Lee Min Ho Talks About Acting With The Horse Maximus + Kim Go Eun Describes Why Role In "The King: Eternal Monarch" Was New For Her

Apr 22, 2020

The leads of “The King: Eternal Monarch” sat down with “E-news Exclusive” for an interview!

The new SBS fantasy romance drama tells a story about two parallel universes: one with a democracy that is similar to modern-day Korea and one that is an alternative universe in which Korea is an empire ruled by a monarch. Emperor Lee Gon (Lee Min Ho) and detective Jung Tae Eul (Kim Go Eun) work together to protect the ones they love and close the portal between the two worlds.

The drama’s stars Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun appeared on the April 22 episode of “E-news Exclusive” and talked about preparing for their roles and more.

When asked what they’d learned for their characters, Lee Min Ho said, “I worked really hard at practicing rowing and horseback riding. Also, honestly, playing an emperor isn’t something you can really prepare for.” The interviewer jokingly asked if he meant that he already had the attitude of an emperor, and Lee Min Ho laughed.

“Lately it’s okay if people just admit this kind of thing, right?” he replied, referring to how he’s adjusting to the industry after his military discharge. “It’s because I’m the very definition of an emperor.”

The show also shared footage of Lee Min Ho filming while horseback riding. He talked about his screen partner, the horse Maximus.

“Maximus is really cute,” he said. “His nose gets red when it’s cold out. Also, he enjoys the candy that I like. It’s lemon-flavored. When filming was over, we’d each have a piece of the candy.”

A clip was also shared of Lee Min Ho appearing concerned as he watched Maximus seeming a bit restless. He said to the staff, “When we’re done filming, please let Maximum go free for a bit. He’s getting stressed.”

Lee Min Ho was later shown staring into the horse’s eyes and saying, “You have to remember me.” While filming another scene, the horse was at a distance from Lee Min Ho but then came right up behind him, which turned the scene into a blooper but made the actor smile.

Kim Go Eun was asked about taking on a detective role for the first time, and she replied, “It was really great to be able to put handcuffs on people.” Her response surprised Lee Min Ho, and the pair laughed.

She explained, “Usually I play people who are being chased, but now I put handcuffs on them and coolly take them away.”

Kim Go Eun went on to say that she’s been in action films before and she was feeling confident about this role too. However, she found it more difficult than expected to do things like reach the height of the kicks that she’d aimed for and achieve the strength needed, so she went to a taekwondo studio near her home and practiced hard.

The actors were also asked what their reactions were when they’d heard that each other had been cast for the show.

“I was very happy because she’s the actress that I most wanted to work with out of our peers,” he said.

Kim Go Eun said, “As soon as we first met, I told him, ‘I was a member of the Kim Tan line,'” referring to Lee Min Ho’s character in “Heirs.” She added, “I think he’s really the best” and playfully gave him a thumbs up.

The interviewer went on to ask the two stars what job they’d like to do in a parallel universe. Kim Go Eun said a doctor and explained, “I thought that I wanted to be a doctor if my skills were good enough.”

Lee Min Ho said, “I’d be a ballad singer,” which made everyone laugh. Kim Go Eun said, “He has a very pretty voice.”

The interview said that he could achieve this dream in this universe too, and Lee Min Ho said, “I think that would be difficult to do in this life.”