‘Safe, stable life’ makes Park Eun-Bin seek out wonderfully unusual roles
South Korean actress Park Eun-Bin lives up to her reputation of embracing unconventional characters in the new Netflix superhero action-comedy “The WONDERfools.”
Backdropped by the Y2K doomsday panic of 1999, the eight-episode limited series also reunites Eun-bin with director Yoo In-sik after their global hit “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.”
From playing a lovable lawyer on the autism spectrum in “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” a role that won her the Daesang or Grand Prize at the Baeksang Arts Awards, to portraying a woman forced to assume her dead twin brother’s royal identity in “The King’s Affection,” Eun-bin now plays the kooky de facto leader of a trio of oddballs who suddenly discover they have superpowers.
We say “leader” because unlike the others, who are hesitant and reluctant superheroes, Eun-bin’s Eun Chae-ni kind of likes the idea of being able to save the world.
After 27 years of being tagged as the biggest train wreck in Haeseong — mainly because she has practically been living with a “death sentence” due to congenital heart disease — Chae-ni gets a life reset, acquiring the power of teleportation and a superheart that won’t let her die.
Her friends, on the other hand, Son Gyeong-hun (Choi Dae-hoon, “When Life Gives You Tangerines,” “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” “Decision to Leave”) and Kang Ro-bin (Im Seong-jae, “The Worst of Evil,” “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” “Moving”) get bizarre new abilities of their own — a super-sticky grip and super strength, respectively.
Enter Lee Un-jeong (Cha Eun-woo, “True Beauty,” “My ID is Gangnam Beauty”), a mysterious, new City Hall employee with Clark Kent-ish appeal.
It turns out Un-jeong has a connection to Haeseong City and to a lab tied to experiments involving children with superhuman abilities.
To his annoyance, Un-jeong finds himself being followed around by the trio, who start calling him “sensei” after witnessing him effortlessly use his telekinetic powers.
As he gets entangled more and more with Chae-ni and company, whom he describes as “new variants,” they all face a looming threat from the arrival of super-villains.
Before they know it, they find themselves banding together with Un-jeong to fight rising evil, while still figuring out how to control their strange new gifts, to comedy-gold results.
One thing is certain in this series: Eun-bin’s ability to choose wonderfully unconventional characters. And with Chae-ni, she seems to have found a role that allows her to be funny, messy, unpredictable and moving all at once.
During an exclusive virtual interview with The STAR, I had to ask her about the attraction of playing a character described as the town’s “train wreck.”
“I am reminded of the first opening sequence having heard your question. It’s a sequence when my character is walking down the street, she’s listening to music, and she goes into this outburst of yelling at the world, ‘Oh, I wish the world would come to an end because I want to live to be able to see that end of the world,’” she told this writer.
“And I remember we had a lot of background actors on that day, and all of them were quite taken with the way I was performing the character. I think it’s probably the first time ever that I went into such a blatant outrage and outburst against the world. And it was cathartic for me to play a character that is described as the town’s famous train wreck.”
Chae-ni is just the latest in her string of roles that do not exactly play it safe or are far from the ordinary. As a K-drama fan, that’s the charm of watching her career.
After all, this is the same actress who has made unpredictable choices but nevertheless delivered unforgettable performances not just in “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” but also in “Castaway Diva,” “Hyper Knife,” “Do You Like Brahms?” and “Hot Stove League.”
Asked what draws her to such projects and characters, Eun-bin said a safe and stable personal life has led her to seek out the most unusual people to play onscreen.
“Personally, I think because I have such a safe and stable personal life, I am drawn to characters that are very different from that,” she shared.
“And also, I am a type of person who gets bored quite easily. So I think I am just drawn to things and characters that I have never done before.
“Both as an actor and just as a person, I enjoy doing things that I have never done. And while it’s very challenging and sometimes difficult to have to constantly create and meet characters that are unfamiliar, I still think that is what really motivates me as an actor.
“And so I think that’s why I’m drawn to genres and characters that I have never done.”
“The WONDERfools” is now streaming all of its episodes.
Amid the show’s laugh-out-loud moments and chaotic energy, Eun-bin’s character offers a simple takeaway: someone who has been treated or perceived like a walking disaster for most of her life may one day realize that even her chaos has a purpose.
“My biggest hope was that the series would bring viewers a lot of laughter and uplifting energy,” said Eun-bin.
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