[SBS Star] Yoo Ji Tae Shares Why He Has Been Avoiding Romantic Roles Since He Got Married

Actor Yoo Ji Tae revealed why he has been steering away from romance roles in his recent projects.

In a recent interview with a news outlet about his latest work, Disney+'s drama 'Vigilante', Yoo Ji Tae shared why he has not been in romance films or dramas as much as he used to.

Yoo Ji Tae used to steal the audiences' hearts in romance films like 'Ditto' (2000) and 'One Fine Spring Day' (2001).

But since he tied the knot with actress Kim Hyo Jin in 2011, the actor has been focusing on different genres, taking on intense characters in various projects.

He played a star reporter who is the brother of the CEO of a major news company in KBS' drama 'Healer' (2014), an ex-cop who had been a former leader of the insurance investigation team in another KBS' drama 'Mad Dog' (2017), Korean independence activist 'Kim Won-bong' in MBC's drama 'Different Dreams' (2019), and 'The Professor', a strategic criminal mastermind in Netflix's series 'Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area' (2022).
In his latest work, 'Vigilante', Yoo Ji Tae played the character 'Jo Heon', the head of the regional investigation unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency with a towering height of over 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) and remarkable physical strength, which allows him to effortlessly lift the rear of a parked vehicle with his bare hands.
During the interview, Yoo Ji Tae said his decision to step away from romantic acting has something to do with his real-life roles as a husband and a father.

"Since getting married, I feel more comfortable playing bad guys or characters with unique personalities.", said Yoo Ji Tae.

He went on, "When I'm working on a project, I try to make my acting as authentic as possible. And I felt that portraying romance realistically while being married was something hard for me to handle.", adding, "When I read the script for 'Vigilante', I sensed an opportunity to bring life into a fresh character. Plus, I enjoyed the original webcomic the drama adapted from."
Yoo Ji Tae said he gained 20 kg (about 44 pounds) and did two intense workout regimens to get the big and muscular body 'Jo Heon' has in just two to three months.

"I had trouble doing quick movements during action scenes because of my weight gain. After all the weight training, my shoulder became quite large, and my body became bigger, which I clearly felt. Some people were looking at me when I walked across the street. I think they might have felt threatened by my presence. I became so big that I had to tilt my body to get into a room.", the actor said and laughed.
(Credit= 'jt_db' Instagram, 'SBS Entertainment' YouTube, Cinema Service, Netflix Korea, Disney Plus Korea)

(SBS Star)