One man, nine roles: SNL star Jung Sang-hoon takes on multiple characters in ongoing musical

Playing nine different characters live on stage didn’t intimidate actor Jung Sang-hoon when he chose to star in the ongoing musical “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.”

Actor Jung Sang-hoon plays the nine D'Ysquith family members in the ongoing Korean production of "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder." [JAM ENTERTAINMENT]

Playing nine different characters live on stage didn’t intimidate actor Jung Sang-hoon when he chose to star in the ongoing musical “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.”

No doubt the role is grueling and hectic, especially backstage, “but that can never scare me away from this smart comedy masterpiece,” the 47-year-old told the press at a cafe in Jongno District, central Seoul, Wednesday.

“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” is a black comedy operetta set in early 1900s London. It follows a poor clerk named Monty Navarro who realizes that he is the eighth in line to inherit the earldom of the affluent D’Ysquith family. Instead of waiting and hoping that he outlives all of them to get the inheritance, Monty decides that he is going to take charge of his own fate.

Jung Sang-hoon as a member of the D'Ysquith family in the ongoing Korean production of "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" at Kwanglim Arts Center's BBCH Hall in Gangnam District, southern Seoul [SHOWNOTE]

Jung plays multiple D’Ysquith family members — including a devout reverend lord, a terrible female actor and a vegetarian bodybuilder — who get creatively killed off one by one.

“One time, I was late getting on stage because the mustache wouldn’t stick from all the sweat on my face!” Jung said. He ad-libbed his way past the missed cue without stressing too much about it. “It’s all part of the fun and charm of live theater. I’ve learned to come to terms with that.”

A scene from "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" [SHOWNOTE]

His confidence is grounded in experience. Debuting in a supporting role in MBC’s 1998 sitcom “How Am I,” Jung has taken on dozens of roles, mostly supporting parts in Korean dramas like “The Lady in Dignity” (2017) and “Don’t Dare to Dream” (2016). While his screen career has been slow to take off, he’s been more successful on stage playing major roles like Sancho in “Man of La Mancha” in 2015 and Sir Lancelot in “Spamalot” in 2013. And before these roles, he started acting in the Daehangno theater district in Jongno where it was usual for him to play three or more characters in one show.

So, when it came to making an impression in short spurts, Jung knew the ropes. “The key is to be as convincing as possible that you really are a different character each time, and the process of working toward that goal has been the major drive for me in ‘Gentleman’s Guide,’” he said.

Jung also has an edge, displaying born comedic timing. Whether he likes it or not, he is better known as a comedian rather than an actor in the general public's eyes because of his regular appearances on comedy show “Saturday Night Live Korea” (SNL Korea) since 2013. His fake Chinese accent on the show catapulted him into larger fame in 2016.

A screen grab of Jung Sung-hoon in season six of the comedy show ″Saturday Night Live Korea″ pulling laughs as a Chinese reporter [SCREEN CAPTURE/TVN]

“I joined SNL Korea by chance, when Shin Dong-yup [one of the main cast members of the show] offered me a position,” expressing that he never intended to appear on gag shows. “But I always liked making people laugh, and admired actors who thrived in comedy. It’s a sophisticated art form and I love doing it.”

He admitted that he’d like to try other genres but the SNL success has opened up many new acting opportunities, including “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” in 2020. The opportunity to reprise the role this year “feels like a gift.”

A scene from "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" [SHOWNOTE]

“In the 2020 run, the country was deep in the midst of Covid-19 and while the show went on, everyone was masked, and laughing and cheering was literally prohibited!” he said. “It’s great to really have this chance to interact with the audience, see their smiling faces and hear their laughter.”

“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” runs through Oct. 20 at Kwanglim Arts Center’s BBCH Hall in Gangnam District, southern Seoul.

A character poster of Jung Sang-hoon as a D'Ysquith in the musical "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" [SHOWNOTE]

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]