Former member of K-Pop group WannaOne, youngest CEO in the Korean entertainment industry, and K-Pop soloist are all titles helmed by one of the hottest stars in Korea – Kang Daniel. 5 years after his debut as an idol, Kang has now added on to his extensive list of talents by taking on his first-ever acting role in Rookie Cops, available exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar.
Here are 5 fun facts about Kang Daniel’s debut role as Wi Seung Hyun, an excited freshman who’s always dreamed of becoming a cop who finds himself butting heads with a troublemaker at the police academy.
#1 Rookie Actor Plays Rookie Cop
Rookie Cops follows the journey of students in a police academy who are working their way through being a cop despite the mental and physical hardships they face along the way.
This experience isn’t too far from Kang Daniel’s own experience as he moves away from being a K-Pop idol into an actor. A man of strong principles and perseverance, Wi was the perfect character for him as he took on this new endeavour.
As with all new endeavours, Kang was nervous about taking on this role. However, he was able to adapt and ease into the role thanks to the staff and his character’s romantic counterpart, Chae Soo-bin.
#2 An Extrovert Taking on the Role of an Introvert
As an introvert with a reserved outlook on life, Wi is quite the opposite of Kang’s actual outgoing and idealistic personality, with Kang noting that his character is almost 100% different from his actual personality. While Kang would never turn a blind eye on injustice just like his character, he is much less impulsive compared to his character, Wi, as he’d take the time to think through a situation before acting on it.
#3 A Man of Action
Kang’s character in the series, Wi is an exemplary role model of justice and morality. His quiet and cool persona hides a warm character who can’t be indifferent in the face of injustice. Quick to take action, this trait gets him in trouble quite a few times in the show – but you’ll have to tune in to figure out how he finds his way out of these challenges!
#4 Embodying a Superhero Cop
To fully-immerse himself into the role and accurately portray his character, Kang referenced his own friend who works as a policeman. Throughout the filming of the show, Kang also thought about how superheroes would react to the situation at hand in order to bring Wi’s by-the-book and strong-headed character to life.
#5 From Enemies to Lovers
Playing a character of strict principles can be frustrating for any actor. Wi started off in the series as a closed off character with only one goal in mind – to graduate and be a cop.
However, when troublemaker Eun-kang shows up at the academy, his entire world is turned upside down as they start butting heads. The polar opposites clashed from the moment they met, but found themselves falling in love throughout their journey in the police academy.
What a talented man!
