Kim Soo-hyun is the king of ad-libs “She doesn’t hit me” (Queen of Tears)

Actor Kim Soo-hyun is active as the “king of ad-libs” in “Queen of Tears“.

On April 9th, a new behind-the-scenes video was released on the tvN Drama channel.

In a scene where the Queens family have dinner with the Yongdu-ri family, there’s a comedic moment where Hong Hae-in (played by Kim Ji-won), annoyed at her younger brother (played by Kwak Dong-yeon) for looking for mineral water from the Alps, says “Just drink from the kettle” and slaps him on the back. Kim Soo-hyun, as Baek Hyun-woo, cautiously tells his family, “She doesn’t hit me.“

Even the director, watching the monitor and giving a cue sign, praised Kim Soo-hyun’s ad-lib, “Okay, you did great!” All the actors could not hold back their laughter.

This was all thanks to Kim Soo-hyun’s ad-lib. The line was not in the script and would not have been said if Kim Soo-hyun had not fully immersed himself in the character of Baek Hyun-woo.

Previously, Kim Soo-hyun brought laughter with an ad-libbed line in a scene involving drinking. He paid homage to a cute line spoken by Kim Ji-won in her representative work “Fight for My Way” by incorporating it into his own dialogue. Even the production team, who did not know about Kim Soo-hyun’s ad-lib, joked, “Did you script this just to do it on camera?” Kim Ji-won praised him for his clever use of the line she delivered. The gift delivery scene, in which Kim Soo-hyun imitated his close friend Suzy’s front teeth flirting, was also his idea.

This is also why Kim Soo-hyun, who has been cast as the lead character for the third time following “My Love from the Star” and “The Producers”, is trusted by writer Park Ji-eun. Kim Ji-won talked about Kim Soo-hyun, “He’s so fun and cheerful that I gain energy while filming. At first, I went to the set with worries, but as we worked together, the tension eased. As I got to know him more and became more comfortable, I felt like I received a lot of help. He’s an actor with great stamina and lots of energy, which helps me a lot.“

Perhaps because of this, the perfect chemistry between Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won is showing remarkable success and popularity.

According to Nielsen Korea on April 8th, episode 10 of “Queen of Tears”, which aired on April 7th, recorded a rating of 19.0% (based on Nielsen Korea’s nationwide paid households). This secures the third highest rating in tvN drama history. It is expected to maintain its high ratings throughout the 16-episode run, with a special broadcast confirmed and in the planning stages.

The global buzz surrounding the drama remains hot. On April 3rd, it was announced by Netflix that “Queen of Tears” topped the Global Top 10 series (Non-English) ranking (March 25th~31st), proving its global popularity. According to the global OTT content ranking service FlixPatrol, since its first broadcast, “Queen of Tears” has ranked in the top 10 in a total of 68 countries, including the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, India, Greece, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, including both English and non-English TV series. According to the Korean topicality analysis company Good Data Corporation, the topicality index of “Queen of Tears” has maintained its position at the top of the integrated TV-OTT rankings since its first broadcast.