[INTERVIEW]"The Innocent Man" Song Joong-ki - Part. 2

Korean actor Song Joong-ki poses in front of the camera in a photo taken during an interview with 10Asia. [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

<#10_QMARK#> You seem to take great pains to show a distinctive character from other "Lee Kyung-hee style" heros.
Song: At first I was so pleased to be in Lee Kyung-hee's work. However, at the same time I doubted whether I would fit her style. But I thought I could show something new if I add my color to the character. I was in Lee's mind when she wrote the script and it seems she wanted to take out double-sidedness of my looks. In the drama my character has been changed three or four times and I have the urge to show different images from my previous characters. My fans have been great for finding out those different characters.

<#10_QMARK#>So your strong will to win under your unconsciousness trained the actor Song Joong-ki? (Laughter)
Song: I guess I enjoy thrills. I also have competitiveness for not to be forgotten. It's better to be left as a bad memory than to be completely forgotten by people. I guess I feel the same as an actor as well. I have an instinct to struggle not to be forgotten and hope to be the one who get remembered a lot and on everyone's mouth.

<#10_QMARK#> Hence you give impressions who glace more emphasis on achieving recognition, not always being loved.
Song: If we need to classify, I guess that would be correct. I'd rather go wider than higher. If you wanted to beloved than you should go higher. More advertisements and more fans like Hallyu stars... but I am lukewarm about those parts. I feel in the way that if I go up than the only way left is going down... also I feel I am a domestic actor so I can just be comfortable with my activities within the country. (Laughing) I made my debut late compared to others thus I am thirst with work. For this reason what I put my most emphasis on is experience. I know after ten or twenty years "A Werewolf Boy" or "The Innocent Man" would not be the something momentous. But for now, they are. Every step is a process. I'd like to receive credit in each step.

<#10_QMARK#> It seems that will is not restrained to acting. You have been working in various fields.
Song: I don't know myself fully yet. I am in the process of finding myself and don't know what is correct. So I have an attitude like 'let's just do it all.' Thus I have been trying variety programs, emceeing and writing books. I'd like to try out a radio DJ. I believe all of these experiences would help my acting. I had been doing "Music bank" for a year and a half and that live broadcasting experience helped me a lot. You might think I am a weirdo but I was always curious how I would react by ad-libbing if I make a tongue slip. I'd like to know my ability and am enjoying that kind of adventure. Plus, I am glad my parents are happy with my pays as I am working on various fields. (Laughing) I think that is enough. I feel great sympathy with LeeSSang's song "Looking for Happiness" [translated title]. What my mom likes is important.

<#10_QMARK#> It should be hard to find an equilibrium point between your life and value. You are living a life as a celebrity but putting your values on ordinary things.
Song: You just become natural with that. I am an actor at the site and that's my job. But if I become an actor in my ordinary life, that I would be very difficult. So I am trying to just who I am as Song Joong-ki. I walk on the streets and travel alone. My managers scold me a lot because of that but I just keep doing it because otherwise I'll be really tired. I knew I would be deluded if I lose my tension after feeling popular or beloved. So I try to remind myself who I really am. Of course I feel happy when I feel like receiving a huge love. But as much as I feel that way I try to calm myself.

Korean actor Song Joong-ki poses in front of the camera in a photo taken during an interview with 10Asia. [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

<#10_QMARK#>If you prefer that kind of stability then you could simply fit yourself to people's expectation, nevertheless you are sticking with your point.
Song: I seem very much stubborn, right? (Laughing)

<#10_QMARK#> It seems on some parts you are disregarding your fans' feedback.
Song: I know. I know that. But at the same time, I don't know. Nowadays I get hurt often because my words has bigger impact and influence than the past and sometimes they are misunderstood by people. I don't do that intentionally to stand out but consequently I am engaged in touch-and-go. So once I even thought about not saying a word. But keeping silence is not who I am. I need to say "I don't like this" when I don't like something. (Laughter) It is hard to bear myself with pretentious behaviors. I began to feel my need for flexibility but ultimately I would find my style I'm comfortable with the most. My fans worry about me a lot but this is just who I am.

<#10_QMARK#> It seems like watching Song Joong-ki taming the public.
Song: I guess there's part that I am tamed by the public. After all, I am an actor in the market. If now is the blue then red cannot go next, and I am in that kind of process. If you go to black right away, then that could lead me to failure. I need to go step by step and I am on that procedure. I guess the one who fulfilled the process of image or acting can choose whatever he wants beyond what public wants. Right now, I don't have that courage and I am waiting for that timing. Later, when I become a person with Aura who can lead other people, then I think that is the timing. I think actor Ahn Sung-ki is that kind of role model.

<#10_QMARK#> Then what part would you give the biggest credit for Song Joong-ki going through that process?
Song: I would give myself the biggest credit for being warmhearted. In the past, whenever I get a question asking what kind of actor I wanted to be, I answered I'd like to be an actor like Ha Jung-woo or Zo In-sung. But Yoon Yeo-jung said in an interview that an actor is a job to express others' feeling so one needs to be a good person first. After I heard her saying a person with an upright character can become a good actor, I thought I need to become a good person. In that sense, I guess warmhearted character is one of the good qualifications. Sometimes that brings me a loss. But money is the next problem and the foremost important things are people and warm hearts. I'd rather choose loosing money instead of feeling uneasy.

<#10_QMARK#> But you are strict to yourself.
Song: I am not harsh on myself but try to give feedback to my own work. I read critics and try to read other actors or participants' interviews. For "Love and Cash" I read a critic that I put too much emphasis on unnecessary parts so I went to the theater and watched the movie again. And I actually found what the writer was talking about. I guess I want to listen from the experts because I like to recheck myself.

<#10_QMARK#> It seems you consider yourself not a born to be celebrity or a talented actor.
Song: No, never. I don't have any talents. When I say I would do dance or sing my fans say they will sue me. (Laughing) I am not an actor by nature, so I need to work hard, continuously.


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