[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] It takes a year to cast a single actor. It takes over a year to assemble the main cast for a single film. Even with a script and production budget in place, projects sometimes face endless delays before filming can begin simply because they cannot secure the desired actors. As films, TV dramas, and OTT (Over-The-Top) productions compete for a limited pool of actors, casting has emerged as a key variable in content production.

This atmosphere on the production front was also evident at tvN’s “Creator Talk 2026,” held on the 16th. Kim Ho-jun, the chief producer (CP) of the drama “My Guilty Man,” revealed that it took “almost a year” to cast lead actor Im Si-wan.
Lim Si-wan is an actor who has rarely been seen in full-fledged romantic comedies until now. The production team actually focused on this very point. CP Kim spent a long time persuading Lim Si-wan by proposing, “Let’s create a romance character unlike any we’ve seen before,” and eventually secured his participation.
The recently released film *A Trip to Gyeongju* went through a similar process. According to Director Kim Mi-jo, Lee Jung-eun was the first to join the project, but the search for other key actors dragged on, making it take over a year to finalize the cast. Director Kim even admitted at one point that she thought, “I thought it would never get made.”
Once things finally got underway after the long wait, the process picked up speed. As key actors such as Gong Hyo-jin and Park So-dam joined one after another over the course of about two months, production began in earnest. Lee Jung-eun had effectively been waiting for over a year—having signed on first—until the other actors came together.
These two examples illustrate the changing status of casting in today’s content production landscape. Whereas securing investment and a broadcast slot were once considered the primary hurdles to production, nowadays filming can only begin once the desired actors agree to participate and their schedules align.
This shift is also influenced by the expanding competitive landscape surrounding actors. As production entities have diversified—extending beyond broadcast dramas and films to include OTT original series—demand for proven lead actors has intensified. Since popular actors often have their next projects scheduled well in advance, productions inevitably face longer wait times while awaiting their decisions.

It’s not simply a matter of finding an open slot in an actor’s schedule. Some projects, like *My Guilty Man*, require persuading actors to take on genres and characters that differ from their established image, while others, like *Gyeongju Journey*, must simultaneously coordinate the availability and schedules of multiple lead actors. If one actor’s decision is delayed, it can affect the schedules of other actors and the entire filming plan.
Conversely, actors now have a wider range of options. Since they can choose projects across film, television, and OTT platforms, they have greater leeway to select their next project by comprehensively evaluating not only the script but also the character, the production team, and the shooting schedule. From the production team’s perspective, it’s no longer enough to simply present a script to a talented actor; they must also convince them by explaining “why this actor is the right choice” and “what new facets they can showcase in this project.”
A production company representative said, “These days, even with a good script and favorable production conditions, it’s not easy to coordinate schedules with the actors we want,” adding, “In the past, we waited for investment and broadcast slots, but now people even say we’re waiting for the actors.”