Actress Ha Ji-won has transformed with her latest role in ‘Climax.’
On the 6th, Ha Ji-won held an interview in Seoul’s Sangam-dong, discussing ENA’s Monday-Tuesday drama ‘Climax.’
‘Climax’ follows prosecutor Bang Tae-seop (Joo Ji-hoon) as he navigates a power cartel to reach the pinnacle of power in Korea, and the intense survival stories of those entangled with him.
Ha Ji-won portrays Choo Sang-ah, an actress once lauded as the ‘nation’s first love’ who quickly fell from public favor after a series of incidents.
The drama heightens tension with unexpected twists and bold developments in every episode. Set against a backdrop of political and entertainment world conspiracies and power struggles, Ha Ji-won continuously challenges herself, leading the narrative.
The drama leaves viewers with a strong impression through shocking developments, including past same-sex kiss scenes, suspicions of murder solicitation, and entertainment industry sponsorship scandals. Notably, the unexpected introduction of a queer storyline is a rare setup in Korean dramas, drawing increased interest in the production.
At an earlier production conference, Ha Ji-won stated that portraying an actress character was challenging for her as an actress, and she elaborated further.
She confessed, “Not all scenes were easy. It wasn’t merely because Choo Sang-ah is an actress, but because she is a character who makes choices and undergoes changes within the world of ‘Climax.’ Understanding and portraying those aspects was challenging.”
In the drama, Ha Ji-won convincingly conveys a range of emotions for each character: anger towards Oh Gwang-jae (Seo Hyun-woo), empathy and affection for Han Ji-soo (Han Dong-hee), love and hatred for her husband Bang Tae-seop, and complex feelings for Hwang Jung-won (Nana).
‘Climax’ truly presents Ha Ji-won with a series of continuous challenges.
Regarding the audience’s reaction after the show’s release, she stated, “I heard people say I looked scary. My friends jokingly told me they were glad they never angered me. Even my mother found my expressions in the drama frightening when she saw them for the first time. Hearing such reactions from acquaintances made me wonder, ‘Did I appear scary?'”
In particular, Ha Ji-won intensified the tension by portraying a married couple with Joo Ji-hoon, illustrating the subtle fissures and tensions within their ambitious and renowned relationship convincingly, amidst a narrative intertwined with desires for power and survival.
Commenting on her chemistry with Joo Ji-hoon, she emphasized, “We make each other comfortable. Joo Ji-hoon and I had physical fight scenes, but because we trusted each other, our chemistry was excellent. The action sequences flowed so well without rehearsals that we didn’t need many takes. It was a very tough scene, but fun to shoot.”
She defined her emotions toward Joo Ji-hoon’s character as ‘interest’ rather than ‘love.’
Ha Ji-won explained, “Bang Tae-seop loved Choo Sang-ah. During the script reading and character creation process, we portrayed his love in a three-dimensional way, I believe.” She added, “Conversely, Choo Sang-ah’s feelings for Bang Tae-seop were more about an interest bound by marriage. It might essentially be a marriage born of mutual interest.”
She further added, “Some viewers anticipate a love story between Bang Tae-seop and Choo Sang-ah, but they might be disappointed. I hope to reunite with Joo Ji-hoon in a future project,” raising expectations for their future collaboration.
With only four episodes remaining until the finale, anticipation for future developments is high.
She predicted, “It gets more interesting from here. The title is ‘Climax,’ after all. I humorously told the director that in a typical drama, there’s usually one climax per episode, but I act as if every scene is the climax. The tension and unpredictability will continue to provide entertainment until the drama’s conclusion.”
Meanwhile, ‘Climax’ airs every Monday and Tuesday at 10 PM.
