentials," "Tree With Deep Roots," "Midas," "My Princess" and "Time Between Dog and Wolf." He was Hye Mi's father in "Dream High."
Park Hyuk Kwan might never have become an actor if he hadn't hated school so much.
"I just hated everything about it from the teachers to the classmates to the school so I left home, saying I was going to school and stayed in Incheon for two years. To make a living I worked as a waiter and at the market. I returned home and took my GED."
He still did not know what he wanted to do. Then he saw an advertisement for a theater troupe looking for new recruits.
"I called them up and went in for an audition," he said. "They told me to come in right away. I remember that I put up a lot of posters. I thought to myself that I should do a good job of what I do since I'm already in it, applied to the theater department of the Seoul Institute of the Arts in 1993 but was declined, and then I re-applied a year later which was when I got accepted."
That's what led him to co-star with Park Yoochun in "Three Days" and Kim Hee Ae and Yoo Ah In in "Secret Love Affair."
Viewers watching "Secret Love Affair" might take a dislike to his character. And that's a good thing. The character is so easy to dislike because Park Hyuk Kwan is a good actor.
