“Adamas” depicts the story of twin brothers uncovering the truth from an incident 22 years ago. The two will work as one in order to clear the murder charges of their biological father who was accused of killing their stepfather and to find the “adamas” that is the evidence for the murder.
On July 26, “Adamas” leads Ji Sung, Seo Ji Hye, Lee Soo Kyung, Heo Sung Tae, and director Park Seung Woo attended an online press conference to discuss the drama and their characters.
Director Park Seung Woo explained that “Adamas” is a drama of more than one genre, sharing, “We have been saying it’s an investigation drama, but can we describe it in one word? I thought a lot about this at the start. It’s hard to explain a drama with one expression. If I say it’s a mystery thriller, there’s also a side of powerful action. If I consider it action, there are also noir aspects. It feels like a mix of various genres. It’s hard to describe this aspect. I wonder if it isn’t even a genre drama.”
Ji Sung stars in a dual role as identical twin brothers Ha Woo Shin, an author, and Song Soo Hyun, a special forces prosecutor who works at the Central District Prosecutor’s office. While this sounds like a lot, it is not Ji Sung’s first time in a role like this. In the 2015 drama “Kill Me Heal Me,” Ji Sung played a character who develops dissociative identity disorder, leading the actor to eventually play up to seven different roles at once.
Ji Sung revealed that all seven of the characters were very different, but that his approach to playing twin brothers was not the same. He shared about his role in “Adamas,” “The two people have the same start. As they’re similar, there were a lot of difficult aspects as I tried to emphasize the portrayal of their subtle differences.”
Seo Ji Hye revealed she had to consider a lot of different things for her role as Eun Hye Soo, the daughter-in-law of Haesong Group’s CEO. She commented, “I wondered how to portray the complicated emotions of whether [Eun Hye Soo] will aid Woo Shin and what kind of character she will be. Since the drama’s script was so solid, I just followed the flow of emotions, and it went well. That’s why I tried to be secretive in real life too.”
As Lee Soo Kyung’s character Kim Seo Hee is a social affairs reporter at TNC, the actress shared, “I felt that the career of a reporter was charming. There are also secrets that Seo Hee has. I was drawn to her because she’s a character with a twist. Seo Hee is the type to tenaciously bite and stretch something once she’s set on a goal. She has good endurance. My endurance is not great. That’s our greatest difference.”
Regarding his character Choi Tae Sung, a general security manager for Haesongwon, the residence of Haesong Group’s chairman, Heo Sung Tae commented, “In real life, I have no charisma. When I’m acting, I have to play powerful roles so there are some aspects that make me cringe. Out of all the roles I’ve done, the general security manager is my most sophisticated role. I’m thankful to the director for giving me this opportunity. [Choi Tae Sung] has sophisticated charisma.”
The director spoke about the casting process, explaining, “Ji Sung was cast before me so he’s the biggest reason why I decided to do this project. Eun Hye Soo, who is portrayed by Seo Ji Hye, is hard to describe in one to two words. She must be elegant and not make it known that she has hidden inner wounds. The character had to be beautiful. As we were searching for that intersection, the solution we came to was Seo Ji Hye.”
In 2010, Seo Ji Hye and Ji Sung both appeared in “Kim Soo Ro” (also known as “The Iron King”) and are now working together again for the first time in over 10 years. Ji Sung commented, “We met for the first time in 10 years. I figure that we were able to meet again because we’ve both been healthy and well. It felt new and it was good to see her. While acting together, she has the same reactions as in the past, so it’s nice to see.”
He then praised his co-star, saying, “Just the way she stands in front of the camera is exactly Eun Hye Soo. It was alluring.”
When asked about the key points of “Adamas,” Heo Sung Tae chose action while Lee Soo Kyung picked Ji Sung’s acting. Seo Ji Hye chose the actors’ acting and characters and Ji Sung answered, “I think it will be fun if you search for the adamas along with all the actors.”
“Adamas” premieres on July 27 at 10:30 p.m. KST. Check out a teaser for the drama!