Fifty Shades of Grey: Lights, Camera, Action! Part 2

My previous article in this series dealt with some of the popular actors who've brandished their talent and skills in the field of action and displayed their mastery to the audience. In this article, we go a little deeper and dig out some more prominent names in the K-Drama industry who've delivered solid performances playing opposite characters.

Disclaimer: Since this article discusses a brief character sketch of the roles played, some may be spoilers.

Ye Soo Jung

She is one of those supporting actors who've always had only positive roles come to her. Her presence on screen is calming and motherly. This can be clearly witnessed in Prison Playbook and Black Dog. 

Having always seen her in compassionate and supportive roles, like the counsellor in Black Dog, seeing her as the corrupt and overbearing mother-in-law in Search WWW was like entering an alternate reality. Her expressions of barely concealed disgust and poorly controlled anger are pure excellence.

Lee Joon Hyuk

In Stranger, he is always jumping boats, eavesdropping, and trying to be on the side that's winning. In Stranger 2, he has not improved, sustains life-threatening injuries, and spends a part of the drama lying unconscious. But in Are You Human Too?, he is Nam Shin’s trusted aide. He is made to look like his motives are ulterior and his inclinations not clear, but he is a good guy by choice.

However, in Designated Survivor: 60 Days, he is the sole survivor of a national tragedy. His calculative glances, ambiguous choice of words, and the way he delivers them have a hint of danger underlining them. The enigma written into his character is kept alive thanks to his flawless performance as Oh Young Seok.

Kwon Yul

Bring It On, Ghost is where you want to aim for his neck. In Voice 2, he goes further and delivers a performance that is equal parts frightening and sickening. It's not a character that can be easily forgotten.

These are in stark contrast to his character in My Sweet Mobster where he's babysitting children in his office room, getting dating advice from his colleague, and complimenting the male lead on his looks. So cute.

Lee Jung Eun

Daily Dose of Sunshine wouldn't be half as bright as it was without Lee Jung Eun as the head nurse, who was an exemplary leader, guiding her trainee nurses and looking after them. There was nothing she didn't have a solution for. Her role in When the Camellia Blooms is more cryptic. There's a reason she returned to her daughter, whom she abandoned. The actress's measured performance helps to ably deliver on that mystery.

Yet, Um Bok Sun in Strangers from Hell is nothing like the usual genres, characters, and atmosphere the actress is seen in. Nevertheless, she sells the creeps with just her stares and smiles. It's unforgettable, spine-chilling, mind-blowing, and unexpected.

Jang Young Nam

It's Okay to Not Be Okay was one drama that showed Jang Young Nam's duality the best. Her transformation post the plot twist was as astonishing as the plot twist itself. Almost no one could suspect her of being the culprit. In The Devil Judge, she takes the abhorrence a step higher as the corrupt politician Cha Gyeong Hui who would rather sacrifice her kid than her career.

Having assumed that her roles tend to be largely negative, it was surprising to see the motherly side of her in Innocent Witness, in which she expertly conveys the despair and challenges of being the parent of an autistic child. The two scenes where she closes the door on the prosecutor and welcomes him inside speak for themselves. It's like she has never been Cha Gyeong Hui at all! In the most recent Love Next Door, as Seo Hye Seok who is a successful career woman struggling with difficult relationships at home, Jang Young Nam delivers another stellar performance.

Yang Hyun Min

He was so well-suited as the deceitful cop in The Good Detective that it was simply unbelievable that he was the goofball from My Sweet Mobster.

Such a loudmouth who makes dad jokes, loses drinking games, unwillingly befriends the "mouse" and unrecognisable in all the crazy outfits he wears around the house.

Ji Seung Hyun

As the typical spoiled 3rd generation chaebol and womanizer in Why Her? he is unbearable. There isn't a single redeemable thing about him, and the general nature of his character only worsens as the episodes progress. In Search WWW, it's a different story. He is Song Ga Kyung's husband, who, despite his multiple affairs, is genuinely concerned for her. It's heartwarming to see him support her, and despite the practical ending they were given, a few wished for them to have a more dreamy one.

However, he first caught my eye in The Good Detective – as the whistleblower with questionable methods and good intentions, he made the perfect casting for a grey role.

Kim Ji Hoon

There's almost no one who can't recognise him from Flower of Evil – vile, unapologetic, and psychotic. His antisocial personality is in full force, and Kim Ji Hoon gives an electrifying performance as Baek Hui Seong. 

Hence, it's a whiplash to see him in Love to Hate You – bromancing with the male lead (his friend) and practicing lines and kissing scenes with him. They could do a nice soft Korean BL between themselves if you ask me.

Kim Chang Wan

While he is most notably remembered from It's Okay to Not Be Okay as the successful director of the Ok Psychiatric Hospital, who makes his patients sing the "It's okay to not be okay" jingle, he also plays the leader of the opposition, who is incessantly scheming to overthrow the king in Hwarang.

Just compare how he finishes the jingle with a big heart and an adorable "Sarangheyo!" with the disdainful glances he shoots Ban Ryu throughout the drama.

Jin Kyung

It was astonishing to see the competent and efficient head nurse of the Dr. Romantic series, who can call bullshit right at her boss' face and wield a gentle hand over the staff at the Doldam Hospital, as the power-hungry, money-minded high school principal in Melancholia, who can go to any lengths to achieve what she wants.

I admit I never imagined seeing her as an antagonist, but she proves she can essay the character just like she does any other – with grace and perfection.

Lee Moo Saeng

Prince Jin Pyung in The Crowned Clown who is plotting treason, abusive husband Nam Si Hun in One Spring Night who beats his wife black and blue and spinelessly crawls back to her for mercy, and the head researcher in Blood Free, who has only the safety of his friend on his mind at all times are all the various shades Lee Moo Saeng has demonstrated that he's capable of portraying.

I always felt he was an underutilised talent.

Kim Byung Chul

As Detective Tae Hee in Tunnel, he's a token good cop who also entertains the audience with some trademark deadpan expressions. He also appears as the Professor of Law who is toxically obsessed with his children’s education in SKY Castle.

In Doctor Prisoner, he is the complete opposite -the token bad boy- manipulative, scheming, killing, etc. My personal favourite is him as the two-timing, comically cunning husband in Doctor Cha. He was born for that role.

Ra Mi Ran

(This is more of a personal inclusion to the list than anything, and we can agree to disagree).

She, as Park Sung Soon in Black Dog, is the team leader straight out of most people's daydreams. She is strict and diligent, but she also gives valuable advice and guides her mentees carefully. The efforts even get her a couple gift from Go Ha Neul, the female lead.

However, in The Good Bad Mother, she transforms into the cold and cruel mother who refuses food for her son when he doesn't make progress in his rehabilitation. The drama was written to show a grey character – a bad mother with good intentions, but it depicts a much darker one than intended with Jin Young Soon becoming a bad mother with good intentions and bad methods. Ra Mi Ran successfully depicts a portrayal that has the audience questioning if a little hard love is okay or if she's being unnecessarily abusive.