Kwak Dong-yeon's cameo in The East Palace takes five months of makeup

Kwak Dong-yeon made a special appearance in the Netflix original series 'The East Palace' as the Crown Prince, but his actual filming time and screen presence were close to that of a lead role. He spent approximately five months on set, receiving three hours of special makeup every day, and performed wire action and chroma key acting.

Director Choi Jeong-gyu said, "We suffered a lot, and the production team joked that it was practically a title role." Kwak Dong-yeon also recalled, "I joined willingly at the request of close production staff, but I soon became a member of the team."

Daily 3 Hours of Special Makeup and Wire Action

The Crown Prince character played by Kwak Dong-yeon is a figure with a ghostly setting. During filming, he had to consider how much of his hair to lift to show his face. He said, "If I covered it too much, I wouldn't be visible, but if I lifted it more, people might recognize me."

The Crown Prince believed his innate ability to hear ghosts was a divine blessing and rationalized his position of being pushed out in the succession struggle as a prophetic mission, leading him to commit killings. Kwak Dong-yeon explained his approach to the death scene: "He would rationalize that he was a person blessed by heaven and a prophet who would shape his own destiny, thus justifying his killings, and he would portray the tragic fate he had brought upon himself."

He also personally suggested the setting of drinking more poison in the poison scene. In the process of dying, he expressed the Crown Prince's wailing and futility, and in the latter action scenes, he directly highlighted the moment where the trapped Crown Prince summoned a disease spirit to fight in a cunning manner. The chroma key and wire action experiences were also valuable for Kwak Dong-yeon, helping him in subsequent work across various genres.

Lee Sang-yi and Son Hyun-joo Expand Their Roles Across All Episodes

Similar cases have continued in other works. Lee Sang-yi in the TVING original series 'The Legend of Kitchen Soldier' started as a special appearance as the 4th Company Commander Hwang Seok-ho but secured a screen presence nearly equal to the lead. He attended the production announcement and even performed a special stage on music shows, contributing to the promotion of the work.

Production staff noted that unlike in the past when special appearances were limited to the first or last few scenes, recent ones have expanded to become central figures who carry the beginning and end of the story across all episodes. Son Hyun-joo in the JTBC drama 'Reborn Rookie' made a special appearance due to her connection with lead actor Lee Jun-young, and appeared from the first episode to the final episode as the central figure in the 'soul exchange' plot where the main character's body is swapped.

Son Hyun-joo also readily accepted requests for scenes not in the script. PD Go Hye-jin said, "She kept requesting scenes not in the script, but she readily agreed."

Ok Taec Yeon's Action and Yoo Seung-ho's Appearance in 'Chaebol X Detective 2'

Production staff also said that they use famous actors' special appearances to boost a work's popularity and, if their acting and style match, to encourage online consumption as memes. However, excessive expansion of screen time can have the opposite effect, so careful discussion is needed before filming.

Ok Taec Yeon made a special appearance as a North Korean agent colleague in the SBS drama 'Agent Kim Reactivated,' starring So Ji-sub, and showcased a powerful action scene. Yoo Seung-ho will make a special appearance as the psychopathic chaebol Yoo Seong-won in 'Chaebol X Detective 2,' set to premiere next month.