"I think there will be a flashback or a scene from the past" — Kim Seon-ho reveals new details about his character from The Tyrant season 2

Disney+ limited Korean series, The Tyrant, released on August 14, 2024, starring Kim Seon-ho, Cha Seung-won, Kim Kang-woo, and Jo Yoon-su. Directed by Park Hoo-jung from The Childe fame, the show is a four-part series, and the first part—consisting of four episodes—aired at once on August 14.

Kim Seon-ho, who played Director Choi in The Tyrant, mentioned his character's future arc in the second installment. In episode 4 of the first part, Director Choi shoots himself in the head and dies. According to Kim Seon-ho, his character may return in Part 2 as a flashback, according to Maeil Business Newspaper.

"I think Director Choi played his part until the very end. I think it would be easier to remember Director Choi by his last appearance. I think there will be a flashback or a scene from the past in Season 2," he said. (translation taken from Google Translate).

The 38-year-old actor elaborated that despite his disappointment, he was happy with how Director Choi's story ended in The Tyrant Part 1.

"It’s a different story from ‘The Witch.’ In the end, everything is connected and I asked if it would be like ‘Marvel,’ and they said it was ‘Hoonjeong’s worldview.’ Unfortunately, they said that ‘nobility’ is not included in the ‘Hunjeong worldview.’ Although I was disappointed, I think it was a beautiful ending."

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"I was scared as an actor" — Kim Seon-ho shares his apprehension while portraying Director Choi in The Tyrant

The Tyrant is a story about a superhuman serum/virus created by South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS). Director Choi (Kim Seon-ho) is the mastermind and architect of the serum and stopped at nothing to safeguard the last sample of the virus for the country's future and justice till he died.

In the series, Director Choi is known as a dangerous man who would kill even his closest associate in cold blood for the future of NIS and his mission. It's crucial to remember that the menacing spy-thriller series lacks a moral compass and concentrates on multiple entities attempting to acquire the superhuman virus called "The Tyrant Project."

Hence, Kim Seon-ho initially struggled to understand the character of Director Choi, who talks less but is a man of action. Even before Director Choi's death, he tried to protect Chae Ja-gyeong, played by Jo Yoon-su, who got infected with the "Tyrant" virus.

Kim Seon-ho confided that he was "scared as an actor" because he initially couldn't understand how to pull off his character. He said,

"In the script, plans for lines or characters are often drawn naturally, but 'tyrant' was a little different. What's certain is that I should focus on my inner self, but isn't that hard? To be honest, I was scared as an actor. [...] How do I challenge myself and stand as a character to look like that? It's hard. I said I did my best, but there was also a fear of failure."

According to Maeil Business Newspaper, the actor shed between 13 and 16 pounds (6 and 7 kg) to represent Director Choi's physical and emotional exhaustion in his sequences from The Tyrant Part 1. The actor also didn't use makeup for most of his scenes.

Kim Seon-ho mentioned that he was skeptical about how the audience would respond to his role in the Disney+ original series. However, he felt relieved when the show's viewership and ranking turned out extremely positive.

He expressed his delight in getting an opportunity to work alongside director Park Hoon-jung again. Kim Seon-ho was the lead in the director's Korean Amazon Prime film, The Childe, where he played a cold assassin. He won the Grand Bell Award for Best New Actor in 2023 for his role.

Additionally, the Hometown Cha Cha Cha actor came together with Kim Kang-woo, who was also in The Childe as the lead antagonist. Kim Kang-woo plays Paul in The Tyrant Part 1, a member of the US intelligence agency who is eager to get hold of the "Tyrant" virus.

However, in episode 4 (which is also the last episode), he died at the hands of Choi Seung-won's Lim Sang—a mercenary. Kim Seon-ho shared he got a lot of acting advice from Kim Kang-woo and Choi Seung-won to fully exude his character, Director Choi's cold and merciless aura.

"Whenever I was scared, whenever I didn't understand, I had a lot of conversations with the seniors and the director. I received a lot of acting advice from Kang-woo, and I relied heavily on him in my mental areas. Cha Seung-won was also a stimulus and support by himself. Everyone has great energy, so I was able to survive together."

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Maeil Business Newspaper reported that for three days in a row, The Tyrant topped FlixPatrol's global content watching rankings for Korean Disney+ content on over-the-top (OTT) platforms. It ranked No. 1 for three days in a row in Hong Kong, followed by Singapore at No. 2, Taiwan at No. 2, and Japan at No. 5.

The Tyrant Part 2 release date hasn't been announced yet. The show's first part is available on Disney+ for global streaming.