'Great Flood' Park Hae-soo "Script like a cipher, stimulates the desire to challenge"

Actor Park Hae-soo, who plays the personnel security team member Hee-jo in the Netflix movie 〈Great Flood〉, revealed his affection for the work and his acting approach.

⬦ Is it structure or a test... Park Hae-soo's interpretation of 'Hee-jo'

The movie 〈Great Flood〉 depicts the last days of Earth due to a great flood, where personnel security team member Hee-jo tries to rescue Anna, the AI development leader and humanity's last hope, and her young son from a flooding apartment. Directed by Kim Byung-woo, Park Hae-soo co-starred with Kim Da-mi and Kwon Eun-sung.

In an interview held at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 23rd, Park Hae-soo revealed a deep understanding of his character. Hee-jo is a complex character who harbors personal desires alongside the mission of saving humanity amidst a great disaster. Having been abandoned by his mother in childhood, Hee-jo wants to see if Anna makes the same choice as his mother.

Park Hae-soo stated, "I was curious about why Hee-jo wants to see (Anna) make the same choice as his mother on humanity's last day, and I wanted to express that feeling well."

⬦ "A script with numbers? It sparked my desire to challenge like decoding a cipher"

He expressed that conveying the complex emotional lines was not easy. "It wasn't easy to show a person's heart that can't be explained in words," he explained, "I shot multiple times trying to find the subtle feelings that come from the eyes and had many discussions with the director."

Communication with director Kim Byung-woo was an important factor in enhancing the quality of the work. Park Hae-soo mentioned that he had discussions with the director for several hours before filming to fully understand the flow of emotions and the character's intentions.

"The director and the actors had enough time to discuss and understand each scene in detail," he emphasized, "I never went into filming without fully understanding even a single line of dialogue."

The script of 〈Great Flood〉 had a unique format different from a typical screenplay. For someone seeing it for the first time, the scenes were distinguished only by various numbers that were difficult to comprehend. Park Hae-soo revealed that this unusual format actually stimulated his desire to challenge.

"The script style was not typical, which made me more curious and eager to try it out. It felt like decoding the structure or the beginning of scenes. It wasn't difficult or obscure, and after reading it twice, I could understand which direction to go," he recalled.

⬦ 4 works released on Netflix in a year... "I worry about viewer fatigue, but I will prove it through acting"

This year alone, Park Hae-soo met viewers through a total of four works on Netflix, including the movie 〈Good News〉 and dramas 〈Bad Relationship〉, 〈The Price of Confession〉, and 〈Great Flood〉. He candidly shared, "The works I have been filming for the past three years have all been released this year, and I do have concerns about viewer fatigue."

However, acknowledging that the timing of the release is not something an actor can control, he expressed his determination to remain faithful to his role. "(The release timing) is out of my hands, and I think I need to refine and develop the characters I meet more delicately and do my part," he emphasized.

Following the global success of the Netflix series 〈Squid Game〉, the release of works through Netflix has become an important consideration for actors. Park Hae-soo also viewed this positively.

Park Hae-soo expressed, "First, I choose based on the work rather than the platform, but if it is released on Netflix, I think there is an advantage in that more viewers can see it. I want to create good works and play a role in showing Korean films and performances to more people."