EXO’s D.O. (Do Kyung-soo) shared how diving into his first full villain role in the Disney+ drama “MANIPULATED” led to surprising reactions from people around him both on and off set.
In a recent interview with News1, D.O. reflected on playing Ahn Yo-han, a chillingly emotionless mastermind who orchestrates the downfall of protagonist Tae-jung (Ji Chang-wook).
“I’d always wanted to try a role like this,” he said. “Once filming began, it was actually really fun. I could express emotions I never show in real life.”
To perfect Yo-han’s intimidating aura, D.O. underwent an extreme visual transformation, spending nearly four hours bleaching, perming, and dyeing his hair. He wanted the villain’s appearance to feel unsettling and subtly powerful.
But his performance was a little too convincing — even in real life.
“Some people started looking at me strangely,” he laughed. “Staff said they didn’t want to touch my hair. At a restaurant, someone grilling meat didn’t give me an extra piece.”
These small, funny moments revealed how deeply he had embodied the character.
D.O. also admitted the role helped him discover new sides of himself:
“When I watched the finished scenes, I thought, ‘I can make that kind of expression?’ It was a whole new face for me.”
As “MANIPULATED” wrapped its 12-episode run, fans praised D.O. for delivering a villain who is both childlike and terrifying — a performance strong enough to unsettle even the people standing right next to him.