So. very. tall. That was our first thought the moment Lee Min Ho, 38, and Ahn Hyo Seop, 30, walk through the doors of the conference room in Marina Bay Sands where we're about to have a chat with them.

The stars of Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy, joined by director Kim Byung Woo, were in town on July 29 to promote the new action fantasy film adapted from the popular Korean manhwa, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.

Canadian actor Hyo Seop, who towers at 1.88m tall, plays Kim Dok Ja, an office worker who gets transported into the dystopian world of his favourite web novel, Three Ways To Survive The Apoocalypse. Dok Ja teams up with other humans with supernatural abilities to fight against monsters for survival.

The 1.87m-tall Lee Min Ho stars as Yu Jung Hyeok, the hero of the web novel Dok Ja reads. He’s strong, but is also stoic and jaded from the fights he’s been through.

While they both cut imposing figures and command the attention of the entire room when they walk in, that's where the similarities end.

We soon realise during the interview that both actors look at life — real or fantasy — through very different lenses. 

While Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy blurs the line between fantasy and real life, it seems like only one of these stars is very firmly rooted in the real world. 

Take for instance, Min Ho's incredibly pragmatic response when we ask if they'd jump at the opportunity to become a character in their favourite story, be it a book or a drama, if they had the chance.

“I’m not the type of person who actually imagines this type of situation often," Min Ho says. "I also feel like the moment you realise you like something is only when you are the one who is going through it. I will not choose to be part of the world, or the story. When you cannot have it, you want it more; when you cannot see it, you want to see it more.”

On the other hand, Hyo Seop, who voiced Jinu in Netflix hit K-Pop Demon Hunter, immerses himself into the world of fantasy. 

“I was a very big fan of Harry Potter when I was younger. I really wanted to enter the world [of Harry Potter], play Quidditch and wield magic,” says Hyo Seop.

Which character in the Harry Potter world would he want to be, though?

“Hermione Granger?” a cheeky Min Ho immediately asks Hyo Seop. The actors burst into laughter, with Hyo Seop telling us he’d simply want to be the main character, Harry Potter.

As Dok Ja uses coins to level his skills and abilities to try to survive in the film, we ask which quality they'd choose to level up IRL: strength, stamina, intelligence, luck, or charisma?  

Again, Min Ho takes a practical approach, and seems to have figured the best way to get the highest ROI for his levelling up.

“I will put all my coins into charisma. With my charm and charisma, I will attract all the people with strength, stamina, intelligence, and luck to me, and I’ll bring them all together [to form an A-team],” he quips.

As for Hyo Seop, he's happy to follow Min Ho's lead. “I’ll put all my points into intelligence and join [Min Ho] hyung’s (older brother) team,” he muses.

Both stars have very different approaches to working with people too. 

For Min Ho, it's about finding the balance between me time and being social.

“These days, I feel like it really depends on the situation and your daily life," he explains. "When I’m surrounded with a lot of people, obviously [there are times] where I want to be alone. But these days I feel that when I’m alone, the energy is too low, and I want to be around people. So it’s important to figure out what my balance is.”

Hyo Seop admits he used to be more of a lone wolf.

“To tell you the truth, when I first started out, I used to think that [life] is a lone wolf type of fight. I thought [I’ll be achieving things on my own]. But as I looked around me, I realised this is something you establish [with others] — so many people have helped me build what I’ve built, and so many people are working with me and helping me out. I started to realise that all the results and achievements [I have] are built together. These days I feel it more often, like how precious and important they are to me,” he elaborates.

But that's not to say the two stars are entirely like chalk and cheese. By the end of the interview, we discover one thing that they could agree on.

When asked if they have to pick between being handsome or smarter, Min Ho brings up a hand to his cheek, laughs, and says: "I choose to be more handsome."

"I chose to be more charismatic. Doesn't it go hand it hand with becoming more handsome?" he chuckles as he gives Hyo Seop a pat on his arm. 

Hyo Seop grins as he reasons: "I've already fully leveled up my intelligence, so I'll pick being handsome too."

Hyo Seop (left) and Min Ho are the stars of director Kim Byung Woo (right) new film, Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy, which is based on the very popular South Korean manhwa

Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy opens in Singapore cinemas on July 31.

Photos: Golden Village