Na In Woo: Gave up on Kpop dream to become an actor, life changed after “saving” a K-drama 

This Korean actor became a star after being casted for a leading role last-minute.

In 2021, a casting call changed Na In Woo’s life forever. Born in 1994, this Korean actor was selected to play a leading role in place of someone else, and was so rushed, he had no time to investigate his character nor learn the script. The filming for this K-drama was so taxing netizens had to express their worries, but it has managed to turn the previously no-name actor into a star. 

As a trainee under CUBE Entertainment – home to various famous Kpop groups like (G)I-DLE, BtoB, BEAST, Pentagon, and more, Na In Woo was trained to become the agency’s next generation of Kpop idols. However, Na In Woo decided to pursue acting instead, and debuted in 2014 with a super minor role in “Glorious Day”. 

The actor then appeared in various projects like “Cinderella and Four Knights”, “Home for Summer”, “Mystic Pop-up Bar”, mostly playing supporting characters with little screen time. It was not until the 2020 hit series “Mr. Queen”, did Na In Woo finally manage to impress with his role as an extremely loyal second male lead. 

In 2021, an opportunity fell on Na In Woo’s lap, as the highly-invested K-drama “River Where The Moon Rises” had to change its leading actor, Jisoo, who was accused of various controversies. As a result, Na In Woo immediately took up Jisoo’ role, despite barely having any time to learn his character. 

Speaking of this last minute casting, the actor shared on MBC’s talk show “Radio Star”: I basically didn’t sleep throughout the filming and had no time to learn the script. In fact, 80% of my lines were ad-libs“. The intense filming schedule also caused Na In Woo to lose 8kg in less than 2 month. 

After “River Where The Moon Rises”, Na In Woo received numerous praise from the public and critics alike, and was hailed to be even better at acting than Jisoo. Acting offers started to stream in for the hard working actor, and he later starred in the 2022 series “Jinxed At First”, acting alongside SNSD member Seohyun. While the K-drama is not exactly having an excellent performance, Na In Woo’s acting ability is still held in high regard.