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| Actor Yim Si-wan / Courtesy of Netflix |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Yim Si-wan, who is again playing the role of a villain in the Netflix film "Unlocked" following his role in 2022 disaster thriller "Emergency Declaration," said he felt conflicted about playing a psychopath in the new movie.
"I initially turned down the offer because I was afraid that my role might have a negative influence on society. However, actor Kim Hee-won (who also starred in the film) persuaded me into playing the protagonist, Jun-yeong. It was a tightly-knit script with a cathartic end," he said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.
Inspired by Shiga Akira's Japanese novel of the same name, "Unlocked" follows the story of Na-mi (Chun Woo-hee) whose life is turned upside down when she leaves her smartphone on the bus after a night out with her friends. A murderous stalker named Jun-yeong (Yim) finds the phone and returns it to her after installing spyware to track her every move. He slowly destroys her life, cutting her ties with friends and family.
Yim explained that he tried to approach Jun-yeong's character as spontaneously as possible.
"Jun-yeong has no true motive for his crimes. He collects other people's information and steals their identities to show off and feel a sense of achievement. He sees cyberstalking as a game or a hobby. Ironically, it was quite liberating to play such a daring, insane character," he said.
He stressed that the film explores the dangerous impact of privacy breaches and sounds an alarm to smartphone users all around the globe.
"As smartphones and computers have been around controlling our lives for some time, we may fall prey to hackers. This can happen to any of us at any time," he said. "After shooting this film, I changed my phone passcode into a complex one."
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| A scene from the film, "Unlocked" / Courtesy of Netflix |
He mentioned starring alongside his co-actor Chun.
"It felt great working with Chun. She is endlessly energetic and expressive. When actors shoot multiple takes of a scene, their energy level decreases. But Chun maintained that level until the very end," he said.
The actor reflected on his decade-long career. "In the past, my agency often decided what projects I should choose. Because I was afraid, I often refused to take massive risks. Now, whether I want to do it or not matters the most. I still have anxiety, but I choose to face challenges," he said.
Yim revealed he has a very busy year ahead. His other film "Road to Boston" is set for a release this year.
"It's great to hear that a series of my films are set to open in theaters after their releases were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As an actor, I feel alive when I get feedback ― be it positive or negative ― from audiences," he said.
"Unlocked" is streaming on Netflix.
