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| Actor Namkoong Min plays the role of lawyer Cheon Ji-hun in SBS' new comedy series "One Dollar Lawyer." Courtesy of SBS |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Actor Namkoong Min, who made his debut in 2001, had his major breakthrough with KBS' 2017 hit comedy series, "Good Manager," which earned him the second-highest honor at the network's year-end award.
About five years later, the actor has returned to comedy with SBS' new series "One Dollar Lawyer," taking the lead role as a peculiar lawyer, Cheon Ji-hun.
The new comedy series revolves around the stylish lawyer who only charges his client 1,000 won ($0.7) for his fee, despite being one of the best attorneys around.
A soon-to-be graduate of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, Baek Ma-ri (Kim Ji-eun), who comes from a family with a legal background, comes to finish her training at Ji-hun's office. Joining hands, they fight against the privileged and their high-priced, fancy lawyers from getting away with crimes.
The series kicked off on Friday with an 8.1 percent viewership rating, and had 8.5 percent on Saturday.
"When I first read the script last year, I didn't know that there would be this many series featuring lawyers. So I tried to put focus on how I can make it interesting when I built the character of Ji-hun," the actor said in a written interview through the network.
He added that he created a stylish, fancy look for the character to make him more mysterious and interesting.
"At first (in the script), Ji-hun had the look that fits the title 'One Dollar Lawyer.' But, I wanted the viewers to get curious about Ji-hun from just looking at him. So I came up with checkered pattern suits and curly hair. And I even went on a diet to give a slimmer look for the character than my previous work," he said.
"That's how I created the appearance. And in acting-wise, I tried to keep a fine balance between the comedy and serious drama."
This is the second time the actor is working with actress Kim, since they co-starred in the MBC's action series "The Veil" last year.
He shared that being united with her again has allowed them to create better chemistry between their characters.
"We know each other's passion for acting and what we are good at very well so we have been hitting it off really well on set," he said. "The chemistry between the characters is especially important for this series. And the actors and staff have been doing a great job discussing the script and characters with each other on the set. So I'm pleased and excited to be working on this."
"One Dollar Lawyer" airs Friday and Saturday at 10 p.m.
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