AO EXCLUSIVE: Get ready for the tension and thrilling ride of emotions in “The Tyrant”

Brace yourselves for another adrenaline-filled series that will surely keep you at the edge of your seats!

The Tyrant depicts the story of the disappearance of the last sample of bioweapon referred to as “The Tyrant Project”, which holds limitless potential for the advancement of humanity during the secret handover between Korean and US Intelligence agencies. Parties on both sides will go to war to recover the stolen bioweapon with different motives.

To deep dive into the series, an exclusive press conference was held on July 15 with the presence of the powerhouse cast members namely, Kim Seon Ho, Kim Kang Woo, Cha Seung Won, and Jo Yoon Soo alongside brilliant Director Park Hoon Jung who previously worked on the popularly known films, The Childe and The Witch: Part 1 & 2.

Director Park Hoon Jung

The Tyrant is Director Park Hoon Jung’s debut series when asked about what it was like to work on this series, he answered, “It was really difficult maybe because it was my first time and I have a lot of respect for the series Directors.” he also mentioned that The Witch and The Tyrant share same universe but tell different stories and the viewers would understand what it means when they watch it.

About casting the powerful cast, Director Park said that he knows them very well and the cast has such a wide range and no matter what character you bring to them, they would bring the characters to life so he’s very confident that they would do a great job in portraying their respective roles.

According to Director Park, the series was originally planned to be released as a film, but they decided to release it as a TV series. There is no particular reason why they ended up choosing to release it as a series it is just that these streaming services have opened new opportunities for them, “There could be pros and cons but for this show, I think Disney+ and streaming services were a good choice.” He tried hard to make sure that the transformation was smooth and it’s very challenging for him since it’s his debut series.

The Powerhouse Cast Members and their Roles

Cha Seung Won as Im Sang

Cha Seung Won transforms into a cold-blooded highly skilled former assassin named Im Sang who will do everything to accomplish his mission and track down anyone who played a part in the failed handover.

Im Sang has his motives, he has been commissioned on this mission, and he is after the last sample of the “The Tyrant Project” that went missing. He used to work with Director Choi in the same department when he retired, he planned to open a train cafe because he is fond of trains but unfortunately, he got scammed so to pay the remaining amount of cash he decided to take on the commission.

Seung Won and Director Park worked together on the film, Night in Paradise. he said that he is a big fan of his and when he was reading the script, he was very curious about how Director Park will bring the confidence and passion of every character on the screen.

When talking about his action scenes, Seung Won shared that he got a tennis elbow again after carrying heavy firearms. he wanted to do a really good job using that gun in the series because it is the description of his character.

Kim Seon Ho as Director Choi 

Kim Seon Ho plays the role of Director Choi, the youngest director in the unit, but he is someone who wants to protect “The Tyrant Project” at all costs. He keeps calm, he’s cold-headed, and in the face of the crisis, he can even enjoy a nice brunch. He is a man who will do anything and everything to achieve his goals.

Kim Seon Ho said that he is a big fan of The Witch and that he’s very happy that The Tyrant and The Witch share the same universe. His role in this series is something that he hasn’t played in his past works “I could bring a new facet of myself through this character and that’s why I chose this show” he said.

According to Seon Ho, his role here is the polar opposite of his role in The Childe. Director Choi is weaker, more fragile, and lonelier. he is someone who has a lot of conflicts inside. physically, it was less draining compared to his role in The Childe because he doesn’t have a lot of action scenes.

Kim Kang Woo as Paul

Kim Kang Woo will put to life the character named Paul, a U.S. intelligence agent. He has the task of destroying the last sample of the “The Tyrant Project”.

Kang Woo mentioned that he loves the works of Director Park, “When I saw the script I felt like these four people are all dashing, I really love the tension and it was such a thrilling ride for me”

Paul is someone from an overseas intelligence unit, he comes to Korea undercover to demolish “The Tyrant Program” He is relentless and cold-blooded but it’s very complicated because he is ethnically Korean but is an American. he is very arrogant. Kang Woo shared that he prepared a lot for his role here, he had to practice a lot of English dialogue so that was quite a challenge for him.

Jo Yoon Soo as Chae Ja Gyeong

Jo Yoon Soo plays the role of Chae Ja Gyeong, the daughter of a highly skilled technician, she grew up with dissociative identity disorder, giving her both her personality and that of a protective twin.

This is Yoon Soo’s first drama lead role in Director Park’s first series, when asked about how she feels about that, “I’m a big fan of Director Park and it was an honor to be able to play Ja Gyeong in his first series and I think I used up all my luck” she mentioned that when she was reading the script, her heart fluttered thinking about she’s getting to play this amazing role and she’s very nervous at the same time.

In playing Ja Gyeong, Yoon Soo said that stamina is the most important because Ja Gyeong never gets tired, and she is good with guns, knives, bare fists, and axes and she has her charm. Yoon Soo trained a lot for her action scenes in this series.

Cast and Director’s Message

To wrap up the event Cha Seung Won first took the floor and thanked everyone for their participation in the event. he hopes that everyone will give them a lot of love and support for their series, The Tyrant.

Seon Ho also thanked everyone and said, “The cast, the crew, the creators, the director of ‘The Tyrant’ we really poured a lot of our hearts and souls into it, so I hope you look forward to watching it.”

Kang Woo said the series will be released in the middle of the summer, and he thinks that this series will blow away the heat and stress. So, he hopes everyone will look forward to it.

Yoon Soo also expressed her gratitude to everyone and said, “When ‘The Tyrant’ launches, I hope you show our series a lot of love and support.”

Director Park was the last person to deliver his message, “Thank you so much for all of your interest in ‘The Tyrant’ We put a lot of effort and passion and I believe we created something that we can be proud of. It will be launched during the summer; this is going to be a series that is perfect for a summer watch, so I hope you enjoy it.”

The Tyrant is going to be a fun thrilling ride for all the viewers so make sure to catch all 4 episodes of it on August 14 exclusively on Disney+.

Photo courtesy of Disney+ Philippines