Lee Jong-suk influences costume and prop design for The Remarried Empress

Actor Lee Jong-suk personally contributed ideas for costumes and props to bring the character Heinrey to life in the Disney+ original series The Remarried Empress. To capture the prince's personality, Lee sought out the manufacturer of singer Lim Young-woong's stage outfits and suggested using blue roses to symbolize "unyielding love."

Actor Lee Jong-suk has demonstrated a passionate commitment to bringing the character Heinrey to life in the Disney+ original series 'The Remarried Empress' by personally contributing ideas for everything from costumes to props. His efforts included seeking out the specific manufacturer of singer Lim Young-woong's stage outfits to request similar attire, as well as suggesting the use of blue roses, which carry the floral meaning of "unyielding love." To realize the prince from the original work in reality, Lee's meticulous consideration of not only visual synchronization but also the character's emotions and symbolism has drawn significant attention.

'The Remarried Empress' is a romantic fantasy epic about Navier (Shin Min-a), the perfect empress of the Eastern Empire, who is notified of a divorce by Emperor Sovieshu (Ju Ji-hoon), who has fallen for Rashta (Lee Se-young), a former runaway slave. Rather than accepting the divorce, Navier demands approval to remarry Prince Heinrey (Lee Jong-suk) of the Western Kingdom. The series is provided by Disney+, produced by Studio N, and features the collaboration of director Jo Soo-won and writers Yeo Ji-na and Hyun Chung-yeol.

Following the release of the work, Lee Jong-suk's visuals became a hot topic in online communities, with many noting he looks as if he were plucked directly from the original web novel and webtoon. His portrayal has been evaluated as having high synchronization with the character fans imagined, thanks to the combination of magnificent prince attire, a unique atmosphere, and the character's signature mysterious charm. However, this result was not achieved solely through the actor's appearance or the work of the costume team; it was the result of Lee Jong-suk actively participating in the production process by contemplating the character's detailed elements.

Lee Jong-suk did not confine Heinrey's charm to the image of a merely mysterious and perfect prince. He interpreted him as a multi-dimensional character—someone who harbors secrets yet reveals a playful and affectionate side when in the presence of Navier. He focused on maintaining the dignity of a prince while highlighting the human aspect of being unable to hide emotions in front of a loved one.

Specific elements that embody Heinrey's charm include his soft gaze when looking at Navier, his sly way of speaking when with McKenna (Choi Dae-hoon), and the lovely expressions that emerge naturally in the moment. Rather than using exaggerated acting, Lee expresses the character's emotional shifts through delicate expressions and attitudes, breathing realistic life into Heinrey, who could have otherwise remained a typical fantasy prince.

The preparation process to complete the visual was also unusual. To realize the appearance of Heinrey expected by fans of the original work, Lee managed himself thoroughly even before filming and directly contributed opinions to the costume production. In particular, after noting singer Lim Young-woong's stage outfits, he judged they would suit Heinrey well and reportedly sought out the manufacturer to request the production of the clothing.

His interest lies in the fact that he was not satisfied with simply wearing flamboyant clothes, but sought costumes that matched the character's personality and atmosphere. This was a choice made to capture Heinrey's identity, which possesses both dignity and a free-spirited nature, in a single outfit. The anecdote of the actor personally seeking out manufacturers shows the specific level of contemplation and preparation behind the magnificent prince costumes seen on screen.

He also embedded the character's narrative into the props. The blue rose that Heinrey presents to Navier at the Eastern Empire's New Year's ball was also an idea directly suggested by Lee Jong-suk to the props team. He chose it by noting the blue rose's floral meaning of "unyielding love," attempting to symbolically express Heinrey's sincerity through a single flower.

In this scene, the blue rose carries a meaning beyond a simple gift. By conveying emotions that could not be explained directly through the symbolism of the flower, it highlights the persistence and sincerity of Heinrey's love. This is an instance where the actor's character analysis extended beyond dialogue and expressions to include the meaning of props and the emotion of the scene.

Lee Jong-suk's active character building is garnering even more attention because he already has experience convincingly portraying a character from an unrealistic world in his previous work, 'W'. At that time, he played the protagonist Kang Chul from a webtoon, expressing a complex character who moves between the boundaries of the real and virtual worlds. In this 'The Remarried Empress,' he has demonstrated strength in making the fantasy settings of the original work convincing as a real person.

The reactions in online communities calling Lee Jong-suk "truly a webtoon-born actor" stem from this context. In works based on original source material, the importance lies not only in how closely the appearance is reproduced. To make the world of the original work gain realistic persuasiveness, one must understand the logic of the character's emotions and actions and translate them into visual language. Lee Jong-suk contributed to this process by directly involving himself in detailed elements, including costumes and props.

Lee Jong-suk's actions—drawing inspiration from Lim Young-woong's stage outfits and suggesting a blue rose that carries the meaning of love—reveal his affection and sense of responsibility toward the character of Heinrey. It demonstrates that an actor's role can extend beyond the lines in the script and acting to include the visual and symbolic elements that constitute a character. Expectations are mounting to see what kind of love story Lee Jong-suk, who has realized the prince from the original work as a living, breathing person, will complete alongside Navier.

'The Remarried Empress' consists of a total of 10 episodes, with two episodes released every Wednesday. Episodes 5 and 6 are scheduled to be released on Disney+ this coming 11th.

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