Ahn Bo-hyun, known for playing intimidating tough guys in Korean dramas and films, is stepping into completely new territory with his latest role in the upcoming fantasy romantic comedy "Pretty Crazy." The actor, who has built his career on portraying alpha males and antagonists, now plays an unemployed, gentle character who cares for a woman possessed by a demon.
The 190-centimeter-tall actor has made his mark in the entertainment industry playing menacing characters. He terrorized Park Seo-jun as a sneering chaebol heir in "Itaewon Class" and threw punches alongside Han So-hee in Netflix's "My Name." On the big screen, he nearly battled Jung Hae-in to the death in "I, Executioner." His imposing boxer's frame, developed during his teenage years when he won gold medals in boxing before transitioning to modeling and then acting, naturally lends itself to these tough-guy roles.
"People think I'm intimidating when I don't smile because of how I look," Ahn explains with a laugh. "But when I do smile, they say I have this dopey charm." His deep-set eyes beneath heavy brows carry an intensity that doesn't always translate on screen, contributing to his naturally imposing presence.
"Pretty Crazy" represents an interesting specimen in several ways within the Korean entertainment landscape. The film bills itself as a romantic comedy in an industry where the genre has become virtually extinct. Its premise is saturated with comic-book silliness, featuring a beautiful woman who transforms into a demon every night with no memory of her actions the following morning. The movie struggles with its identity, unable to decide exactly what it wants to be.
More intriguingly, the film throws its A-list leads into completely unexpected territory. Girls' Generation's Lim Yoona appears as a jabbering maniac wreaking havoc, while Ahn portrays Gil-goo, a clueless unemployed loser tasked with her nightly care. The role represents a dramatic departure from Ahn's typical screen persona.
Gil-goo's character screams pitiful vulnerability. He follows his crush around town, staging "accidental" meetings after falling for her at first sight. When he accepts the job of babysitting her possessed alter ego, he mothers her with obsessive care. Gil-goo embodies the vanilla nice guy archetype, existing worlds apart from the masculinity Ahn typically projects on screen.
"Watching myself on the big screen, I realized I'm really good at looking pathetic," Ahn admits. "Like, genuinely wronged and pitiful." Despite the character's apparent distance from his usual roles, he found surprising common ground with Gil-goo. "I don't talk like him, but I could definitely sympathize. People have a hard time believing it because I look so tough and all, but Gil-goo exists inside me too. I've had my own periods of deep uncertainty, times when I cared too much about what others thought."
The actor reveals unexpected aspects of his personality that align with his character. "I'm actually really detail-oriented," he continues. "I know it doesn't match how I look, but I love cooking elaborate meals for myself, arranging things just so. I like cute little things to the point where you'd question my testosterone levels. I clean obsessively, do laundry religiously."
For Ahn, the role represented something deeper than mere comic relief. He interpreted it as a narrative about a loser maturing through caring for someone else for the first time. Gil-goo goes to absurd lengths to save Seon-ji from her curse, digging up backyards, stealing phones, and racing to the middle of nowhere on Jeju Island. Despite his awkwardness in these missions, he remains utterly sincere in his efforts.
"It's a coming-of-age story," Ahn explains. "This broken guy who can't stand up to anyone meets Seon-ji and her demon side, accepts this insane situation as truth, and realizes he can actually help someone, that he can matter." This understanding allowed him to sink deeply into the character and connect with Gil-goo's emotional journey.
This deep connection to the character led to some unexpected moments during filming. During the film's tearjerker finale, when Gil-goo finally addresses the demon by her real name, Ahn found himself overwhelmed with emotion. "I cried so hard shooting that scene. I wasn't supposed to – if I cry, it looks like romantic love. But I'd developed such affection for the demon character. My eyes swelled up so badly we had to pause filming until they went down."
Playing someone so gentle turned out to be a revelation for the typically tough-guy actor. "When Gil-goo's unintentional actions or way of speaking made people laugh, the feedback was immediate – the crew cracking up, the director smiling," he recalls. The experience taught him about a different kind of screen presence and power.
"There's a different kind of power in playing nice characters. They lift people up," Ahn reflects on his experience. "Pretty Crazy" opens Wednesday in theaters, offering audiences a chance to see this established tough-guy actor in an entirely new light.
