Actor Lee Sang Yi is taking on a new challenge as he transforms into a determined detective in MBC’s upcoming Friday-Saturday drama “A Bona Fide Killer.”
The 14-episode series will premiere on July 31 at 9:50 PM KST and follows an intense hunt for a notorious criminal known as Kingfisher. Based on the popular Kakao Webtoon, the drama combines action, suspense, family and romance throughout the story.
Lee Sang Yi plays Detective Lee Dong Jin, a lieutenant in the Violent Crimes Unit who dedicated himself to capturing Kingfisher. Known for his strong investigative skills and high case resolution rate, Dong Jin believes that justice must be carried out through the law. His unwavering mission to apprehend the elusive criminal is expected to become one of the major driving forces of the drama.
The actor said the original webtoon immediately caught his attention, even though he already knew who the culprit was.
“Even though the original webtoon meant I knew the culprit from the beginning, the thrilling suspense of the work felt very engaging,” shared Lee Sang Yi.
He explained that the story’s suspense remained powerful from start to finish, making it an easy project to pick up, AllKPop reported.
Preparing for Lee Dong Jin required a different mindset. Lee Sang Yi admitted that his personality in real life is much more playful than that of the serious detective he plays.
“I’m usually very playful, but Dong Jin is a serious and sincere character, so I always tried to keep that in mind,” he said.
Lee Sang Yi describes his detective character
To make the role authentic, he wanted viewers to feel that Kingfisher never leaves Dong Jin’s thoughts.
“Since he is someone who has wanted to catch Kingfisher for a long time, I wanted to give the impression that Kingfisher is constantly on his mind, even in his everyday life.”
According to ChosunBiz, to describe his character, Lee Sang Yi chose three key words: “black wolf”, “mole” and “tenacity”. He explained that Dong Jin’s black clothes and the Kingfisher’s relentless pursuit reminded him of an ever-vigilant wolf.
The detective’s habit of digging into every clue seemed similar to that of a mole working beneath the surface. Above all, he believes that tenacity characterizes Dong Jin because it fuels every decision he makes during the investigation.
The actor also found similarities between him and the detective. He said they both share a determination to keep moving towards a single goal without giving up.
Lee Sang Yi urged viewers to look forward to the series, saying, “A Bona Fide Killer” is a work that blends action, chase, family love and romance, and I am confident that it will be a new and interesting drama.
