Na In Woo Opens Up About Belatedly Joining "River Where The Moon Rises," His Rising Popularity, And More

Mar 26, 2021

In a recent interview and pictorial for Singles magazine, Na In Woo talked about his experience belatedly joining the cast of KBS 2TV’s “River Where the Moon Rises.”

Earlier this month, Na In Woo suddenly joined the drama at the last minute when former lead Ji Soo unexpectedly left the cast due to allegations of school violence. Although 95 percent of filming had already been completed, “River Where the Moon Rises” decided to reshoot all of Ji Soo’s unaired scenes with Na In Woo taking over the role of On Dal.

Despite the abrupt change in male lead, viewers have responded positively to Na In Woo’s portrayal of On Dal and his chemistry with co-star Kim So Hyun—so much so that “River Where the Moon Rises” announced this week that they will also be reshooting the first six episodes with Na In Woo, so that the full drama can be made available on Korean VOD sites.

Describing his nervousness before he began filming, Na In Woo recalled, “Going in, I thought to myself that it wouldn’t be easy. But thanks to the director, my co-stars, and the staff, I think it’s going well. The fact that so many people are helping me out on the filming set has been a huge source of motivation for me.”

While talking about the drama, Na In Woo also revealed how deeply he sympathized with his character, On Dal.

As “River Where the Moon Rises” is a reinterpretation of the classic Goguryeo folk tale “On Dal the Fool and Princess Pyeonggang,” the actor shared, “We typically just think of him as ‘On Dal the Fool,’ but the more I read the script, the more it broke my heart that he had chosen that kind of life because of the situation he faced. I want to portray On Dal’s innocent, cheerful side and his purity in fine detail.”

Na In Woo’s popularity has been skyrocketing ever since he joined “River Where the Moon Rises,” with his name consistently trending on portal sites whenever a new episode of the drama airs.

However, the actor humbly remarked, “I’m originally the type to take things slow. I’ve made it to this point with the exact same mindset that I had when I first started acting. Rather than reaching a turning point or a certain moment, I’m just walking consistently towards my goal.”

As for his goals as an actor, Na In Woo revealed, “When I play a role, I want to hear people say, ‘Wow, that guy is totally, undeniably that character.’ Because I want to be good at acting. Since I have a very curious personality, I think this line of work suits me very well.”