Lee Ha-nee recently shared her unique experience of filming 'The Neighbors Upstairs' while being pregnant.
In a recent interview at a café in Sogyeok-dong, Seoul, actress Lee Ha-nee discussed her role in the movie 'The Neighbors Upstairs.'
'The Neighbors Upstairs' is a story about a noisy couple living upstairs (played by Ha Jung-woo and Lee Ha-nee) and a mundane couple living downstairs (played by Gong Hyo-jin and Kim Dong-wook) who end up having dinner together, leading to unexpected events. Ha Jung-woo not only stars in the film but also directed it. Lee Ha-nee plays Choi Soo-kyung, a psychiatrist who enjoys a passionate marriage with her husband.
Lee Ha-nee discovered she was pregnant with her second child just before filming began. She shared, "It was early on, around the sixth week. I felt heavy during acroyoga training for a scene, so I took a pregnancy test and couldn't believe the two lines I saw." She added, "I had scheduled commitments, so it was hard to just be happy." Despite the challenges, she remained optimistic, saying, "As an experienced professional, I knew I could do it. I thought, 'A healthier baby can come out,' and I motivated myself," she laughed.
However, early pregnancy symptoms like morning sickness made filming difficult. Lee Ha-nee explained, "Seeing the food for filming made my nausea worse, and I was extremely tired. I could feel all my energy going to the tiny blueberry-sized baby inside me." The compact filming schedule was also tough on her. "I would leave my home in Incheon at 5:30 AM for filming, return around 9 PM, and after tidying up, I would be in bed by 10 or 11:30 PM. Doing this daily made me even more exhausted. To stay alert, I would say 'I'm going crazy' on set, get massages, sing, and dance," she laughed.
Initially, Lee Ha-nee kept her pregnancy a secret to avoid disrupting the filming schedule. She even fell during an acroyoga scene.
"Midway through, I quietly told Hyo-jin unnie. She was shocked and exclaimed, 'What?!' The sharp-eyed assistant director noticed my discomfort during filming and would bring me lemon candies to help with nausea. Eventually, everyone found out," Lee Ha-nee said. She expressed her gratitude towards Gong Hyo-jin, who took special care of her. "Filming was tough due to the pregnancy, but I was able to do it joyfully and generously thanks to Hyo-jin unnie. She gave her all," Lee Ha-nee added.
Reported by Kim Ji-won, TenAsia bella@tenasia.co.kr