The second season of “Player 2″on tvN, featuring Song Seung-heon, pleasantly surprised viewers with its star-studded lineup of special guest appearances, reminiscent of prestigious award shows. Along with the return of Jung Soo-jung, who was part of the main cast in Season 1, fans can also look forward to seeing cameos from Jeon Hyun-moo, Heo Sung-tae, Nana, Ryu Hwa-young, Lee Soo-hyuk, and more.
It appears that drama and movie producers are taking advantage of the popularity of top stars by featuring them in special appearances. For example, in JTBC’s “Welcome to Samdal-ri” , actress Kim Tae-hee made an appearance, while Kwon Yu-ri, Park Tae-hwan, and Han Seung-yeon joined various scenes in tvN’s “Lovely Runner” . Additionally, Song Joong-ki made a surprise cameo in tvN’s “Queen of Tears” , reprising his role as Vincenzo from the past.
Kim Tae-hee and Song Joong-ki, who previously worked with writer Kwon Hye-joo in the 2020 tvN drama “Hi Bye, Mama!”and director Kim Hee-won in “Vincenzo”(2021), respectively, have been confirmed to make cameo appearances in the upcoming drama “Queen of Tears”. The decision was made due to their past relationships with the drama’s producers and writers. Additionally, Song Joong-ki’s agency’s affiliation with “Queen of Tears”female lead Kim Ji-won was also a contributing factor to his cameo role.
Similarly, movies experienced a similar situation. Jeon Do-yeon, who portrayed the lead role in Byun Sung-hyun’s “Kill Bok-soon”, has chosen to make a guest appearance in Byun’s upcoming film “Good-News”.
In “Wonderland”and “The Plot”, viewers were treated to appearances from both Gong Yoo and Lee Jong-suk. Gong Yoo took on the role of Sung-joon, an AI who guides Bai Li (Tang Wei) into the world of ‘Wonderland’ and explores the bond between AI and humans. Fans were delighted to see Gong Yoo make a cameo in “Wonderland”, which also featured his Management SOOP agency mates Suzy, Choi Woo-sik, and Jung Yu-mi.
In “The Plot”, Lee Jong-suk portrayed a colleague who teamed up with the main character, Young-il (Kang Dong-won), to solve a murder. This character not only raises doubts in Young-il’s mind about his fellow colleagues, but also serves as a dependable ally who continues to have a profound impact even after his passing.
Seo Hyun-woo, Lee Sung-wook, Esomi, Shin Hyun-ji, and other actors made multiple appearances throughout “Escape,”enhancing the viewers’ engagement in the plot. Kim Dong-wook played a crucial role as the person responsible for initiating and concluding “Hijacking.”
Despite the decline in drama and movie productions, some individuals argue that actors still have limited opportunities to promote themselves, leading them to make more frequent special appearances to demonstrate their loyalty and connections with producers. Even if they are not cast in leading roles, their brief appearances in highly anticipated projects can still generate significant public interest.
Pop culture critic Jung Deok-hyun explained that due to a decrease in the number of productions in recent years, actors now have more availability, making it more likely for them to accept cameo roles. This not only allows actors to maintain their connections with writers, directors, and production companies, but it also presents a low-risk opportunity for top actors to collaborate with reputable production teams, creating a win-win situation.
Despite this, it has been noted that the unexpected inclusion of popular actors in films and television shows can disrupt the narrative flow and diminish the audience’s engagement, particularly when these cameos are given excessive screen time. This is often seen in productions that lack a well-thought-out plan from the beginning.
The CEO of a drama production company emphasized the importance of having a clear purpose and meaning for even the shortest cameo appearances. They also cautioned against extending cameo scenes solely for the sake of an actor’s fame and creating characters that have no relevance to the main story. Furthermore, the CEO advised that careful consideration should be given by writers and directors when deciding to include special appearances.
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