Actress Lee Na-young Discusses Husband Won Bin's Hiatus and Her Role in 'Honor: Her Court'

"(Won Bin is) still reading scripts. He seems to have a passion for acting. Sometimes when we watch a good movie together, he says, 'It would be great to be in a film like that.' Haha."

Actress Lee Na-young shared updates on her husband Won Bin, who has been on a 16-year hiatus from acting. On the 11th, Lee Na-young was interviewed at a café in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, regarding her role in the ENA drama 'Honor: Her Court.' The drama is a mystery thriller about three female lawyers confronting a scandalous past. Lee Na-young plays Yoon Ra-young, a celebrity lawyer at L&J (Listen and Join), a law firm specializing in female crime victims.

The final episode of 'Honor: Her Court' achieved its highest ratings with 4.9% in the metropolitan area and 4.7% nationwide. Lee Na-young expressed her gratitude, saying, "I'm very thankful. It was a heavy-themed genre, but I'm grateful for the love it received until the end." She added, "Thank you for staying with us and empathizing with the character Ra-young."

"I was surprised by how many people watched the show live. I received many calls asking for spoilers. Everyone was curious, but I kept saying I didn't know. I was actually relieved by the interest. With three women leading the story, I thought it might not be easy to gain empathy, but many people resonated with it and cried along, which made me proud and thankful."

Lee Na-young also shared her efforts to portray Yoon Ra-young perfectly. "For live news scenes and press conferences, I received vocal training," she said. "I researched vocal modulation rather than shouting. I acted comfortably in scenes with friends but maintained a moderate tone in scenes with victims."

"I thought there wouldn't be many emotional scenes, but it turned out to be emotional from start to finish. I had to convey courage to wounded friends, saying 'Let's live together,' but Ra-young's expressions were not one-dimensional, making it more challenging. I completed the character through extensive discussions with the director on set."

In the drama, Lee Na-young appears as a 20-year friend of actresses Lee Chung-ah and Jung Eun-chae. When asked about their chemistry, she said, "We communicated well. All three of us have easygoing personalities, so we got along well. It felt reassuring throughout the shoot." She added that they often cried together during filming. "We were so immersed in the work that just looking at each other made us cry," she said, "so I tried to release some emotions."

Regarding her husband Won Bin's reaction to the drama, Lee Na-young recalled, "He read the script and said it seemed very challenging. As a fellow actor, he understood the difficulty of expressing such a character." She continued, "We didn't watch the entire series together. I was embarrassed by my acting, so we watched some episodes together and others separately."

Won Bin has been on a hiatus since his 2010 film 'The Man from Nowhere.' Lee Na-young commented, "He is still reading scripts and has a desire to act. Sometimes when we watch a good movie, we talk about how great it would be to be in such a project. He continues to yearn for it."

When asked about her future plans, Lee Na-young said, "I tend to follow my heart." She added, "I don't have a set plan or criteria for choosing projects. If a good project comes along, I choose it without hesitation."

"I don't have a fixed framework. I focus solely on the script, and if it's a good project, I'm ready to start filming tomorrow. Recently, I shot a short film called 'Unknown.' I feel sorry for the gaps between projects, but reading good scripts is almost my only hobby, so I keep reading them. I'll be back with another good project soon. Haha."

Jung Se-yoon, Ten Asia Reporter yoon@tenasia.co.kr