Starting something new is tough, but stepping into a world that’s already been created — one that you once led — and trying to take it even higher is an entirely different challenge. Actor Ji Chang-wook embraced that challenge with a clear goal and a desire to top his previous work in Disney+’s recently ended series “The Manipulated.”

“A few years ago, I heard rumors that ‘Fabricated City’ [2017] might be turned into a series using the original IP,” said Ji during a roundtable interview with reporters at a cafe in central Seoul on Thursday.


“And just around the time I was thinking that a series version would actually suit today’s landscape much better, I was thankfully offered the role. Once I read the script, I found it so fun that I immediately knew I wanted to do it.”

The series shares a similar universe and narrative with the film “Fabricated City," in which Ji played the lead, Kwon Yoo, an unemployed gamer who gets framed for murder. The film was penned by Oh Sang-ho, who is also the writer of the series.

“To be honest, I really wanted to deliver an even better performance this time, and it was also a role I simply couldn’t pass up,” he said.

“Even though it’s not the same project, it shares a similar universe with something I worked on about 10 years ago. I was both curious and a little pressured about how different I might look in the new project.”

Released on Nov. 5, the action thriller stars Ji, who plays Park Tae-joong, an ordinary food deliveryman whose life turns upside down after being framed for rape and murder. He plans to take revenge after discovering that it was orchestrated by sculptor Yo-han, portrayed by Doh Kyung-soo.

One of Ji's main focuses was "convincingly showing Tae-joong hitting rock bottom" and how deeply he could draw viewers into his emotions, saying it was his "first and biggest assignment" for the show.

While imprisoned, Tae-joong trains himself, growing both mentally and physically. He becomes a character of unmatched strength and unparalleled fighting skill, despite previously being an ordinary deliveryman and aspiring plant shop owner, which is a familiar character arc seen in a classic good-versus-evil narrative.

Ji said that this was also another task he had to tackle with courage. “In a way, I knew the story was inevitable to slip into cliché.”

He added, “It’s like serving a flavor people already know, and the real challenge was figuring out how to make that familiar taste feel fresh and more delicious for the viewers."

The role was also physically demanding, as Tae-joong is constantly bullied, attacked, punched and stabbed while trying to survive. Ji explained that the prison scenes were especially grueling, with one scene in the infirmary taking five days to shoot. It seems that this made him want to step back from action and also reconsider participating in a second season of the show if it were to be made.

“If I were offered a second season, I’d be really grateful,” he said. “It would mean the series did well, that people are looking forward to it and that it was entertaining. But at the same time, I think I’d have to really think it over because it would be too exhausting.”

“To be honest, I don’t want to do action for a while,” he said.

The series is Ji's third Disney+ original, following “The Worst of Evil” (2023) and “Gangnam B-Side” (2024), releasing a project on the platform annually for the past three years. Due to his frequent appearances on the platform, some refer to Ji as the “son of Disney+.” Following his title, the actor is already set to release another Korea-Japan collaboration project on Disney+ next year, with “Merry Berry Love.”

While expressing gratitude for the global company repeatedly calling him, he shared his experience shooting with a Japanese team, including Japanese actor Mio Imada.

“I was actually really curious about a collaboration with Japan, and I’d probably been preparing for the past two or three years for it, and luckily, I got the chance to work on ‘Merry Berry Love,’” Ji said, adding that he finds the difference between Korean and Japanese fascinating.

The project is also his first to be seen by the Japanese public, and he is eager to see how they will perceive him.

“I feel like I’m working on this with a completely fresh mindset,” he said. “I’m really curious about how Japanese audiences will see the project and how they’ll see me in the scenes."

“Since I can’t know for sure how Japanese viewers will respond to my acting, I tend to watch the reactions of the Japanese staff or co-actors very closely. If they seem to enjoy it, I think, ‘Okay, this is working.’ And if they don’t, I start wondering, ‘Maybe this isn’t landing as well.’”

Debuted in 2008, the 38-year-old actor is nearly at the two-decade mark of his career. Ji has been endlessly working across genres, from films and dramas to musicals. There is one thing he keeps in mind while working: making sure the work he does is something he won't feel embarrassed by.

“Since this is all commercial work, it inevitably involves money and investment. With that comes the pressure to deliver results, because only then will people invest again, like a continuous cycle,” he said.

“But I realized that if I start worrying too much about box office success, I can’t focus on the work itself because, honestly, I don’t know which projects will succeed or fail. So despite all that, my main concern is just that I’m not embarrassed by the work I do and that I, while doing this project, don’t make others feel ashamed of my work.”


BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]