SINGAPORE – South Korean actress Park Eun-bin may be best known for the adorable autistic attorney she played in the hit 2022 K-drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo, who startles at loud noises and loves whales. 

But in the upcoming series Hyper Knife, the sweet-faced 32-year-old laughs maniacally, makes threats with a smile and screams hysterically. She is also possibly murderous. 

The star plays genius neurosurgeon Jung Se-ok, whose career is derailed after a betrayal by her former mentor, renowned neurosurgeon Choi Deok-hee (Sul Kyung-gu). The medical thriller premieres on Disney+ on March 19.

Speaking to The Straits Times in a sit-down interview at Disney’s Asia-Pacific content showcase at Marina Bay Sands in November 2024, Park is exhilarated talking about her new dangerous turn on-screen. 

Famed for playing kind-hearted and optimistic leading women, she breaks new ground as Se-ok. In one trailer, she is seen strangling a woman in cold blood.

Park says: “Se-ok is very impulsive and short-tempered. It’s so fun because I get to relieve my stress through the character in a way I’ve never done before. I felt so free to release that anger through her. It was a very pleasant experience.”

Hyper Knife’s central focus is on the twisted love-hate relationship between Se-ok and Deok-hee, who recognise each other’s brilliance yet have a well of anger and resentment simmering between them. The show also progresses in such a way that sometimes positions them as reluctant allies.

Acclaimed South Korean veteran Sul, 57, who nabbed Best Actor at the Baeksang Arts Awards for his performances in the films Hope (2013) and Kingmaker (2022), said he was glad to partner Park for the first time to portray such a dynamic. 

Calling it a joyous collaboration, he says: “Se-ok and Deok-hee’s relationship is the main plot and storyline. The raw emotions they have for each other, that comes out of them when they clash – it’s indescribable. They have a really firm grip on each other’s necks and their lives depend on the other.”

With two talented t...