Yook Sung Jae Was Told BTOB Were "Nobodies" at His "Who Are You: School 2015" Audition & Got the Role Anyway

Yook Sung Jae almost walked away from acting at his very first big drama audition, after a director dismissed his group BTOB as "nobodies." It turned out to be a test, and it won him a role in the 2015 hit "Who Are You: School 2015".

Yook Sung Jae shared the story on SBS's "Geojang Hangjun," which aired on November 5, where he appeared alongside his upcoming co-star Park Min Young.

Yook Sung Jae (Photo: TV Daily)

"I don't have much audition experience, but there's one that stands out," he said. At the time, "Who Are You: School 2015" was a project many rookie actors wanted, but he was so busy with BTOB that he went in without even knowing what kind of project it was. "It was a time when our team was desperate, and I wanted the team to do well," he recalled.

After he read the script, the director asked what he did. When he answered that he was in BTOB, the director replied, "BTOB? Aren't they nobodies? What do you think you'll get out of that?" Yook Sung Jae said his face and ears turned bright red. "I told him, 'We all have dreams and are working hard, so you shouldn't talk to people like that,'" he said, and he walked out without finishing the audition. He even told his agency at the time that he didn't think he could keep working in dramas.

The role he had read for, however, was Gong Tae Kwang, a student who struggles to control his anger, and the director had been deliberately provoking him. Seeing him stand up for himself, the director decided he was right for the part. After one more audition, Yook Sung Jae was cast. "The fact that my face even turned red won the director over," he laughed. "Honestly, it was pure luck."

Yook Sung Jae and Park Min Young star together in the SBS drama "Nine to Six", which premieres on November 25.

Yook Sung Jae on "Geojang Hangjun" (Photo: SBS)

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