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Jang Hyuk: 'I was Drawn to the Duality of Dae-gil'

A reporter straightforwardly asked actor Jang Hyuk (34), "Do you feel good or bad if people say your acting skills have improved?" Jang has generally played main characters for 12 years since debuting in 1988.

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Jang replied earnestly, as usual, "Of course it makes me feel good. However, my performance did not improve all of sudden, but it has been gradually improving until now, even though people cannot catch up on my improvement".

The reporter met Jang, who stars in the KBS 2TV "The Slave Hunters", which has recorded 30 percent viewer ratings, at a cafe in Apgujung-dong on January 20. He has received favorable evaluations by appearing the drama.

Jang said, "The drama fans' attention makes me feel good to know that my work is appreciated, but it still has not hit me yet. The viewer rating of my latest drama 'Scoundrels' was under 10 percent".

In "The Slave Hunters", Jang plays slave hunter Dae-gil, who chases after runaway slaves. Dae-gil was a descendent of a wealthy upper class family, but he became a slave hunter in order to make a living after his household was killed by a fire set during the Manchu war of 1636.

During the subsequent 10 years, Dae-gil, who had grown up in a very sheltered environment, became a merciless and chauvinistic hunter.

Jang gives an energetic performance of the role of Dae-gil, who is a cruel slave hunter bent only on survival.

In the drama, Jang, who has been practicing Jeet Kune Do (Bruce Lee's martial arts discipline) since 2001, performed the action scenes in a convincing way on High-definition TV.

Jang said, "Actually, I am interested in playing the character of the male chauvinist Dae-gil because I am not that kind of person in real life. However, Dae-gil still has sympathy for humankind deep in his heart even though he is a merciless slave hunter. It is not easy for slave hunters, who are considered even lower than butchers for their job of hunting down human beings, to show caring for other people, but Dae-gil eventually shows his heart to people".

Dae-gil hears people calling him a scoundrel due to his cruelty as a slave hunter who works solely for money; however, he released an enslaved mother and her daughter secretly after catching them.

Jang said, "However, Dae-gil is not a righteous person who follows a great cause. It seems he rescued the mother and her daughter because he simply felt compassion for them". Jang added, "Dae-gil might experience struggles between good and evil on the inside. He still has humane qualities even though he is a merciless slave hunter. I was drawn to his duality".

In the drama, Dae-gil not only chases slaves for money, but he also searches for a slave Eon-Nyeon (Lee Da-hae), with whom he fell in love and was separated from due to the ravage of war.

Jang said, "Dae-gil does not know what he would do after finding Eon-Nyeon. For him, Eon-Nyeon is a symbol of his past 10 years when he lost everything, including his privileged status and family members. He has hatred as well as love toward her because Eon-nyeon's older brother destroyed his family and his life by setting Dae-gil's house on fire".

In the drama, Dae-gil does not wear much clothes. Dae-gil shows off his strong abdominal muscles by wearing sparse outer clothing or not putting on a shirt. His muscles seem to have been well developed over a long period of time. Jang said, "I did not stop exercising after debuting. I like exercising -- I do it almost everyday -- and I think it is important to treat myself right. In the drama, Dai-gil has been building muscle not for showing off to other people, but because of his struggle for survival. To pull off the role, I think it is a good thing I have exercised for a long time".

He added, "In addition, the camera director has tried to accentuate my muscles during the action scenes. I also try to frequently do chin-ups and lift dumbbells even while shooting the scenes".

However, The Slave Hunters wear more clothing as the weather becomes colder late in the drama. Jang said, "The season will change in the eighth episode. I think I showed enough of my body to the viewers (laughing)".

Jang has personally experienced many changes over the past five years. He hastily joined the military because he was involved in draft irregularities and became the father of two children after a sudden marriage announcement.

Jang has appeared in six dramas over three years without pause. Through the process, he has received favorable evaluations that his acting skill has been improving.

Jang said, "I learned and realized many things through my different acting experiences. I think an actor performs best when he is in his thirties and forties. I have an expectation for myself that I will show a better performance these days as I get older. I am very happy right now as a father of two children as well as an actor".

Jang said, smiling, "I would like to show how married men can also be attractive actor to viewers".

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