‘My Name’ drums up excitement with tense action scenes

Director Kim Jin-min is certain viewers who watch the first episode of his upcoming Netflix series, “My Name,” won’t be able to stop until they finish the rest of the show.

“Most of the action scenes are done without a stuntman or stuntwoman. I avoided using computer graphics as well. I am sure that the viewers will be fascinated by the brutal raw action moves by the cast,” Kim said in an online press conference on Tuesday.

Director Kim’s second Netflix series, “My Name,” is a revenge story of a woman who abandons her given name to find her father’s killer.

“Though vengeance is a widely used theme, dominated mainly by men, I thought watching a female character on her journey to avenge her father’s death will definitely be thrilling. ‘My Name’ will be an intriguing revenge story,’” Kim said.

“My Name” revolves around Yoon Ji-woo (played by Han So-hee), who joins the country’s biggest drug cartel, Dongcheon, to track evidence related to the death of her father. Thanks to the leader of the Dongcheon cartel, her father’s old friend Mu-jin (played by Park Hee-soon), Ji-woo enters the police force as a mole under the alias Oh Hye-jin.

Actor Han So-hee pointed out that her desire to take up a role in the action noir genre led her to the production.

“Though I was drawn to the scenario, I was a huge fan of the director’s previous work ‘Extracurricular.’ Just those two things: wanting to try ruthless action scenes and work with director Kim,” Han said.

The actor was surprised to witness the gradual changes in her body as she had to undergo three months of physical training for the role at action schools before shooting the series. Han found the orchestration of action scenes fascinating.


Asked what kind of work she looked up when studying her character and the action sequences, Han said that watching “Atomic Blonde” and “The Old Guard” helped a lot.

“I also watched many YouTube videos related to female action scenes. Both director Kim and the action director wanted the actions to be real, not a predictable move from other movies and dramas. I practiced hard to hit the vital points of the body every day. ‘My Name’ gave me an amazing experience,” Han added.

Though having performed a few action scenes in his previous works, co-star Ahn Bo-hyun said it was a different experience this time round.

“As the ace detective Jeon Pil-do of a drug investigation unit, I had many action scenes with the members of Dongcheon cartel. With the outstanding action directors and fellow actors, who are not afraid to throw their bodies for a stunning action scenes, I am certain that I gave more than 100 percent effort at both training and acting,” Ahn said.

Action scenes aside, one of the most satisfying experiences while shooting the series was the teamwork, said veteran actor Park Hee-soon, who took the role of cartel leader Choi Mu-jin.

“I was able to feel that all cast and crew put their utmost efforts to create an appealing series and entertain the Netflix viewers with refreshing actions, including bare fist fights and bloody combat involving knives, guns and batons used by the police,” Park said.

The eight-part show will arrive on Netflix on Oct. 15.

By Lee Si-jin (sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)