Han Hyo-joo’s career takes a serious turn in ‘Blood Free’

Philiana Ng: You’ve been acting for over 20 years. I’m sure over time your perspective has evolved once you gained more acting experience. What have you learned during this period?
Han Hyo-joo: I’m very thankful that I am able to be doing this job for such a long time. And along the way, I got so much love and there’s just so much to be thankful for. Not only did I get older in age, but also, I grew a lot as a person. I feel like if I hadn’t had the opportunity to have lived as an actor, there are many things I wouldn’t have had the chance to feel and experience. So I’m always really filled with a lot of gratitude.

PN: You’re also known to be a chameleon when it comes to the characters you play and the projects you choose. You’ve done romance, action, thriller, apocalyptic dramas, Blood Free is sci-fi. What makes you say yes to something?
HH: It’s definitely, first of all, the script and the storyline. I always try to think about what kind of message this title is trying to convey after it’s done as a whole. Obviously, it’s not that you can deliver a particular message with every project you’re on, but I try to think about the overall goal. Is it for pure entertainment? Do I want to carry meaning through the project? I try to look at the entire message and the creative vision, in terms of what kind of emotions does this want to convey to the audience.

Ju Ji-hoon (left) plays bodyguard to Yun Ja-yu (Han Hyo-joo) in "Blood Free."

Courtesy of Walt Disney Company

PN: Have you found that you’ve been able to play more diverse roles as you’ve gotten older? Especially with your last couple of projects, it seems that way?
HH: Yes, I think there’s some truth to that. Because at the end of the day, we are taking on the character of a human being, and as human beings, it’s not limited to your teens or 20s or 30s. I look forward to the many roles I’ll be able to take on in my 40s and 50s. Of course, having said that, I don’t think I’ll be able to do the more lovey-dovey roles I used to do in my 20s. [laughs]

PN: The character you play in Blood Free is very different from what people may be used to seeing you as. Was that one of the reasons why you wanted to do it?
HH: I felt like it was so new, original, and refreshing—very smartly written and a story that really fits the time. It honestly brought me quite a refreshing level of shock, too. When it comes to the character type, you’ll never see her smile. I believe there’s one scene where she does smile, but even then it wasn’t a true smile. It was like a cynical laugh that she sort of let out. For the fans out there who are used to the more bubbly and brighter side of me, they might feel like this is very different. Because Yun Ja-yu is a character who is very lonely, I also felt that loneliness as I was performing the character, and I also felt a lot of compassion for her as well.

PN: Was it hard for you not to smile? You’re very outgoing, so I wonder how difficult that was for you to maintain throughout filming?
HH: I’m very outgoing, but I also have the personality where I’m introverted. I have many personalities!

In "Blood Free," a biotech company that artificially engineers meat becomes embroiled in controversy.

Courtesy of Walt Disney Company

PN: Your onscreen chemistry with actor Ju Ji-hoon, who plays Woo Chae-woon, the former soldier hired to protect your character, was satisfying to watch and is filled with tension. How did you create that dynamic?
HH: Because [my] character, Ja-yu, is so lonely and someone who doesn’t overtly express her feelings, I also tried to manage that tone on set. Compared to my previous projects I’ve been on, this time around there was a sense of distance with others I was working with, and that also led to that level of tension between Ji-hoon and my character. It’s hard to put into words, but we were very good friends, and we maintained a very good relationship, but I think it hindered us from getting too close or too friendly with one another because I wanted to maintain the essence of the character. 

PN: The ending of the show leaves room for more story. Are you interested in revisiting this world?
HH: Do you want to see season two? I’m curious about that too. I want to ask the writer [Lee Soo-yeon]. I hope she’s writing now! 

PN: One of my favorite shows in recent years is Happiness, which was filmed and released during the pandemic, and centered around a pandemic caused by a failed drug. Do you have any fond memories about making that show?
HH: I got so much love from many people. It’s definitely a big gap between the Happiness character and the Blood Free character. A big gap. [laughs] It was so me, so it was really comfortable to act that character. It was really fun to be on set at that time and my co-workers, they’re very good people and good actors, so we had many, many good experiences with each other. After finishing shooting, we meet one or two times a year.