A lawyer with a disastrous win rate finds himself handling a murder case and, given his ‘Big Mouth’, bites off more than he can chew. Overnight, he is labelled the genius con artist ‘Big Mouth’, and he realises he needs to clear his name and protect his wife and family. As the noose tightens around him, he needs to smoothly work around his best-laid plans to expose a huge conspiracy that involves several conglomerates.
The latest thriller noir K-dramaBig Mouth stars Lee Jong-suk (Romance Is a Bonus Book, W) who plays lawyer Park Chang-ho, Girls’ Generation’s Lim Yoona plays his wife Go Mi-ho and the show is directed by Oh Choong-hwan (Hotel Del Luna, Start Up).
Jong-suk, who returns to the K-drama space after his mandatory military service, was last seen in the 2019 romantic drama Romance is A Bonus Book. And the anticipation of his return is something he’s very aware of, “I was nervous initially, not because I was back on screens after a long time but because some scenes were tougher than others in this show.”
Talking about his character, Jong-suk says he was drawn to the premise of a lawyer turning into a genius conman.
“My first thought about my character was he is pitiful and ordinary but realises he has an inner strength. As he oscillates between good and evil to survive, depicting his emotional journey was a thrilling experience for me as an actor.”
Lee Jong-suk further adds reuniting with director Oh Choong-hwan was another reason why he was drawn to the show. The two had previously worked together in the 2017 romance fantasy While You Were Sleeping, which also stars Bae Suzy and Jung Hae-in. “I respect and trust him totally. So when director Oh said that it was time for me to try something new, I have confidence in him and joined this project.”
Director Oh, who has helmed several projects, including Doctors and My Love From Another Star, describes his casting as a natural and intuitive process. However, he confesses to being sceptical about Yoona’s character, ‘Mi-ho’. “She [Mi-ho] is strong but oscillates between being rough and soft. I was wondering if Yoona would be perfect for this and even discussed it with Lee Jung-suk who echoed my thoughts that no one better than Yoona could play Mi-ho. And, she was more than happy to come on board,” says director Oh.
Lim Yoona, last seen in the 2020 series Hush, describes her character Go Mi-ho, as one of her most intense to date. “I am testing new waters with this show—it’s in the noir space and my character is a nurse, which is first for me. Mi-ho is a very wise character, she is proactive and resilient. I am a bit like this in real life and wanted to bring that to the fore on screen,” the singer and actor said with a smile.
Big Mouth is Jung-suk and Lim Yoona’s first screen outing together, but the actors are confident that they won’t have to deal with rumours about a heavy romance between their characters on-screen.
“We are playing a married couple and there are expectations from our fans and viewers, but most of our scenes aren’t together since we are usually in separate spaces. So the ‘newly wed’ romance aspect may not leave you satisfied, but our characters are very supportive of each other,” says Jung-suk.
His co-star Yoona chimes in with a laugh, “I didn’t have to think twice when I said yes to the project and playing Jung-suk’s co-star. I wish we had more scenes together but the narrative is such that it’s not possible. But I admire Jung Suk’s sense of detail and I felt we really worked well. There are several flashback scenes between us so viewers can feel the love.”
So, instead of just reading about it, you may want to schedule a binge-watch for the weekend. Big Mouth is currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
