<Interview> SUHO (EXO) talks about his role in his first historical drama ”The Prince Has Disappeared” and how he ”shadowed the works of his seniors”

A round interview with SUHO (EXO), who played the lead role in the MBNTV series "The Prince Has Disappeared," was held at the SM Entertainment headquarters in Seoul.
Suho, who has just finished his first period drama "The Prince Has Disappeared," said, "It was my first period drama, but since it was a 20-part series, I was able to show the whole story of one character.
It was my first time doing proper action scenes, and I think I was able to express all the emotions. I felt like I was able to enjoy this period drama without any regrets, as I was able to express joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.
"The Prince Has Disappeared" is about Crown Prince Gon, played by SUHO, struggling to give up the throne for Myung Yoon, played by actress Hong Yeji.
I had a lot of discussions with my teacher about the ending. Gon has a deep love for the people of Joseon, so he carries the horse badge with Myeong-yoon and tries to punish corrupt officials, and he is a secret inspector.
"I thought he would make a move," she explained. "In reality, I would be worried too. I'm curious about what choice the fans want, and it's important. I think the fans will be divided," she said with a laugh.
"I don't really know, but I think I'll choose to protect the people," he said with a laugh. SUHO said he tried hard to express various aspects of Gon, saying, "Basically, I want to portray the character of Prince Lee Gon.
Kutar itself had a romantic comedy element from the beginning of the drama. I thought it was important for him to have the weight of a prince, and I enjoyed the story at first, but when he went to a commoner's house to find the traitor,
Since there are scenes in which she sees the lives of the people, she seems to have had some weight or burden in the back of her mind. In a scene at a brothel, she mischievously says, "If only I could suffer, the people of this country would have it easier."
I tried to act with a sense of weight when portraying the prince's sense of responsibility and burden," he said. He continued, "I had many discussions with the director about my costume and appearance.
Fortunately, I had long hair, so I was able to tie it up. I knew that there were some fans of period dramas who didn't like their hair sticking out, but with my hair long,
I feel like I've worn hanbok a lot since my first appearance. I'm very satisfied with it, and I wanted to show the various sides of the character even in scenes where I didn't need to wear a lot of clothes.
The director liked me a lot and everyone said that it suited me well, so I think I was able to show a variety of different looks," she said, shyly praising herself.
This was Suho's first period drama, and he was taking on the challenge of leading a 20-episode series, so he put in a lot of effort to create "his own tone."
He said that he had watched all the historical dramas over the past two years. "I had about two months between when I first decided to do this work and when I went overseas a lot for performances. I was originally studying English, so I had been working overseas for about two years.
I am very enthusiastic about shadowing English, but I didn't study English at all for the three months I was preparing for the drama. I was trying to create a new tone with the idea of learning a new language.
While watching the works of many of his seniors, he tried to imitate the tone by shadowing them and also tried to deliver his own lines, creating his own acting tone for period dramas.
"I was curious about the reactions of various members of the public. Usually, I receive feedback from fans who are a little more interested than the general public. I think the fans have become a lot more mature.
People often criticize me, but since it's a period drama, I wanted to see the public's reaction. Since there are no people who actually lived in the Joseon era, it is very subjective to criticize the acting and tone of period dramas.
Fortunately, the reviews for the TV series were good, and so was my performance, so I think I was able to believe in myself a little more and act better," she said frankly.
So how does Suho feel now that "The Prince Has Disappeared" has finished? "I was working on the album and filming the TV series at the same time, and I don't have any regrets.
I didn't feel any regret, I was satisfied at the time. I felt even lighter after it was over. I was engrossed in each scene, so I was so focused on making sure I hadn't missed anything, and I kept my nerve until the very end.
I think that's what I was looking for," he said, expressing his relief.