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Jung Hoyeon: I’m game for Bollywood, but you’ll have to teach me to dance
Squid Game star Jung Hoyeon says India is on her travel wish list and she would love to work on an Indian project, provided someone teaches her to dance
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Jung Hoyeon, the South Korean model-turned-actor whose sci-fi thriller Hope is all set to release in India, reveals that India has been on her wish list and that she’s game for a Bollywood run. “I have never visited India but it’s been on my bucket list of trips to make. I have watched 3 Idiots. I would love to be part of an Indian project, please call me, but you would have to teach me dancing,” she says with a laugh, in an exclusive conversation with HT City.
Having won a SAG Award in 2022 for her performance in the global hit Squid Game (2021), which also earned her an Emmy nomination, Hoyeon steps into the role of the machine-gun-toting, badass rookie cop Sung Ae in Hope, which also marks her feature film debut.
As she takes on an alien invasion that terrorises her quiet seaside town, the actor has won critical acclaim for balancing high-stakes action with comedic timing. The film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May this year, is directed by Na Hong-jin (The Chaser, The Yellow Sea). Serving up his brand of unhinged chaos, visceral, high-octane tension and dark humour, he brings together a cast that includes Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Taylor Russell and, as aliens, Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender.
Hoyeon reveals that the opportunity to be part of filmmaker Na’s canvas was a decisive factor in her decision to sign up for the project.
“I have been a huge fan of director Na’s work. When I read the script, I felt Sung Ae had this very magnetic appeal, you cannot deny her presence at all. I didn’t expect the role to be as substantial as it turned out to be. I knew that senior actors like Hwang Jung Min and Zo In Sung were already attached to this film, and it was overwhelming to be working with them and also sharing the same level of responsibility, which was scary at one level but equally exciting,” she says.
Disarmingly honest, she adds, “When I started working as an actor I had a lot of insecurity and anxiety because I was so new to it all, but this was the first time that the joy of working overcame the fear.”
Hoyeon, 32, who stepped into her action-packed role following six months of firearms, driving and weight training, explains that although the experience was daunting, she found tremendous support from the team.
“I enjoy challenging myself. Here I had to balance the comedic timing, with action as well as the acting part of it…there were so many things that I hadn’t done before. With Hwang Jung Min I saw how he never loses concentration, we were shooting hard core action and usually one is tensed what if someone gets hurt, but he was unwavering in his focus, which was a great learning for me. Director Na has a unique sense of humour, as well as lens into the world, and he is just fun as a person and an artist, that put me at ease.”
From the street-smart Player 067 in Squid Game to the unwavering Sung Ae in Hope, Hoyeon laughs when informed that she is being hailed as a bona fide action star. “When I have to do emotional scenes and deliver long dialogues, you think about designing and internalising the scene, but in action there is a lot more detailing, memorising the choreography, but it’s more fun. Maybe because I have been a model, and I quite like expressing through my body and its movements, I find freedom in the fluidity of the movements and it feels natural because you are feeling what you are doing.”
From commanding international runways and fronting high-end luxury brands to exploring creative avenues in acting, does Hoyeon’s global popularity influence her creative choices? “I cannot say I am 100 percent free of that consideration when I choose a project, I cannot pretend that I don’t think about it, because that would be a lie. I do care about the global audience, but at the same time, I’m now at a stage where I can be a little bit freer than before in making my choices. I hope people accept the choices I make. When you make a film or a series, you never know what’s going to happen. Even with Squid Game, when we were making it, we put our hearts out there, but we didn’t expect that kind of success. It’s always so hard to guess what’s going to work or what will resonate with a global audience, whether they’re Korean or from any other country. You can’t really measure these things. I just try my best to choose projects that move my heart, and when I choose one, I work as though it’s my last project every time.”
From starring opposite Cate Blanchett in Alfonso Cuarón’s 2024 psychological miniseries Disclaimer, Hoyeon reveals that she would like to explore a stint on stage in live theatre.
“I’m planning to do theatre, maybe next year, but let’s see. I cannot assume or be sure of anything right now, since actors are freelancers, so it’s hard to be sure. After Squid Game my focus was on things I hadn’t done before…working with Alfonso Cuaron, Cate Blanchett, even though it was a two week job, I was eager to do it because I could learn and observe Alfonso and Cate working together. That’s the same reason I chose Hope to learn from director Na, Hwang Jung Min, Zo In Sung, who are very experienced actors in Korea. I want to try things that I haven’t tried before because I think my confidence as an actor is getting better and better. So now I’m at that stage where I can say let’s do this since I haven’t done this before.”
As her filmography continues to expand, Hoyeon remains mindful of the collective effort behind the global rise of Korean culture.
“I think it’s flourishing because of the hardworking people. It’s hard to pick one factor since I’m not an analyst studying this generation or the current situation. I’m just someone who’s working really, really hard and doing my job, hoping that people will respond to it. That’s always my wish. So, yeah, I would say that holds true for all the hardworking people.”
For an actor who is drawn to the new and unexplored, could a romantic drama be on her wish list? She conspiratorially tells us that she has filmed one and cannot reveal the details, as she signs off.
Hope releases in India on October 23.
