Singaporean actress Carrie Wong was so excited when she learned she would be starring alongside South Korean actor Lee Joon-gi in the international thriller Kidnap Game that she struggled to fall asleep.
The 32-year-old actress recalled being in London when her manager called her at around 3am to share the news. Although the script and project details had not been finalised at the time, the opportunity to work with the K-drama star immediately caught her attention.
“I was already having trouble sleeping because of the time difference,” Carrie recalled. “Then my manager called… and I was like, ‘Wow, I’m so excited!’ then I couldn’t sleep already.”
Now streaming on Viu, Kidnap Game brings together actors from across Asia in a suspense-filled story involving seven kidnappings taking place simultaneously in different cities. The victims’ loved ones are drawn into a deadly contest in which each participant must complete a mission, with the game seemingly designed to leave only one survivor.
Carrie plays Janice, a cheerful flight attendant whose fiancé is kidnapped. Lee, 44, portrays Han Ki-joo, a former surgeon whose visually impaired daughter is abducted. Japanese actor Kentaro Sakaguchi stars as elite detective Toshiro Niide, whose wife is also among the victims.
The international cast includes Taiwanese actress Alice Ko, Filipino veteran actor Joel Torre, Thai actress Praew Narupornkamol Chaisang and Hong Kong singer-actor Stanley Yau.
Lee Joon-gi was nothing like the character Carrie expected
Before meeting Lee in person, Carrie’s impression of the actor was shaped by his performance as the stern fourth prince Wang So in the 2016 historical Korean drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo.
His intimidating screen persona had left her expecting someone similarly serious off camera. Instead, she discovered that Lee was cheerful, bubbly and extroverted.
Carrie was also impressed by his language abilities, particularly his fluency in Japanese, which helped him communicate on set despite the presence of translators.
Although she knew some Korean, Carrie said the language was not sufficient for more complicated conversations. The pair instead spent their downtime chatting casually and resting between emotionally demanding scenes.
She even tried teaching Lee some Singaporean expressions, including “lah”, “leh” and “lor”, although explaining how the words change meaning depending on context proved challenging.
A survival thriller with a different emotional focus
For Carrie, one of the biggest attractions of Kidnap Game was its premise. Unlike survival dramas such as Squid Game and Alice in Borderland, in which participants primarily fight to stay alive, this series places the lives of loved ones at the centre of its deadly challenges.
The characters must decide how far they are willing to go to save someone they care about, raising difficult questions about loyalty, sacrifice and morality.
Carrie described the concept as particularly brutal because the stakes extend beyond individual survival. Her character’s desperation to rescue her fiancé also required her to tackle emotionally intense scenes that pushed her beyond familiar territory.
She said sustaining the necessary level of emotion while keeping her performance believable was among the most challenging aspects of the role.
Filming in Singapore for an international production
Although Kidnap Game features a multinational cast and an expansive Asian setting, Carrie filmed all her scenes in Singapore. Locations including Merlion Park, the Bayfront area and Joo Chiat appear in the production.
Lee was the only other main cast member she worked with in person during filming. Carrie said their characters’ unfamiliarity with one another meant there was little pressure to manufacture an immediate bond; instead, they allowed their on-screen relationship to develop naturally.
The series was produced by Hong Kong-based MakerVille in collaboration with South Korean production company SimStory and Japan’s Fuji Television. Filming also took place in Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, Bangkok, Manila and Okinawa.
Carrie recently attended the drama’s premiere in Tokyo, where she finally met more of her international co-stars. She particularly welcomed the chance to speak Chinese with Alice Ko amid a gathering where Japanese and Korean were widely spoken.
The actress said she wished she could have filmed scenes with more members of the ensemble, although she has kept in touch with some of them since production ended.
With Kidnap Game, Carrie has taken a significant step into international television, sharing the screen with established regional stars while exploring a darker genre than many of her previous roles.
For viewers, the series offers a suspenseful premise built around a deeply personal question: when the life of someone you love is at stake, how much are you willing to sacrifice to save them?
