Actor Nam-jun Heo candidly opened up about why he kept his variety show appearance a secret — and shared unfiltered stories about his family.
On the June 24 episode of the tvN variety show You Quiz on the Block, the actor — who’s been turning heads with the drama My Royal Nemesis — made a guest appearance.
Asked about the sudden surge of attention, Heo said, "People around me have been reaching out a lot." Still, the moment it truly hit him was when You Quiz on the Block invited him on. "Me? I’m really going on TV?" he recalled, unable to hide his excitement. He also revealed why he kept the appearance under wraps. "My family has always asked whenever I had a new project, 'Why not do variety?' Especially my twin brother — he'd be like, 'So you’re not going on You Quiz on the Block? Not yet?'" he said. "So this time, I wanted it to be a surprise, and I didn’t tell anyone."
Heo also shared a funny story about his twin brother. When host Jae-suk Yoo said he’d heard the brother was tall and handsome, Heo shot back without hesitation, "By my standards, he’s not handsome," drawing laughs. He then admitted that, back in their school days, his brother was definitely more popular.
"As a kid, I grew slowly and was shorter than my peers. My brother, on the other hand, was always tall with a solid build and broad shoulders," Heo recalled. "Girls didn’t exactly have a crush on me — I was more the cute, fun kid to hang out with — while my brother was the one who was always popular." He added that while his brother usually calls him "hey," the moment he needs something, it suddenly becomes "hyung" (older brother), perfectly capturing their real-life sibling chemistry.
Meanwhile, in My Royal Nemesis, Heo earned praise for his portrayal of the ruthless chaebol heir Cha Segye.