Song Joong-ki as antihero in tvN drama ‘Vincenzo’

Actor Song Joong-ki is returning to the small screen as a lawyer and an Italian mafia consigliere in the tvN drama “Vincenzo” this Saturday.

“Vincenzo” centers on the story of an antihero named Vincenzo Cassano, who fights against the villains of society with veteran lawyer Hong Cha-young, played by actress Jeon Yeo-been. Vincenzo takes on villains who have escaped the clutches of the law by being more evil than the criminals.

“I don’t think I’m alone when I say there are many bad people from various fields in the news these days. When I first got the synopsis, there were a couple of lines by the screenwriter that stated the purpose of the drama. I’ve never agreed more to a drama screenwriter’s purpose of criticizing society in a humorous way,” Song said during an online press conference on Monday.

Playing the role of an Italian was challenging for Song in multiple aspects.

“I learned Spanish in ‘Space Sweepers’ and in the recent movie ‘Bogota,’ I had to use a lot of Spanish, so I thought Italian wouldn’t be too difficult. But the two languages are very different. Also, speaking Italian in Korea which is a foreign setting for the character wasn’t easy to balance, but it was fun,” he said.

Actor and singer Ok Taecyeon also joins the drama as Jang Jun-woo, a lawyer who interns under Hong Cha-young.

Jam-packed with everything from action to comedy, director Kim Hee-won of “The Crowned Clown” and “Money Flower” brings the unique wit of screenwriter Park Jae-bum of “The Fiery Priest” and “Good Manager” to life.

“Our main character is unique in that he’s a mafia consigliere. This isn’t a story about a righteous protagonist exposing the dark side of society. Rather, it’s about an even viler protagonist so the story will have a larger spectrum than existing hero stories,” said director Kim.

After seeing Song portray a dark character behind a guileless face in “The Innocent Man,” Kim felt that Song would be fit for the role. Also, in order to show the confusion that comes with introducing the unorthodox character of a mafia consigliere in a Korean setting, Kim used drastic view angles to reflect the disruption that comes with the protagonist.

Aside from the comical components that arise from Song’s portrayal of an Italian in Korea, the chemistry between the two leads will be a key point to look out for, the actors said.

“Once they watch the drama, I’m sure everyone will feel that they have discovered a talented actress,” Song said, referring to Jeon.

The trailer, which featured multiple scenes of buildings collapsing and explosions, showed off the drama’s vast production scale.

The 20-episode drama will air Saturdays and Sundays at 9:00 p.m. on tvN starting this week.

By Lim Jang-won (ljw@heraldcorp.com)