Ahn Bo-hyun portrays spoiled-but-irresistible detective in ‘Flex X Cop’
Actor Ahn Bo-hyun had gone through a mentally and physically challenging process to create Jin I-soo, the fun-loving and immature, yet charming detective character in his latest series “Flex X Cop,” which aired its finale last Saturday.
Adopted from the 2014 Russian series “Silver Spoon,” the comedy-action series revolves around Jin (Ahn), a young man born into affluence, who indulges in the pleasures of life thanks to his family’s wealth. However, his carefree existence is upended by an unexpected incident, propelling him into the world of law enforcement as he joins a homicide crime squad as a detective.
Under his team leader, workaholic detective Lee Gang-hyun (Park Ji-hyun), Jin “flexes” his wealth and connections to catch the criminals.
Ahn reunited with Kim Ba-da, the acclaimed writer behind the Netflix series “My Name,” for this drama.
“We were celebrating the twoyear anniversary of ‘My Name’ and at the time, the writer told me that she was going to send me a script, which was ‘Flex X Cop.’ As I worked on it, I kept worrying about what she saw in me and the character that she offered to me,” Ahn said during an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Gangnam District, March 19.
“Reading the script, I thought that the character could be very polarizing. I believe Jin should have the prickly arrogance and snobby personality as a chaebol character … But despite showing a lot of abrasive and dislikable behaviors, deep down, he’s truly empathetic. I felt he’s not just about being full of himself and maybe people can feel that there can be kindness within that unlikable portrait.”
A significant aspect of bringing Jin to life involved crafting his appearance, notably his signature glossy slicked-back hairstyle, for which Ahn put in a substantial effort to create a playful-yet-lowbrow type of chaebol character.
“For three days, I tried various experiments, cutting, putting up, taking down my hair, focusing on ‘which look will seem really snobby.’ I felt it was really important (for the character) to have that visual,” he said.
“In terms of the outfit as well, I didn’t go for the sleek, polished look with typical three-piece suits. Instead, I went for a slightly tacky vibe, thinking it might make the character more unpleasant and vibrant. So, I had the clothes custom-made.”
Ahn went through countless bottles of product for his hairdo and had to wash his hair several times a day while shooting.
“Since I did more than a slicked-back hairdo, I had to redo my hair about three to four times a day. So by the fifth episode, it
“Despite showing a lot of abrasive and dislikable behaviors, deep down, he’s truly empathetic. ”
became so exhausting and felt like something isn’t right,” he said. “I dedicated about an hour and 40 minutes to doing hair and makeup so I took part thinking I’m doing special effect makeup for my character.”
The series, directed by Kim Jaehong, who co-directed the 2023 mystery series “Revenant,” has been renewed for a second season.
The actor recalled the time he talked about a possible season 2 with the production crew and co-stars.
“When we went on a trip together during the production, we talked about how we would like to do season 2 with the same members. So it was nice to hear that they were talking about the next season,” he said. “I did seasons with ‘Yumi’s Cells,’ but this time felt a little different so I’m just feeling grateful.”