Park Sung-woong Reveals Mental Struggles After Playing a Villain: How He Overcame the Dark Side

Actor Park Sung-woong revealed on a television program that portraying villainous characters left him with lingering psychological aftereffects.

On the 26th, KBS2's Oktapbang-ui Munjeadeul featured Park and Lee Soo-kyung, who star in the new Thursday drama \"Simu-myeon Yeonriri.\" The pair appeared as guests to share behind-the-scenes stories from the set.

When asked about the toll of playing antagonists, Park recalled that eleven years earlier he portrayed a cold-blooded serial killer in the film Salinui Uire. The production shot in Jeolla Province, and he said one morning he woke up at his lodging to find himself sitting dazed in front of the TV — that was the first time he realized something was wrong.

He added that working with an unnervingly realistic corpse prop seemed to trigger the onset of his symptoms.

The issues resurfaced on later projects. Reflecting on his time on the drama Rugal, Park said he pushed the character too far: the role involved killing people with guns and knives, and he even went on a diet for a shirtless scene. He became so emotionally fragile that he sought hospital treatment for the first time.

Park admitted those dangerous thoughts began to creep into everyday life. If he saw a kitchen knife, he'd think, \"What if I hurt that person with this?\" and he asked his wife to put all the knives away from the house.

He described another frightening episode while driving on the highway at about 100 kilometers per hour (roughly 62 mph), when he felt a sudden urge to turn the wheel. At the time, he told his son, \"Dad's acting strange right now — please keep talking to me.\"

Park said he ultimately managed to recover through intense exercise and medication.