Ryu Jun-yeol on Netflix's 'Mousetrap' and Why He Keeps Acting Separate From Life

Actor Ryu Jun-yeol says he draws a firm line between his acting and his personal life. For him, the person comes before the performer.

Ryu recently sat down for an interview at a cafe in Seoul's Samcheong-dong neighborhood to discuss his role in the Netflix series "Mousetrap," directed by Kim Hong-sun.

"Mousetrap" is a chase thriller. A novelist named Mun-jae has his name, face, and entire life stolen by a mysterious figure known only as "the Rat." A loan shark named No-ja, trying to recover his missing money, and a detective named Sun-yong join the hunt for the Rat's true identity.

The series premiered on Netflix on the 28th of last month. Within four days, it climbed to No. 6 on the global Top TV Shows chart and entered the Top 10 in 49 countries. Ryu said he has heard from friends and acquaintances who are watching, but he tries not to seek out reactions himself.

"It's not that I'm worried about being shaken," he said. "I just try not to stress myself out. Once a project is out, there's nothing more I can do about it, so I focus on doing the current work well. When a film opens, I might check how it's performing, but I don't really look up the reactions."

That same discipline shapes how he approaches acting itself. Ryu said he makes a conscious effort to keep the job separate from the rest of his life.

"On set, if an actor lets their mood, emotions, or character drive their behavior, it can make things uncomfortable for someone else or cause problems for the production," he said. "That's actually why I try to keep acting and life apart. I might carry some of a project's emotions with me into my daily life, but I try not to let that spill into everything I do."

He said the boundary is a form of self-protection.

"That's how I protect myself and hold on to who I am. I think there are things more important than acting or being an actor. One of them is the life I live as Ryu Jun-yeol. That might be my role as a son, or as a husband, or as a friend," he said. "No matter the reason, acting, the actor's job, or art can't sit above my life. My life has to come first for the acting and the actor to exist at all."

He also stays away from comments and entertainment news on purpose. Since debuting, he said, even reading celebrity coverage that had nothing to do with him started to feel like a source of stress.

"So I try to only look at the good stuff," he said. "I don't mean good stories about me, but beautiful, warm, moving stories. I make an effort to seek those out."