“Exceptionally good looks”
That’s what one thinks of when they see Lomon, (Solomon Park). He boasts a height of 183cm (6ft) and potent facial features. His stunning looks and physical traits make him stand out in a typical high school uniform, worn in the popular Netflix series, “All of us are Dead.” This led us to question one significant question.
"Does he act as well as he looks?"
The answer, was “yes.” Lomon was consistent throughout his role as “Suhyeok”, a character that perfectly depicted youth in the horror- streaming zombie series. “Suhyeok” was the character, essential for an action filled show that needed a courageous hero to fend for survival.
The emotions surrounding the loss of close friends at a time when they mean the most, and the gut-wrenching performance towards the complicated web of feelings towards his first love and a future of uncertainty, proved the actor to be of greatness.
Lomon (23) is being met with interest from a global fan base for his recent breakout role as “Suhyeok” in popular Netflix series, “All of us are Dead.” His athletic character and very obviously handsome physical features drew the attention of many.
"I worked very hard for this role, to the point of having no regrets. It wasn’t necessarily a big role, but I tried to make the most out of it. Popularity? It’s feels very surreal. It’s like I received a very big New Year’s gift.” (Lomon)
“Dispatch” has recently been given an opportunity to interview the rising actor. We pondered on his transition to “Suhyeok” and what he aspires to do now. Read below to learn more about the actor.
◆ "It’s been years since my debut”
One might mistake the star’s role in “All of us are Dead” as his first on-screen debut. However, this year marks his eighth year in the industry. Lomon was first introduced to the public in 2014 when he was only fifteen years old in the Korean series, “4 Legendary Witches.” The star then went on to star in the popular Korean drama, “The Doctors.”
Lomon ventured further to play a psychopath in the 2017 drama “The Guardians.” However, he found that the rise to stardom wasn’t as easy as it seemed. The actor was left pondering if his big breakout would happen at all.
The star reminisced over his role in the Netflix series. He remarked, “It felt like a dream to know that I landed such a big role in a Netflix series. I had high expectations for the series, and I was over the moon.”
Despite the outpour of praise regarding the star’s physical features, Lomon had tried to make himself look the opposite, by appealing to the audience with his acting as an immature high schooler instead.
The zombie-streaming series was well loved for its comedic elements in the show. Lomon’s nickname in particular was “Maensu.” The term translates to someone with foot odor due to the absence of socks when sporting sneakers. The actor also improvised and was seen wiping his feet with a pair of socks in the show.
“I’m grateful for everything who grew fond of me in the series. However, it wasn’t my intention to appear physically attractive. I think in doing so, it takes away from the core of the role.”
◆ "Getting in shape for the role!"
Suhyeok, the character in the series is introduced as a charismatic high school student with a past as a bully. Although the viewers are taken through the show with hints of the character’s past, the student is already an ordinary student in the setting of the series. Despite his previous actions, the audience sees the character often taking risks for the sake of his friends in the face of horror.
In order to prepare for an athletic character like Suhyeok, Lomon took up exercising as a means to get into shape and character. The actor revealed to have been weight training since his freshman year of high school, but was said to have visited an Asian medicine clinic following his first training session.
The star commented, “I had to increase my stamina and overall health. I ran everyday at the Han River. I ran as far as 10km on average and tried to fill in my attendance stamps at the gym when I was able to.” Lomon also expressed the difficulties in playing his character, “Suhyeok was tricky to play because he was always on the run and involved in fights.”
Fans of the show held their breath when the actor engaged in a brawl with the character of Yoon Gwi Nam, the antagonist of the show. Suhyeok was able to maintain his firm grip on the antagonist despite the unexpected strength of the belligerent character.
“We practiced that scene five months before the cameras were set to roll. It was really hard, but it came out even better than when we had practiced. I think it was possible due to our chemistry.”
Lomon opened up about the help he received from the director of the hit series, director Lee Jae Kyu. The rising star explained, “Director Lee Jae Kyu had told me to think not from my character’s perspective, but from my own. I had to stop and think about what I’d do if I found myself in a similar situation. I had acted while finding the right balance between my character and I.”
We questioned Lomon on whether he had any regrets about his performance or if there was anything he wished he would’ve done differently for his breakout role. His answer was crystal clear: no.
◆ "Improving with fellow actors”
Despite the series being most of the characters’ breakout role, there were a lot of familiar faces in the show. Choi Namra, Yoo In Soo, Han Seong Min, and Lee Eun Saem all acted together in the 2017 web drama “Sweet Drama.”
“I checked the casting list and saw a lot of familiar faces. I ran to the café where In Soo hyung works at. We conversed for hours over the fact that we'd work together."
The star was able to act as if the fellow actors were his real classmates. Besides the script, a lot of the actors had improvised scenes on their own. The temporary bathroom scene in the recording studio and the rooftop scene were all improvised by the quick minded professionals on set.
“There’s a scene in which we light a fire on the rooftop. All that was on the script was ‘They start to light a fire, but it doesn’t go well.’ Everything in that scene was made by us. I think that’s part of the reason why it looked so real.”
The gripping zombie horror is refreshing for its take on a coming-of-age concept with elements of comedy and realistic love scenes from the perspective of young high school students.
The love scenes were significantly flawed, making it appeal to the audience more for its transparent acting with flawed high school students and their shortcomings. Lomon’s character does everything he can to divert the attention away from his freshly bitten love interest, Nam Ra.
“The love scenes with my character and Nam Ra took place like we had planned to do. I think we were able to execute the feelings of our characters well because it was a very dramatic and complicated situation.”
◆ "The height of Romon’s career had just begun”
“All of us are Dead” had made a name for themselves in the popular TV genre. Upon the release, the show went on to score #1 in a total of thirty- seven countries.
Naturally, the actors/actresses in the show had also risen to prominence. Following the release of the series, the casts’ personal Instagram accounts had seen a dramatic increase in their following counts. The star had a count of 220,000 before the release and now has a counting of a whopping 5.2 million.
Lomon reveals the phrase he says to himself most these days, “I feel like a celebrity.” The star reveals that the fame still feels surreal and feels as if it’s a huge New Year’s gift.
The star makes a quirky comment about the sudden rise to international stardom. He revealed “It feels as if I went to an ivy league college like Harvard.”
Fans of the series are voicing their desire for a second season. Lomon too, expresses the hopes in returning for a second season. “I think Suhyeok would be at a place where he’s just full of guilt because of how his friends ended up. I want to build myself up even more and show an improved version of Suhyeok in the next series.”
The height of Lomon’s career starts now.
"I think I had my plate filled with everything that I had wanted to do in the series. Now, I have an even bigger plate to fill up. Although I’m slightly late to the game, I’m going to continue to improve. That’s what I’m best at. I’ll continue to be an actor with a good mindset and attitude who tries his best at what he does. Thank you!”
<Photo credits=Netflix>
<Translated by=Justina Kim(Dispatch)>
