Kang Young Seok Talks About Working With EXO's D.O. In "100 Days My Prince"

Kang Young Seok recently talked about what it was like acting in his first historical drama, working with EXO’s D.O., and more.

On November 6, the actor sat down for an interview where he talked about his role as Kwon Hyuk, the bodyguard of the crown prince, in the recently concluded “100 Days My Prince.”

Kang Young Seok shared, “At first, I received the audition script for the role of Dong Joo, but the director later gave me the role of Kwon Hyuk. I thought I wouldn’t get a lot of screen time, as the character doesn’t talk much, but I kept appearing until the last episode. Because it was a historical piece, I didn’t know when my character would die, so I didn’t even imagine that I would appear until the end. I was happy because I had a lot of screen time.”

The drama was his first historical piece and also included his first action scene. He commented, “I actually didn’t have too many action scenes. The stunt team did the action scene in the very end [of the drama] instead. Filming riding scenes wasn’t very different either, as I filmed while sitting on the horse.”

On the difficulties of filming historical dramas, Kang Young Seok added, “We started off wearing parkas, but later it became so hot that there was even a staff member that fainted. We always filmed with fans. I’ve also never done a historical dialect before, so it was difficult. I thought a lot about how to speak.”

Kang Young Seok also talked about his great chemistry with D.O., who played the crown prince Lee Yool. He remarked, “Kwon Hyuk was Yool’s only hands and feet. I just did as the writer told me to. I think EXO fans really liked it. D.O. and I are both really shy, so even though we’re close in age, we still haven’t spoke informally to each other.”

As the drama surpassed 10 percent in viewership ratings, the cast members gathered together to fulfill their ratings promise, which was to dance to EXO’s “Growl.” When asked how he had felt as he wasn’t able to participate, Kang Young Seok laughed and answered, “If they had called me, I would have worked hard. I was a part of the dance club in high school, so I danced for fun. If I had danced to ‘Growl,’ I think D.O. and I would have been the center positions. Kim Seon Ho was really bad at dancing. He must have not played around when he was in school.”

Kang Young Seok concluded by saying, “I knew that the drama would do well, but I didn’t know it would do this well. It was hot and difficult, but it came out well in the end. I think it was an opportunity that became a new stepping stone for me. I went on an audition recently and when I said I went on ‘100 Days My Prince,’ the director’s gaze changed. I think that’s really great.”

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