'Wild Thing' Kang Dong-won: 'My goal was to make it funny by being extremely good'

Actor Kang Dong-won spoke about the intense preparation process for his role as a 'dance machine'.

Leading actor Kang Dong-won of the film 〈Wild Thing〉, which opens on June 3, met with Cineplay on the afternoon of the 19th at a location in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and shared everything from how he prepared for the project to his impressions of taking part in it.

〈Wild Thing〉 is a comedy about a mixed-gender three-member dance group 'Triangle' that once swept the music industry but disbanded overnight after an unexpected incident; 20 years later they launch a reckless challenge to seize a comeback opportunity. Actor Kang Dong-won stars as 'Hyun-woo,' the leader and dance machine of 'Triangle'.

Kang Dong-won is reported to have devoted the most time to dance and vocal training while preparing for this project. He said in the interview that he dedicated four hours a day to dance practice to personally master everything from basic street dance styles like hip-hop and b-boying to the 'Triangle' choreography. Kang said, "I started with my walk. It felt like learning a completely new physical skill from scratch," and added, "It took a long time to pull off gestures with swagger. So I studied hip-hop history to understand the culture, watched hip-hop documentaries, and even bought and wore hip-hop clothes," describing his preparation process. He went on, "This film clearly shows the results of the effort. In fact, I always follow the same preparation routine. In the past I practiced swordwork for eight months at a time. During 〈Kundo: Age of the Rampant〉 I swung a sword a thousand times a day to show myself wielding different kinds of swords," explaining his mindset toward each role.

The film 〈Wild Thing〉 starring Kang Dong-won opens on June 3.