▲ This photo of actress Pyo Ye-jin is provided by Secret ENT. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- 

“Rather than being passive, I tried to make Go-eun more proactive in Season 3 — someone who could actually help driver Kim Do-gi.”

 

Actress Pyo Ye-jin said she focused on portraying the gradual evolution of her character Ahn Go-eun across seasons in SBS’s hit drama series “Taxi Driver 3,” during an interview recently held at a cafe in southern Seoul.

 

Based on a webtoon of the same name, the “Taxi Driver” franchise has been one of SBS’s flagship seasonal dramas since its debut in 2021. The series follows vigilante taxi driver Kim Do-gi, played by Lee Je-hoon, and the Rainbow Taxi team as they carry out cathartic revenge missions on behalf of victims who have been wronged.

 

 

▲ This still from the third season of SBS series "Taxi Driver (Taxi Driver 3)" is provided by the broadcaster. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

Pyo plays Ahn Go-eun, a genius hacker and the sole female member of the Rainbow Taxi team, who supports Kim from behind the scenes.

 

“In Season 2, Go-eun was about finding her own identity,” Pyo said. “For Season 3, I spent a lot of time thinking about how to show her growth and a different side of her. I really tried to make her more developed.”

 

“One of the best things about a seasonal drama is that you get to reflect on what you wished you had done better after one season ends,” she added. “Working with the same cast over a long period and playing the same character gives you more freedom on set and confidence to voice your ideas.”

 

Indeed, many scenes in Season 3 were born from Pyo’s own suggestions.

 

For scenes in which Go-eun works on a computer inside a call van, Pyo personally planned her eye movements and blocking while imagining the computer graphics that would later be added. In another scene where Go-eun storms into a gym, Pyo suggested disguising her as an influencer filming the space with a camera to add detail and realism.

 

The surprise appearance of Go-eun’s older sister — who died in Season 1 after suffering from illegal filming — in the finale of Season 3 was also Pyo’s idea.

 

“There’s a scene where the Rainbow Taxi members ask, ‘If we hadn’t each had painful pasts, would we have ever met?’ and they answer that they would have found each other anyway, like destiny,” Pyo explained. “Then there’s an imagined scene where they coincidentally run into each other at a restaurant. I thought it would be nice if Go-eun was there with her sister.”

 

“The script originally just said ‘Go-eun eats with a friend,’” she said. “I suggested showing her happily spending time with her sister instead, and the director liked the idea so much that they brought back the actress who played her sister. It was the first time they reunited since Season 1, and it was really emotional to film.”

 

After five years of working together, Pyo said the Rainbow Taxi cast has become like family.

 

“In Season 1, I was younger and busy just trying to adapt, so I wasn’t that close to everyone,” she recalled. “Now it feels like we’re siblings. Thanks to senior actors like Kim Eui-sung and the rest of the team creating such a comfortable atmosphere, I’m able to joke around and act much more freely.”

 

“Taxi Driver” recorded peak nationwide ratings of 16 percent for Season 1 and 21 percent for Season 2, making it a back-to-back hit. Season 3 also maintained double-digit ratings throughout its run, earning recognition as one of SBS’s mega intellectual properties.

 

At last year’s SBS Drama Awards, “Taxi Driver 3” won five awards, including the grand prize for Lee Je-hoon and an excellence award for Pyo.

 

“We worked incredibly hard to live up to viewers’ expectations for Season 3, and I was so happy that it was loved even more than I imagined,” Pyo said. “I really didn’t expect the excellence award. I was happiest when the drama won Drama of the Year, and listening to Je-hoon’s grand prize acceptance speech was deeply moving for all of us.”

 

Looking ahead, Pyo expressed hope for an even more active role in a potential next season.

 

“In Season 3, Go-eun even got a taxi license and was briefly sent into the field,” she said. “If Kim Do-gi ever needs help, I want her to be right there. If there’s another season, fighting alongside him on-site could be really fun.”

 

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