Gosling shows humanity with K in new 'Blade Runner'

Harrison Ford, left, Ryan Gosling, center, and filmmaker Denis Villeneuve speak during an online video interview with the press at CGV Yongsan, Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of Sony Pictures

By Kim Jae-heun

Actor Ryan Gosling stars in the neo-noir science fiction film sequel “Blade Runner 2049,” playing LAPD Officer “K.” Gosling said he tried to bring out a more human side compared to Rick Deckard, the protagonist in the 1982 movie.

K is the new blade runner after Deckard, played by Harrison Ford, who returns after going missing for 30 years.

“The former blade runners were much more isolated and dismissed from society,” Gosling said during a media teleconference at CGV Yongsan, Seoul, Monday. “My character K struggles to find his identity and love and friendship. He tries to overcome hardships in that process.”

Blade runners have a mission to hunt down human clones who are out of control. The clones are called “replicants.” K believes there is a secret involving him and the replicants and turns to Deckard for answers.

Ford said he has developed the character Deckard to be deeper and more sophisticated for the sequel.

He also said Gosling is a well-prepared actor who likes to challenge himself in new adventures. Gosling responded by praising Ford as the best actor at the moment and said he catches all the important parts of every sequence on screen.

The original “Blade Runner” directed by Ridley Scott questioned the essence of a person through the replicants cloned by humans. The sequel’s filmmaker Denis Villeneuve posed a philosophical question of whether a replicant should also be called human in the end. Director Villeneuve left every possible room for the audience to believe Deckard could also be a replicant but did not give specific clues. It is the same in the sequel, he said.

“The new episode makes it more suspicious on Deckard’s identity as a human being or not and keeps the mystery in the sequel. It is interesting how original fiction that movie is based on shows a human clone question his own identity,” Villeneuve said.

Ford agreed finding out the identity of Deckard in “Blade Runner 2049” is an interesting point to watch for and there is a new story added to gives clue on the mysterious character, which the actor hopes audiences will interpret differently.