Lee Jong-suk Says He Turned Down 'The Remarried Empress' at First

"Heinley is a role that has to be played by a truly beautiful, ridiculously good-looking guy," Lee Jong-suk said. "If someone else took it, I'd gladly enjoy watching it."

The actor said he turned down his role in the Disney+ original series "The Remarried Empress" the first time it was offered. He even recommended another actor. In the end, the director kept pushing until he said yes.

Lee shared the story in an episode of the web variety show "Salon Drip," released on Nov. 3 on the YouTube channel TEO. He appeared as a guest and talked about how he was cast in the series, which premieres on Nov. 4.

"The Remarried Empress" is based on a popular web novel of the same name. Lee plays Heinley, a prince of the Western Kingdom. The character is so handsome that people faint when they meet his eyes. In the original novel, he is also known for his striking looks.

The series marks Lee's third project with director Jo Soo-won. Lee said he first heard about it on a rainy day while he was on his way to the gym. He already knew the original story, so he cheered the director on.

"I don't know who'll end up doing it, but I'm really looking forward to it," he recalled saying.

Privately, Lee thought the story would be hard to bring to the screen. "The director worries a lot, so I thought I'd done a good job calming things down," he said, drawing laughs. "That was the trap."

According to Lee, Jo frequently checked in with him often, asking where he was and even showed up in person to hand him the script. He initially turned him down.

Jo refused to give up. Lee said the director told him: "I won't make you go through a hard time. You don't have that many scenes, the role has impact, and if you just show up, you can shoot comfortably." Lee took that promise at face value and joined the cast.

He also got involved in shaping Heinley's look. While watching a concert by singer Lim Young-woong, Lee noticed the stage outfits. He thought that with some design changes, a similar style could work for the series. He then searched on Pinterest for reference images and looked into costume makers himself to finish the outfits.

The shoot itself turned out to be far from the easy job he was promised. Lee had to learn horseback riding and the waltz. Filming also went well beyond the studio set, with shoots in Germany, the Czech Republic and on Jeju Island.

"Once I actually started," he said, "there was so much to learn."