BTS' V a Heath Ledger fan, drawn to dark roles

SEOUL • Kim Taehyung, a member of superstar K-pop boy band BTS, is known for his youthful, boyish good looks.

But the 26-year-old, also known as V, has aspirations towards villainy - at least where acting is concerned.

During a hosting gig on Melon Station, which is part of Melon, South Korea's largest online music service, V said that he is a huge fan of Heath Ledger.

The late Australian actor, who died in 2008, had a respectable filmography brimming with critical and commercial hits, including gay romance Brokeback Mountain (2005), historical dramas The Patriot (2000) and A Knight's Tale (2001), and romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You (1999). But his most renowned role was as the Joker in Christopher Nolan's superhero saga The Dark Knight (2008), which won him a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

In audio clips posted by fans on Twitter, V describes himself as a "huge fan" of Ledger whom he referred to as his "role model".

According to K-pop news site Allkpop, this is not the first time V has expressed his admiration for Ledger, or his interest in darker roles. In an interview last year, he said: "My favourite character is a noir-like villain. I'm more attracted to the villain roles. The main characters are very attractive, but I think there are some movies where the villains are more attractive, like Heath Ledger as the Joker."

Indeed, in 2014, V dressed up as the Joker for Halloween, with a purple suit and garish blood-like lipstick.

Despite his acting ambitions, he has taken only tentative steps into the world of film and television, with a supporting role in South Korean drama Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth (2016 to 2017).