'Suits' Actor Jang Dong Gun Talks About His Role In 'Arthdal Chronicles' & How He Prepares For It

Korean actor Jang Dong Gun has revealed his reason for signing up in the much-awaited K-drama Arthdal Chronicles. He also talked about his intense preparation for the role.

Jang has admitted that the biggest factor why he agreed to join the upcoming tvN series is because of his desire to work with great writers, director, and actors. Arthdal Chronicles is being helmed by My Ahjussi director Kim Won Seok while the script was penned by Queen Seondeok's writers Kim Young Hyun and Park Sang Yeon. Aside from Jang, Arthdal Chronicles also stars Descendants of the Sun's Song Joong Ki and Kim Ji Won.

Jang added he also fell in love with the story and his character, Ta Gon. Jang said he felt pity for Ta Gon the first time he read the script for the series.

"I quickly fell in love with the new worldview and story, and I couldn't take my eyes off the last page. I think I was attracted to the character of Ta Gon, who crosses the line between good and evil and even felt compassion for him," said Jang.

The Suits actor also shared the preparation he took to effectively portray his character. Jang said he made changes on this body tone to perfectly play the character. He revealed that he gained almost 18 pounds to look like a powerful Arthdal warrior.

Arthdal Chronicles tells the story of the people in the capital city of the Gojoseon kingdom and the love, conflict, and harmony between the heroes who create legends of their land. In the series, Jang plays the role of Ta Gon, the son of a tribal leader who led his people to victory in war. He was revered as a hero and becomes the most powerful person in Arthdal. He dreams of becoming the first king of Arthdal.

Song Joong Ki is Eun Seom, who was born with fate to bring disaster to Arthdal. Due to his mother's struggles to save him, he goes through hardships. He tries to protect the Wahan Tribe and wages war with their enemies without any fear.

Kim Ji Won, on the other hand, will be playing Tan Ya, the successor of the Wahan clan. She was born with the same fate as Eun-Sum. She lives under the highest honor and her ambition is to become a politician.

tvN earlier released several teasers for the series which give a closer look to the main characters. One of the teasers features Tan Ya being dragged away while Eun Seom vowed to save and protect her. Arthdal Chronicles is set to premiere on June 1 at 9 p.m. KST on tvN.

The network earlier announced that series will be told in three parts. Netflix also revealed that it will be releasing the K-drama globally. The streaming service has yet to reveal the global premiere date for Arthdal Chronicles but it is expected to air almost simultaneously with tvN.