‘Bloodhounds’ star Woo Do-hwan never thought that the Netflix drama and his character of gentle yet ferocious boxer Kim Gun-woo would receive so much love from fans everywhere, including India. He is now hoping that all the love will help them secure a third season for the Korean show about two young boxers who meet in the ring as rivals but form a deep friendship outside of it as they fight bad guys — a loan shark in the first season and the host of an illegal online boxing tournament — side by side.

“A huge thank you to everyone out there in India for all of the love and support for ‘Bloodhounds’. I know that it’s not easy to show so much love and support for both season one and two. It is all thanks to your love that we were able to create something that’s so fun and also something that we are so proud of,” the actor told PTI in a virtual interview from Seoul.

“If you show as much love as you did for season one and two, then I can have my hopes up a little bit, maybe we can do a season three,” he added.

Before ‘Bloodhounds’, the first season of which premiered in 2023 just after the pandemic and the second season earlier this month, Do-hwan was known for K-dramas such as ‘Mad Dog’, ‘Tempted’, ‘My Country: The New Age’, ‘Tempted’, ‘The King: Eternal Monarch’ and ‘Mr. Plankton’.

But the popularity of ‘Bloodhounds’ is in a league of its own. The drama is currently trending at number three in India, the PTI report from New Delhi stated yesterday.

Do-hwan also believes that ‘Bloodhounds’ has become his most recognised work now. “I didn’t expect it to be this widely loved, especially for season one. I didn’t think that many people were going to watch the show. And for season two as well, I didn’t think that people would love it as much as they loved the first season. So honestly, I’m still flabbergasted and I’m just so thankful to everyone,” said the 33-year-old star.

“‘Bloodhounds’ is my most recognised and loved project. Anywhere I go, people come up to me and mention ‘Bloodhounds’. So, now I am actively searching for a romantic role and it’s all thanks to you (fans),” he added.

Asked what kind of blood, sweat and tears went into getting ready for a physically demanding role like Gun-woo a second time, Do-hwan said it was an intense four month prep. “I lived as if I were a professional athlete every day,” he added.

The series features the actor alongside Lee Sang-yi, who plays his boxer friend Gun-woo’s Wong Hoo-jin, as well as seasoned Korean star Rain (Jung Ji-hoon) as Im Baek-jeong, as a money-hungry boxer who would go to any length to recruit Gun-woo.

‘Bloodhounds 2’ also sees Choi Si Won reprise his role as Hong Min Beom, a real estate guy who helps the two boxers fight the bad guys, Yun Yu Sun as Gun-woo’s mother, Hwang Chan Sung, Choi Young Joon and Tae Won Seok among others.

The fight sequences that sees his character go toe to toe with Rain’s character and other baddies, were shot with security and safety in mind.

“We really went through a very intense round of rehearsals to portray those sequences,” the actor said, adding that he loved the confrontation scenes between them.