‘Say It’s Love’ protagonist Lee Sung-kyung
“Although it is a dark character, it is expressed as a person who lives an ordinary life.”
“Are you dating Kim Young-kwang? I guess this was said to support their chemistry.”
“There are many times when I feel like my acting is stupid.”
“Although it is a dark character, it is expressed as a person who lives an ordinary life.”
“Are you dating Kim Young-kwang? I guess this was said to support their chemistry.”
“There are many times when I feel like my acting is stupid.”
“It was at an all-time level of starvation. At first, the director made the lighting shady, but then he said it looked too skeletal, so he changed it so it wasn’t shady.”
Lee Sung-kyung, who played the female protagonist with many twists and turns in Disney+'s 'Say It's Love', recalled the filming time like this. ‘Say It’s Love’ is a romance that tells the story of a woman, Shim Woo-joo (played by Lee Sung-kyung), who is passionate about revenge, and a man who becomes the target of revenge, Han Dong-jin (played by Kim Young-kwang), who fall in love. After filming the previous drama 'Shooting Star', Lee Sung-kyung started filming 'Say It's Love' almost immediately, so Lee Sung-kyung lost a lot of weight due to not having enough time to rest and having to play a character who has had misfortune throughout her life.
"I had to introduce 'Shooting Star' well and end it well, and I also wanted to meet Woo Joo well and act well in this work, so there was a lot to pay attention to. I think it was because of the difficult schedule and physical condition. At that time, I was a bit depressed. I did it. Everyone who watched said 'Wow'. It was hard at first, but I got used to it and it got better. As I met the universe and gradually became absorbed into it, I was nervous at first, but in the end, only good things remained."
Woo Joo is an energetic and courageous person. After witnessing his father's affair as a child and losing his happiness overnight, all that was left was a desire for revenge. In order to get revenge on his father's affair partner and his son Dong-jin, he joins Choi Sun Jeon-ram, a company run by Dong-jin. The more Woo-joo tries to push Dong-jin into misfortune, just as his own life was shaken, the more Woo-ju's heart toward Dong-jin wavers. Lee Sung-kyung said, “Woo-joo looks strong when you look at the script, but in reality, he is soft and doesn’t know how to take revenge.” He added, “The director said that Woo-joo is a sharp and pointy tofu.”
"I didn't intentionally try to be gloomy because I was playing a bright character and then I ended up playing a dark character. I tried to express it as a person who lives an ordinary life. Even when sad things happen, we make jokes and live our lives. I wanted to express it as if it was going by comfortably. “I wanted to focus on each moment.”
Lee Sung-kyung revealed that she wrote a diary to immerse herself in the character. Lee Sung-kyung said, “I tried to look into the universe,” as Woo-joo is a character with strange emotions who falls in love with the object of revenge.
“When I prepare for a character, I always write a diary as that character. Woo-joo was relatable. Woo-joo is pure, simple, and child-like. He is a poor friend who says he will seek revenge but cannot do it properly. I expected a refreshing and refreshing revenge drama. "I was worried about how the viewers would receive it. I was anxious. I thought I would have to immerse myself in the situation that Woo-joo was in, but I was grateful that the viewers understood and sympathized with Woo-joo."
Lee Sung-kyung, like her co-star Kim Young-kwang, is a model-turned-actor. Lee Sung-kyung said, "I've known my brother since my early 20s, and we joke around with each other, but we can't do that on set. My brother and I were far away, and we didn't necessarily follow each other."
“Kim Young-kwang showed good acting as a partner, so I was immersed in it. He is an actor who takes good care of his partner. There were times when I was tired and difficult while working, and even though it seemed like he was not taking care of me, he silently took care of not only me but all the other actors.” There were a lot of points. I worry about each and every small scene on set. Even though it was a scene that anyone could see would be good, I thought about it repeatedly and went to the director to talk about it. I thought he didn't do anything wasted and did it until the end. I reflected on it and learned a lot."
The director even said that due to the deeply lyrical acting of the two people, there would be a misunderstanding that they were dating. At the press conference for 'Say It's Love' held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on December 12 last year, director Lee Gwang-young said, "There was talk in the editing room that Kim Young-kwang and Lee Sung-kyung were dating."
“It was nice that there was nothing forced about Kim Young-kwang as we have been together for a long time. While editing parts 1 and 2, the director said that it felt like they were dating just by being together, and that there was a response in the editing room that the two of them had good chemistry. There was no way they would be misunderstood as dating. They said it seemed like a mess in the editing room. Nowadays, since all the work is filmed and released, the only place where you can see the reactions when filming is in the editing room. I didn't believe them, saying, 'They're glaring at each other, so what can they do?' I said that to cheer them on. I think you did. Haha.”
Lee Sung-kyung debuted as a model by winning the SBS Supermodel Contest in 2008, and then began her acting career in earnest with the 2014 drama 'It's Okay, That's Love'. It's already been 10 years since I acted. Currently, he is filming the new SBS drama 'Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim 3' with Han Seok-gyu and Ahn Hyo-seop.
"I still feel like I'm a newbie. It's been 10 years, so I need to work harder. What I feel these days is that acting is so difficult. It's not easy, and I feel like there's so much I don't know. Every time, I remember what senior Han Seok-gyu said and cheer up. 'It's right when I feel like my acting is stupid. If I feel like my acting is good, my career as an actor is over.' I asked my senior, 'What should I do, Master, if I feel really stupid?' I did that too. Haha. All I can think about is that I need to work harder.”
Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr