[Herald Interview] Cho Yi-hyun looks forward to more action in possible season 2 of ’All of Us Are Dead‘

While enjoying the global popularity of zombie thriller “All of Us Are Dead,” actor Cho Yi-hyun, who stars as the cool-headed Choi Nam-ra, did not hide her excitement for a possible season 2.

“Amid the zombie apocalypse, new races of zombies -- immune and the immortal -- were born. … I think there can be a collision within the zombie races and maybe a more intense battle with the humans,” Cho said during an online press interview with the group of reporters on Thursday.

The 22-year-old added that the series had piqued her interest in more active roles.

“I never had a chance to perform an action scene before ‘All of Us Are Dead.’ There were a few action scenes, but they were enough to spark (my) interest in action scenes. It will be exciting to be involved in an action film or drama in the future,” the actor added.

Cho surprised many local and global viewers with her role of Choi Nam-ra, the quiet, cool-headed class president, in the zombie thriller.

“I recently read an Instagram post by Netflix presenting the characters’ from ‘All of Us Are Dead’ with their previous projects. I was surprised to find that many viewers did not recognize that I was the third-year medical student Jang Yun-bok in ‘Hospital Playlist,’” the actor said.

“I received the comments as a compliment, proving that I have performed highly contrasting characters very well,” the actor added.

Though Cho’s portrayal of Nam-ra has been well received, the actor admitted that she had doubts over whether she would be cast after her audition.

“I believe all the actors auditioning were asked to play On-jo in a scene where she eats fried chicken at Cheongsan Chicken restaurant and asks Cheong-san which hairstyle suits her the best. The director asked me to brighten up the voice and I answered that that was my brightest tone,” Cho told The Korea Herald.

She believed that her performance may not have been what that the director was looking for. But director Lee Jae-kyoo wanted to work with Cho as Nam-ra.

When asked which character she would like to perform if the series were produced again from scratch, Cho said Dae-su (played by Lim Jae-hyeok) was the kind of a character she wishes to play someday.

“I personally think I am not a funny person, so playing a witty, humorous character is like a challenge for me as an actor,” the actor told The Korea Herald.

From short film “On my way Home” (2018), period drama “My Country: The New Age” (2019) and teen romance “School 2021” (2021) to horror film “Metamorphosis” (2019), Cho has been expanding her repertoire, but the actor finds there is still much room for improvement.

“When I look back on the characters that I played in my previous work, they were all different, not sharing much similarities in genre and characteristics. Though I do not yet have the next film or drama series to work on, I hope to continue to act in projects which will give me experiences I have not had before,” the actor said.

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