Disney+ Hotstar’s latest K-Drama Adamas sees actor Ji Sung in a double role as he plays twin brothers on a quest to uncover a mystery from 22 years ago. The drama unfolds as one of the brothers looks for the real killer of his stepfather so he can clear the false charge on his biological father, while the other brother looks for the murder weapon, Adamas. In a recently held press conference for the show, which was attended by News18 Showsha, the cast members along with the director opened up about the show and the mixture of genres.
Director Park Seung-woo shared that initially, he had trouble defining the genre of Adamas. He said, “On the surface, it’s an investigative drama, but that genre doesn’t quite capture the essence. I had a lot of trouble defining the genre in the beginning, because this project was so difficult to pin down in a set of words. In some parts, it’s a mystery thriller, and in others, it’s packed with adrenalin-fueled action, not to mention certain parts that are reminiscent of a film noir. ADAMAS blends many different genres, which makes it difficult to describe it in those terms. “A genre series” seems to be a general option, but I found out that, apparently, this is a grammatically wrong expression because it refers to a category. Still, I feel that’s the expression that best describes our show.”
Meanwhile, this is not the first time the lead Ji Sung is playing more than one character at the same time. Earlier, he portrayed seven characters in the series Kill Me, Heal Me where those characters were the seven different identities of one person. Asked about his experience of playing twin brothers for Adamas, he said, “I didn’t base my performance for this show on the experience of playing 7 different characters in my previous work. This was a totally new experience. Back then, I was playing a person with a multiple personality disorder, so I acted them out as if they were completely different individuals. However, for ADAMAS, I had to show what was unique in the identical twin brothers, whose portrayals would have to have the same starting point. They shared a lot of similarities, and yet were different in subtle ways, and to bring those out on screen had its difficulties.”
Ji Sung continued, “I found myself getting immersed in the brothers’ world and the beauty of their characters as I spent more time with them. And not to mention, there’s Adamas, the diamond arrow at the heart of the series, and the quest to find it. They are the fantastical elements of the show with their own appeal. I was certainly fascinated by the brothers’ journey throughout.”
He is also reuniting with Crash Landing on You actress Seo Ji-Hye, with whom he had previously shared the screen on the series Kim Su-ro, The Iron King. The actress played his wife in the historical drama. In Adamas, she helps Ji Sung’s character in his quest but it is revealed later whether she is actually his friend or foe.
Talking about sharing the screen with him again, she shared, “It’s rare for me to be opposite the same actor twice, given the size of the industry. So I was really glad to work with him again, really thrilled. And since this was our second time together, I felt more comfortable around him on the set. I’m sure it helped with our on-screen chemistry.”
Ji Sung added, “It’s been 10 years since I worked with her last—that alone made everything worthwhile. It was a true testament to our dedication to our paths, and brought back many good memories. I was so glad to meet her on the set once again.”
Also starring Lee Soo-kyung, Squid Game fame Heo Sung-tae, Oh Dae-hwan, and Lee Geung-young among others, Adamas is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
