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| yna@yna.co.kr 2024-05-29 10:31:27
SEOUL, May 29 (Yonhap) -- "When I see each one of them (becoming stars) and leaving, I feel proud even though I didn't do anything. (Laughs)"
Known for her solid acting skills that highlight the charms of her co-stars, actress Kim Hye-yoon (28) is often dubbed a "star maker." Actors such as Rowoon, Lee Jae-wook, and Byun Woo-seok all rose to stardom through projects with Kim Hye-yoon.
Sitting down for an interview at a cafe in Gangnam, Seoul, on the 27th, ahead of the finale of the tvN drama "Lovely Runner," Kim Hye-yoon said, "As I watch my colleagues moving ahead, I think I need to catch up quickly," with a laugh.
"I don't think I contributed to their success at all," she said, "They were destined to succeed, and it just happened that I got to witness their rise firsthand."
In "Lovely Runner," Kim Hye-yoon plays Lim Sol, who travels back to 2008 to save her favorite artist, Ryu Seon-jae. The character, described as someone whose bright smile feels like spring sunshine, was written with Kim Hye-yoon in mind.
"It's a great honor for someone to write a 16-episode drama with me in mind, but it also brought a lot of pressure," she confessed.
"I heard that the writer chose me for Sol after seeing my bright and cheerful personality. They incorporated a lot of my actual speech and behavior into the character. Since Sol's personality is similar to mine, it was comfortable to portray her lively spirit," she explained.
Lim Sol, a passionate fan of Ryu Seon-jae in 2023, travels back to 2008 to find him when he was a high school student. She discovers that he liked her first.
Knowing that Ryu Seon-jae would eventually take his own life as a top star, Lim Sol repeatedly goes back to the past to save him. Realizing that Ryu Seon-jae dies every time while trying to save her, she begins to push him away in the past.
"There were many scenes where we had to shoot the same place but in different situations. Analyzing and performing those subtle and detailed emotions was challenging," Kim Hye-yoon shared.
For instance, the scene where Sol gives Seon-jae a yellow umbrella in their first meeting and another where she deliberately ignores him at the same spot were filmed back-to-back. "It was heartbreaking to shoot because I could feel Sol's pain as she avoided Seon-jae," she reflected.
"Sol is a very tearful character, so controlling the amount of tears was tough," she added.
"Sometimes, I would cry uncontrollably, and other times my eyes would just get teary. There were many scenes where I had to cry with tears glistening in my eyes. Crying itself wasn't hard, but controlling the amount was. Byun Woo-seok, who played Seon-jae, helped me a lot by being supportive during those scenes," she said.
Debuting at 17 in the KBS drama "TV Novel Sam Saeng" (2013), Kim Hye-yoon built her career step-by-step with numerous minor and supporting roles. She gained recognition with her role as Kang Ye-seo in the 2018 drama "SKY Castle," and continued to appear in dramas like "Extraordinary You" and the movie "The Girl on a Bulldozer."
"I started acting because I wanted to be an actor, but it felt so overwhelming," she reminisced. "I survived by setting daily goals like exercising for an hour a day or watching a movie every day."
"These days, I feel proud of my past self for enduring those dark and uncertain times steadfastly," she said with a bright smile.
What are her plans after the drama ends? Kim Hye-yoon replied, "My goal is to find what I like and what makes me happy."
"Living a life of acting out other people's lives and being in the public eye, I think I've been neglecting myself. I want to get a good night's sleep and eat delicious food, and find my own happiness."
[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]