[Herald Interview] Ryu Jun-yeol, Kim Tae-ri say “Alienoid” is about relationships

Actors Ryu Jun-yeol and Kim Tae-ri said “Alienoid” wraps up the story on humans’ fate and relationships, which also well-translated the two actors’ close friendship to the screen.

“After watching the completed version of part 2, I thought that yes, this is what director Choi wanted to say, a story on relationships and fate,” Ryu said in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Jan. 3.

He said that the close friendship between him and Kim was also translated to the screen.

“I used to think that a rehearsal is a promise. Something that actors agree to do before the actual shooting. But this project gave me an experience of how building personal intimacy between actors can result in a better acting performance. I learned that the more I care about my counterpart, the better acting and partnership we can show on the screen,” Ryu said.

While Ryu reunited with Kim for the first time since Yim Soon-rye’s “Little Forest” four years ago, it was his first project with Kim Woo-bin, who has a split role as Guard and Thunder, whoc support and protect Lee Ahn (Kim Tae-ri).

"Tae-ri and I casually talk about so many things. While I’m not the type of person who approaches others first, Kim Woo-bin would share about his time when he had to fight disease, which I appreciated a lot,” he added.

Kim, who was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in 2017, took a two-year hiatus from work and returned in 2019 to shoot this project.

Regarding the worse-than-expected critical reception of part 1 in 2022 summer, the two actors said they had faith in Choi, saying that his style in releasing critical scenes and key points in the plot usually comes out near the end.

When the first part of “Alienoid” opened in June 2022, the movie only attracted 1.5 million admissions while its breakeven point was 7.3 million.

“What director Choi tries to say normally appears in the later part of the story, so I’m sure that people will want to watch Part 2,” Ryu said.

Kim also agreed that Choi was constantly evolving.

“He never ceases to evolve. Compared to director Park Chan-wook, who would determine almost everything during the pre-production stage, director Choi would constantly make changes even during the shooting, embracing all possible impromptu ideas on set. He is a combative-spirited man,” said Kim in a separate interview with The Korea Herald on Jan. 3.

“I heard that he edited part 2 more than 50 times. He would tell me that a week ago, this part was like this but I changed to that. I was very surprised to see that one story can change in so many different ways through editing. I’m so satisfied with the final version and I feel huge gratitude to the director,” she added.

“Alienoid Part 2” opened in local theaters on Jan. 10.