You can only pick one, and boy the pressure is on. The DB team will answer a new prompt in each post, and you’re invited to do the same in the comments. Ready to play?
You can only pick one rookie actor
missvictrix: Unpopular method though it may be, I glom onto my rookies based almost entirely on their screen presence. Since you’re a rookie, I’m expecting you to be green and/or in a role where you don’t have to do much except look cute and make some hearts bleed, so I’m looking less at your actual bit/supporting part, and more on the potential I see there. How does the camera like you? How do you hold your own onscreen with other well-establish actors? Well, in the case of Ki Do-hoon, he does both of those things well, whether he was playing the small role of the mysterious man behind the app in Love Alarm, or being wildly good in short scenes opposite Kim Hee-ae in Queenmaker. He’s not the only rookie on my list (he keeps good company with Lee Min-jae, Kim Jae-won, Lee Jong-won, and Lee Shi-woo), but I think he’s the one I am most rooting for currently (because underdog).
DaebakGrits: Does Tang Joon-sang still count as a rookie actor? He’s been around a few years and had some pretty big roles in Move to Heaven and Racket Boys, so I’m not sure if he should be considered a rookie or whatever the next level is after that. (Intermediate actor?) For the sake of this prompt, I’m going to consider him a rookie since he’s still young and hasn’t had a “leading man” character (in the conventional K-drama sense). He’s such a promising actor who has already built an impressive and diverse portfolio of characters. It makes me extremely curious to see what kind of characters he will take on as he ages and matures. If he follows the path of a lot of his sunbaes, one day he will probably star in a romance, but I have a hard time imagining that for some reason even though he had a romantic plotline in Racket Boys. Maybe it’s because his character in Move to Heaven left a bigger impression that I hope he continues to take on roles outside the romance genre.
solstices: Oh man, this is a tough one since I have so many favorite rookie actors who started out in web dramas… I suppose I’ll pick the actor I want to promote most — Kim Woo-seok (the musical actor, not to be confused with Kim Woo-seok of UP10TION, though I like them both). Making an adorably endearing debut in the web drama Love Playlist 3, he’s since proven his range through diverse television roles. From a level-headed elite hacker in Voice 2, to a haughty yet sympathetically childlike antagonist in Military Prosecutor Doberman, as well as a loyal and selfless investigator in The Forbidden Marriage — he excels at imbuing his characters with pathos, wringing tears out of me more than a few times. His nuanced acting is evident on stage as well, and he has such a beautiful voice, so I’m certainly anticipating the roles he’ll take once he returns from the military. (Fun fact: his older brother is Kim Min-seok of Melomance, so the talent clearly runs in the family!)
Unit: The first name(s) that comes to mind for this prompt is Lee Chae-min-jae. Ha! Not me trying to be sneaky by inserting my two Crash Course in Romance loves into a single post. Okay, fine, it’s Lee Chae-min and that’s because he’s under the same agency as Kim Soo-hyun (and I have to support family). Family bias aside, I like watching him onscreen. He has a very calm and chill aura, and I find his face at rest very interesting to look at (he looks like a glass of cold water). I enjoy him more in expressive roles like Crash Course than when he’s all stoic and deadpan like in See You in My 19th Life. But hey, that’s on the character he played in that drama and not him.
Dramaddictally: This is even harder than picking a rookie actress! Final decision: Lee Min-jae. Admittedly he wasn’t on my radar until last year when I saw him in Cheer Up – but he was by far my favorite character in that show. He came off as aloof, confident, likable, and somehow older or more mature than his age (please, don’t even tell me how young he is. He’s too cute and I’ll just get dispirited thinking about it). Afterward came Crash Course in Romance where he stole my attention again with the same confident attitude and demeanor – and I can’t even count the number of times I replayed the “wi-pi” clip because it cracks me up every single time. I missed his most recent role in Oh! Young-shim, but now that he’s on a hot streak, I definitely think he’s one to watch.