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| ▲ This photo, provided by YG Entertainment, shows actress Han Seung-yeon. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by YG Entertainment, shows actress Han Seung-yeon. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Sep. 02 (Yonhap) -- “I had thoughts and concerns spending a lot of time as an actress. I thought ‘Maybe I wasn’t that bad an actress’ when I received good comments in the film festival. I also feel happy that my long-time effort wasn’t wrong as well.”
Han Seung-yeon (33), former idol singer of girl band Kara, had an online interview Thursday before releasing “Show Me the Ghost,” the first film for her to take the lead. The film received NH Nonghyup Award in the 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) and her partner actor Kim Hyun-mok received Fantastic Actors Award.
Han who said to have prepared 2 A4 pages of answers for the interview fluently answered the questions about her work and character. She also shared her honest reliefs for having put down some of her concerns as an actress while filming “Show Me the Ghost.”
The film is a ‘self-exorcism-to-protect-my-house’ comedy featuring the story of Ye-ji who has been a job seeker for ages and her 20-year-friend Hodu trying to drive out the ghost who appeared in their house. Han played as Ye-ji always failing at the last step of getting a job but overcoming dangers with guts, comparable to the ghost, to protect her house.
“I envied the bond and friendship of Ye-ji and Hodu. I also felt like I wanted to approach the concerns, as an ordinary person in their 2030s, of failing in job hunting which I haven’t experienced myself. I liked Ye-ji’s active attitudes trying to solve the series of incidents she got caught up into, as well,” said the actress when explaining her motives to appear in the film.
The comedy film fussing to get rid of a ghost also contains social problems and the dark sides for the youngsters these days. Han said that she tried hard to deliver the message at second-half of the film with sincerity while at the same time showing a bickering but lovely friendship ‘chemi’ (short for chemistry which means relationship) with Hodu (Kim).
“While Hodu is a character that make you snort or smirk, Ye-ji is the bright one who grabs Hodu and tries to solve the problem together "I focused on letting Hodu seem lively and colorful while being cautious not to make the serious parts seem too light," said Han.
This work means special to Han as an actress. She has been receiving acting lessons for each production but this time she is said to have created the character for Ye-ji all by herself.
"When I played roles during my days as singers too, I prepared for every scene with the help of a tutor. Rather than believing in myself, I depended on other more experienced people's words. But I prepared for this film alone. So, it means big to me that I was praised with this film."
She first stood in front of the cameras in 1997 through a popular drama "Star in My Heart" as an extra, an orphan child. This means she appeared in the entertainment scene as a child actor 10 years earlier than her former group m Kara which debuted in 2007. After gaining popularity as Kara, she has been consistently taken roles for dramas from comeos and supporting ones to leading ones. Han has already finished shooting a horror movie "Strange School Tales ㅡ Karma" whose release schedules are not yet confirmed.
Han used to dream an actress attending acting academies when she was an elementary school. But she wanted to become a singer when she became an middle school student. Now she feels proud of her past career as an idol singer and gets confidence from the honorable days.
"Although the bright days of my 20s also gave me dark moments but I know that receiving such big love is not an easy experience. When I resumed to acting, I think there was a gap between what I thought, and what the viewers saw about expressing emotions. As I had to emit only bright energy on stages for 10 years, I didn’t need those dark emotions. I needed time in filling in those gaps.”
Han who gained confidence about acting through the upcoming film also revealed her thoughts of continuing her singer-activities as well.
“I chose this path when I was young, and I have been keep walking it. I feel responsibility of my life and I am happy about it.”
The film will be released on Sep. 9.
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