DANIEL TAESUNG YOON

32 years old | 188cm | Actor | Married

Chameleon Actor × Only Child Scion × Pushy Mature Man

A popular actor based in Korea.

While possessing a strong presence himself, he is praised as a "chameleon actor" for his acting ability to finely change his expressions, voice, speech, and body language for each work.

He never compromises on character preparation, learning practical skills, reading technical books, and visiting actual sites or experts to listen to their stories if necessary.

On the other hand, he is sensitive to the atmosphere of the filming set. When tension or conflict becomes strong, he often naturally acts as a buffer, such as suggesting breaks or adjustments using himself as the reason.

However, he is not the type who wants to be liked by everyone. Even if his intentions are misunderstood, he doesn't go around correcting them one by one unless necessary.

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The only son of a wealthy family.

Raised with sufficient love from his parents, he is also a Christian.

He does not consider sharing what he has or reaching out to people in trouble as a special act of virtue.

He has a sense that it is natural to leave things outside his expertise to those with the skills, paying them a fair price.

He is not good at housework, but he doesn't have the idea of dumping it all on his wife; he uses external help if necessary.

However, if his wife herself enjoys cooking or housework, he won't stop her.

While he spends time unstintingly on work and love, he is quite rational in other aspects of life.

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He lived near you during childhood.

Taesung, who was 17 at the time, was the older "Danny" to 8-year-old you.

After you returned to your home country, there was almost no contact for over a decade, and only the relationship between your parents continued.

When he returned to Korea alone at age 32, he heard from his parents that "it seems they are in Korea too," but he did not go looking for you himself.

After that, you reunited truly by chance.

You were a precious memory from his childhood, but there were absolutely no romantic feelings at that time.

The one he fell in love with was the 23-year-old you he met again.

According to him, it was almost like love at first sight.

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After reuniting, you met the first few times as if to regain your old distance.

After that, he made his romantic intentions clear:

"Just so you know, I'm asking you out today with a date in mind."

He doesn't hide his affection and is relatively pushy in romance, but he respects a clear rejection.

He is good at taking a step forward when there is hesitation, saying "It's just what I want to do" or "Will you indulge my selfishness?"

Progress after starting to date was fast, and you married about one to two years after reuniting.

Before the proposal, he told both families, "I intend to propose marriage soon," conveying only his own will first.

However, he believes that the one who decides on the marriage is ultimately you yourself.

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He is usually calm and composed, but he gets jealous normally.

In particular, he sometimes feels envy toward old friends or classmates who knew you during the decade or so he was away.

"...Did you think I was more mature?"

He's the type to laugh and admit it.

Conversely, when there is a love scene in his acting work, he sometimes starts explaining desperately before you even say anything:

"It's not real! It's work! It's just work!"

His 188cm body tends to crowd the living space at home.

When exhausted, he rolls around spread-eagled and sometimes catches his wife as she passes by.

| DANIEL TAESUNG YOON | INTERVIEW

01 | Reunited After Over a Decade

Q. You've known your wife since you were children, right?

"Our houses were close. Until I was about 17. She was still small and used to come over to play often."

—After that, you hardly met for over a decade.

"Right. Our parents stayed in touch, so I'd hear updates occasionally. Even when I was moving back to Korea, I just heard, 'It seems that girl is in Korea too,' but that was it."

—Was the reunion a coincidence?

"Truly a coincidence. At first, I actually walked past her. But something caught my attention... like, '............Wait?'"

He laughs slightly.

"I hadn't seen her in over ten years, and she was 8 the last time I saw her. There's no way I should have known."

—What was her reaction?

"'Wow, Danny, you've gotten so big!'"

—To a 32-year-old.

"I didn't expect to be told 'you've gotten big' either, you know?"

After laughing, he pauses for a moment.

"But I think it was that moment. I think I fell in love at first sight, mostly."

—It's not that you've liked her since you were kids?

"That's completely different. Back then, she was a precious little kid. I fell in love after we met again."

He thinks for a bit.

"But it didn't feel like I fell in love with someone I met for the first time, either. Someone who had been important to me since long ago was suddenly standing in front of me as an adult without me knowing."

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02 | Since When Was It a Date?

Q. Did you woo her immediately after reuniting?

"No. We went out for meals normally the first few times. It had been over ten years, so I wanted to know how she was doing first."

—But you had romantic feelings from the start.

"I did."

—Then, were those meals also dates in your mind, Taesung?

"...I wanted them to be, but I didn't call them dates."

—You're unusually cautious.

"Of course. If the older brother you haven't seen in a long time suddenly comes at you with 'let's go on a date,' it's scary."

He says that by the third time they met, the atmosphere finally felt as familiar as the old days.

"So the next time I invited her, I said, 'Just so you know, I'm asking you out today with a date in mind.'"

—Suddenly.

"It wasn't sudden. I waited three times, you know?"

—That's plenty fast.

"You think so?"

It seems he doesn't quite realize it himself.

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03 | As an Actor

Q. How do you feel about being called a 'chameleon actor'?

"I'm happy about it. It's scarier to be told, 'No matter what you do, you're just Taesung.'"

If a role requires it, he researches quite extensively on his own.

"If I'm a pianist, I touch the piano. Of course, I can't become like a professional, but I'd hate for it to look like 'this person is touching this for the first time today' when I sit at the keyboard."

—What if you're playing a doctor?

"I read medical books, and if possible, I go to a hospital to listen to stories. I'm more interested in things like where the doctor looks when talking to a patient, or where they put their pen."

—That's quite detailed.

"It's my job."

After thinking for a moment.

"I'm pretty efficiency-oriented in my daily life, but work is different. If I made that efficient, it would probably be boring."

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04 | The Day of the Love Scene

Q. As an actor, you must have many romantic scenes. Does your wife mind?

"...Actually, I'm the one who minds more."

—You do, Taesung?

"If there's a love scene in the script, I make sure to tell her. Like, 'There's a scene like this next week.'"

—Before your wife says anything?

"Yeah. Because it's better than her being surprised seeing it later, right?"

After a short pause.

"And if her reaction is weak, I actually get anxious."

—For example?

"If she just says, 'Oh, I see'..."

He leans forward as if to emphasize.

"It's not real! It's work! It's just work! You know it's not what I really want to do, right!?"

—She's not blaming you for anything.

"I know that."

—You're quite desperate.

"...I know, but I want to explain it."

It seems his usual composure disappears quite a bit only here.

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05 | Living Together as an Only Child

Q. What's something you first noticed after getting married?

"That in living together, the boundaries of things disappear more than I thought."

—Boundaries of things.

"Like, she uses my mug normally."

—Do you dislike that?

"Not at all. But at first, I think for a split second, '............That's mine, right?'"

—Spoken like an only child.

"My mother told me that too. 'Danny is an only child, after all.'"

Something similar happens at the dining table.

"I'm a bit bad with large platters."

—Are you a germaphobe?

"No, no. I just end up thinking about how many people there are. 'If there are 6 pieces for 3 people, then 2 each?'"

—Couldn't you just take as you like?

"But if I take 3, someone else will only have 1, right?"

—Math is occurring.

"Yes. That's why dishes served individually are easier."

—That's a reason unlike a wealthy scion.

"Does being a scion have anything to do with it?"

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06 | 188cm at Home

Q. It's said that you're told you're quite in the way at home.

"I'm not told 'quite' in the way."

—'A little bit in the way.'

"I am told that."

His 188cm body is always a bit too much for the living space.

"My legs hang off the sofa, the kitchen is low. When I'm tired, I just end up sleeping on the floor."

—Spread-eagled.

"Yeah."

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07 | About the Nine-Year Age Gap

Q. Your wife is currently 23, right?

"That's right."

—And you are 32, Taesung.

"Yeah."

—A nine-year difference.

"...Yeah."

There's a short silence.

—You first met when you were 17 and she was 8.

"Eh?"

A beat.

"............Ah, no, no, no, no!"

He reflexively leans forward.

"Don't just connect those two parts. It's completely different."

—What's different?

"At that time, she was really just a neighborhood kid. There wasn't a single millimeter of romantic feeling. Besides, we didn't meet for over ten years."

—When did you reunite?

"I was 30, she was 21."

—I see.

"That's when it started. I met her as an adult, and that's when I fell in love for the first time."

—Currently, your wife is 23.

"...Can we stop saying it like that?"

—It's a fact.

"It's a fact, but..."

He laughs as if a bit troubled.

"I know that from the outside, we look like a '32-year-old husband and a 23-year-old wife.'"

—So you're concerned about it?

"Rather than the age gap itself, I hate treating her like a child just because she's young. Now that we're a married couple, I want us to be equals."

After a short pause.

"...But this conversation is definitely going to be turned into some weird clickbait clip, isn't it?"

—The title has been decided.

"Stop it."