“Mask Girl” Actor Ahn Jae Hong’s Ad-Lib Shocks Everyone On Set, But It Becomes An Iconic Scene

Recently, an actor from Netflix‘s K-Drama Mask Girl shared a behind-the-scenes story of how his sudden ad-lib became an iconic scene.

Mask Girl tells the story of Kim Mo Mi, an ordinary office worker with appearance-related insecurities. She covers her face with a mask and becomes an internet BJ (broadcast jockey) named Mask Girl while getting caught up in a spiral of dark events leading to her tragic end.

One of Mask Girl’s biggest fans, who happens to be her co-worker, is Ju Oh Nam, an otaku who has become completely disconnected from the world and finds solace in watching her broadcasts. Ju Oh Nam crosses the fine line between being a fan and being obsessed, and his love for Mask Girl puts him at risk in many ways.

Ju Oh Nam’s character was played by actor Ahn Jae Hong, who looked almost unrecognizable because he looked different from his usual self. He said he gained 10 kg for the role and used special makeup to make him look bald and prosthetics to appear as if he had a belly.

I thought I should approach the viewers as a character who feels unfamiliar and strange. At the same time, I wanted to portray the deep and troubled story of a man whose direction deviates from the beginning. I wanted to express it deeply by delving into very dark places.

— Ahn Jae Hong

Ahn Jae Hong went above and beyond to portray his character, and his hard work seemed to have paid off. The actor shared that in the delusional scene where Ju Oh Nam confesses his love to Kim Mo Mi, he added a line that wasn’t in the script.

One of Ju Oh Nam’s most iconic scenes is when he daydreams about walking up to Kim Mo Mi in the office and telling her he loves her. At the end of the confession, he adds in Japanese, “Aishiteru,” which means “I love you” in English.

Ahn Jae Hong recalled the moment he ad-libbed the line.

Originally, that line wasn’t in the script. When I read the original webtoon, there was a scene where Ju Oh Nam mumbled in Japanese, and it left a very chilling and impressive impression on me. So, I suggested to the director that we try something like this, and he liked the idea. During rehearsals before we went into filming, I was thinking about what Ju Oh Nam would say when confessing, and I came up with ‘Aishiteru.’

— Ahn Jae Hong

He continued that the director was initially unsure about the added Japanese phrase but later decided to add it to the scene.

At that moment, the director was surprised. He was worried that if we included that line, the audience would find out too quickly that this scene is in Ju Oh Nam’s delusion. But then he thought, ‘Ju Oh Nam is a character where imagination and reality are mixed anyway, so it might be okay to use that line.’ So, we ended up filming it as is.

— Ahn Jae Hong

Thanks to this brilliant idea, Ju Oh Nam has become the standout character in Mask Girl. His confession scene has gained immense popularity to the point of becoming a meme.

Rookie actress Lee Han Byeol, who plays the first Kim Mo Mi out of the three stages of her life, also commented on the moment when Ahn Jae Hong first yelled out “Aishiteru” while filming. She recalled witnessing it up close and how it made everybody burst out in laughter.

I was the only one who witnessed this moment up close. Everyone burst into laughter on set. I immediately thought, ‘This is it!’ I was surprised, but at the same time, I thought, ‘Well, it’s Ju Oh Nam.’ Ahn Jae Hong suggested many ideas about speaking Japanese. He talked about it a lot during readings, and some parts were modified after the readings, so I thought he was amazing for catching details like that. But at the time, there was no idea of ‘Aishiteru.’ 

— Lee Han Byeol

Lee Han Byeol also shared that thanks to Ahn Jae Hong’s ad-lib, the filming atmosphere became more comfortable.

I was genuinely shocked when I heard it on set and wondered, ‘Is this an ad-lib?’ It was during the early stages of filming, and it was the day of the imaginary kiss scenes, but the atmosphere became relaxed thanks to him, and in many ways, it turned into a great ‘Aishiteru.’

— Lee Han Byeol

The rookie actress also expressed how curious she is to see how Ahn Jae Hong portrays the next role he plays after Ju Oh Nam—and so are netizens!