Singaporean actress Carrie Wong was so excited when she found out she would be acting alongside South Korean heart-throb Lee Joon-gi in her first overseas drama that she could not sleep that night.
Wong, 32, plays flight attendant Janice in Asian suspense drama Kidnap Game, while Lee, 44, will play surgeon Han Ki-joo, according to a press statement.
Kidnap Game tells the story of seven kidnapping cases occurring simultaneously across seven Asian cities. Seven unrelated strangers from different nationalities, backgrounds and beliefs find their fates intertwined, each assigned a different mission in a game of survival.
Wong told Chinese-language Shin Min Daily News in a May 26 report: “I was working in London when I found out I’d landed the role after my manager notified me at 3am local time. I was so excited, I couldn’t sleep after I received the message.”
Besides Wong and Lee, the production will feature Japanese actor Kentaro Sakaguchi as detective Toshiro Niide, Taiwanese actress Alice Ko as influencer and housewife Christina, and Stanley Yau from Hong Kong boy band Mirror as corporate lawyer Andy.
Other roles in the drama include Filipino actor Joel Torre as taxi driver Miguel and Thai actress Praew Narupornkamol Chaisang as nightclub hostess Ayun.
Among her co-stars, Wong said she has the deepest impression of Lee, who rose to international fame after acting in South Korean historical drama The King And The Clown (2005). Having seen his work before, she was looking forward to working with him.
“I had the most number of scenes with him,” she told Shin Min. “He is a fantastic, thoughtful and very professional actor. The collaboration went smoothly, and he was very friendly and curious off-screen.”
The actress was previously spotted filming the show with Lee in Singapore in November 2025. Several netizens uploaded videos and photos at that time of them shooting in places such as Joo Chiat and along the Singapore River.
Wong told Shin Min that she approached Golden Horse award-winning actress Yeo Yann Yann for lessons before filming began.
“Thankfully, with her help in my preparation, I felt more confident when we started shooting,” Wong said.
Kidnap Game is set to premiere in the fourth quarter of 2026. The series will air on ViuTV in Hong Kong and stream on Viu across South-east Asia, the Middle East and South Africa.
Filmed across multiple locations in Asia, the international production is co-produced by Hong Kong-based entertainment management company MakerVille, part of PCCW Media Group, in collaboration with South Korean production company SimStory and Japan’s Fuji Television.
Wong recently received the All-Time Favourite Artiste accolade at the Star Awards ceremony on April 19 after winning her 10th Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes trophy in 2025. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
