[Interview] Ryu Jun-yeol Showcases New Side Through "Mousetrap"

"One thing I envy about Sul Kyung-gu is his face. His face itself is acting. Mine is relatively plain, though..."

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This is actor Ryu Jun-yeol's candid confession. Yet for him, having a 'plain face' is less of a weakness and more like an open canvas capable of taking on a variety of characters. In the Netflix series "Mousetrap", Ryu Jun-yeol took on the challenge of playing two roles in one and once again sought to transform himself.

Based on the webtoon of the same name by artist Ludovico, "Mousetrap" is a thriller inspired by the Korean folk tale of the 'rat that ate human fingernails'. It follows novelist Moon Jae-moon (Ryu Jun-yeol), whose name, face, and life are stolen by a mysterious entity known as "Mousetrap" (Ryu Jun-yeol), as well as loan shark No-ja (Sul Kyung-gu), who is trying to recover money that has gone missing, and detective Soon-yong (Lee Kyu-hyung), who pursues the truth behind "Mousetrap"s identity. Ryu Jun-yeol takes on both Moon Jae-moon and "Mousetrap" in the series, marking his first major challenge in playing two characters in one.

Following the series' release, the response was so enthusiastic that messages from friends continued to pour in until the early hours of the morning. Meeting with Sports Seoul recently, Ryu Jun-yeol laughed as he said, "I was getting texts at 2 AM and even 4 AM from people saying they were having fun watching it".

For Ryu Jun-yeol, who plays both novelist Moon Jae-moon, who has had everything taken away from him, and "Mousetrap", who takes everything from others, the most important aspect of playing two roles was creating the subtle, ambiguous differences between the two characters. He therefore worked closely with the makeup team to fine-tune everything from the angle of his eyebrows to his hairstyle and contact lenses. "Mousetrap"s hair was styled almost completely straight, while Moon Jae-moon's had a slight wave, although the length was kept the same. Even the contact lenses featured specks. Within the same face, he created just enough of a difference to make the two characters feel subtly alien.

Although Ryu Jun-yeol has always been confident in his specialty of naturalistic, everyday acting, this time he carefully designed every situation and then moved within the framework he had created.

"There are elements that come out of acting that's been thoroughly calculated. Because I was controlling every situation, I actually had more freedom to do what I wanted. I'd always been quite confident in the naturalistic acting I'd done before. But when I tried something I wasn't used to, I felt a certain sense of disconnect".

The camera lenses themselves also helped create an unfamiliar version of his face. During filming, Ryu Jun-yeol experimented with various lenses after seeing firsthand how dramatically they could alter his appearance. In particular, close-ups shot with lenses that distorted the face more when filming from a short distance initially felt unfamiliar, but after seeing the footage, he came to understand the director's choice.

There were also times when the cinematographer made choices that differed from his own opinions. Whenever Ryu Jun-yeol said, "I think it looks unnatural", the director would respond, "Jun-yeol, just trust me". "Mousetrap" that emerged from that process was unfamiliar even to Ryu Jun-yeol himself. Because the character was difficult to portray using only the acting style he had pursued in the past, he realized that a certain degree of boldness was necessary.

"The kind of acting I aim for is natural and never excessive, but "Mousetrap" is a character who needed a certain amount of excess. I was so grateful that people felt that quality came across as "Mousetrap"s unique, strange side".

This challenge was not an easy one for Ryu Jun-yeol. The pressure to show a new side of himself actually made him hesitate in his performance, while letting go of what felt familiar brought its own share of fear. In the end, however, Ryu Jun-yeol successfully overcame it.

"I think new ideas about how 'an actor should also be capable of showing this side of himself' made me hesitate when I was acting. That hesitation can be extremely dangerous and frightening, but I think I managed to overcome it well".

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"Mousetrap" is directed by Kim Hong-seon-I, written by Lee Jae-gon, and features Ryu Jun-yeol, Sul Kyung-gu, Lee Kyu-hyung, Kim Sung-oh, Mu Jin-sung, Yoo In. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2026/08/28, Fri on Netflix.