[INTERVIEW] Actor Kim Hye-seong - Pt. 2

Actor Kim Hye-seong [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

10: In the past, you spoke out about the frustration that you felt because of how different your personality was versus your appearance. How do you feel about it now?
Kim Hye-seong (Kim): It's gotten a lot better now but I had a really hard time before. Actors Jung Il-woo and Kim Bum got to play roles that suit their age after MBC's sitcom "High Kick" while I always ended up playing younger characters. I was fine with it but people around me kept talking about it [my appearance and personality]. It can be very stressful since only one person was talking about it but it became a hundred and that hundred became a thousand. At one point I just hated this industry. Other productions I was going to do got canceled because I didn't fit the conditions and that's why I went on with my life without thinking any thoughts for about a year. At a certain point I just fell apart, drinking everyday and just going about my life. It was to the extent where my manager who lived with me told me to figure out why I was acting like that and that I was being crazy. That’s when I knew that I shouldn't be like that. And I happened to be handed "Boy Meets Boys" which was so much fun to act since it had been a year. I had thoughts like ‘Ah, let's try this once again.’ My manager told me that I can't do anything about it [my appearance] right now and I agree. My face is not going to mature right away and it's not like I'm going to get plastic surgery because of it. I know that with time, things will work out.

10: You took on the role of a student in both "Gangster High" and "High Kick" but the gap between those movies are quite big.
Kim: People even at my office got to know that I’m not the person I come off as initially after they got to know me. When I took on "Gangster High," I felt that I could do a good job with it because of the dispositions I have. It was also one of the first movies I did with actors my age so I am particularly attached to it. I still meet up with the actors from "Gangster High." We met up a few weeks ago for drinks before actor Choung Kyung-ho entered the military. I know that during interviews, when Cho Jin-woong gets asked which film that he is particularly fond of he answers "Gangster High."

10: Still, is it that you want to take on roles that are more like you or want to express more of what people don’t know about you?
Kim: The audience always associates me with my image from "High Kick." It scored great viewership ratings and a lot of people watched it. "Gangster High" was a complete box office failure. It flopped big-time! (laugh) So people don’t know I did such acting. There is a part of me that wants to show them what they haven't seen.

10: I heard that director Kim Byung-wook told you to try to become an actor and not a star.
Kim: He once told me that the road that Jung Il-woo and I will take will be different. The director told Jung that he should continue on with his path to stardom but suggested that I should build on my experience in acting. I was able to organize my thoughts after that. I solidified on the thought that I should go on a different path since I was someone that didn't fit the image of this generation compared to Jung.

Actor Kim Hye-seong [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

10: When you first started out in the industry, which was greater? Your drive to become an actor or a star?
Kim: When I starred in "Jeni, Juno" my thoughts leaned more towards "Will I become really popular when this opens in theaters?" The acting itself... it didn't even cross my mind. However, even if I'm not popular now, I want to experience more as an actor and I think more about how I want to become a better actor. You'll automatically receive the public's affection once you're a good actor. For the time being, I want to gain more experience in acting. I would also take on a supporting role. I feel that I can't do anything besides acting. I really think a lot about what I could do right now if I wasn't acting but I seriously don't think there is anything that I can do besides acting.

10: What do you do during your free time besides acting and thinking about what other jobs you can do?
Kim: There is nothing in particular that I do besides kick the ball around. I'm the kind of person that usually stays at home.

10: What position do you play in soccer?
Kim: They usually put me on the offensive or just let me play whichever position I want. I don't play on a celebrity team so I do have the advantage of being a celebrity. (laugh) If the opposing players are good the only position is left fullback. They put me in that position just because I am a celebrity. (laugh)

10: Do you get along well with the people you play soccer with?
Kim: It’s been about four years since I’ve played with them and I felt uncomfortable at first because they kept taking pictures with me. But they don’t even regard me as a celebrity anymore. (laugh) They treat me as the kid from down the street and we go on overnight trips together. They even make me get water for them, as if I’m someone they’ve known for ten to 15 years. So I’m going to move to another team soon. (laugh) I actually get water for them even before they ask because I don’t want them thinking that I sit still and lazy because I’m a celebrity.

10: Do you feel uncomfortable with the so-called ‘premium’ that follows with the fact that you’re a celebrity?
Kim: I do. A wall will form between me and the other person if I act like I’m a celebrity because I’ll think that I’ll need to act the way I come off on television.

10: Well the military is probably where that premium will show the most. It’s been reported that you’ll enter the military within the year.
Kim: Hyun Bin made news big-time for going to the Marine Corps (laugh) so I don’t think celebrities should make a big deal about it anymore unless they’re going somewhere as hardcore.

10: It definitely looks like you’ve let go of wanting to be popular. What sort of actor do you want to become?
Kim: I don’t think of myself as an actor yet. I still feel like I’m an aspiring actor. Veteran actor Lee Soon-jae once said, ‘Not everyone who stands in front of the camera is an actor,’ which I think is true. How can you call yourself an actor if you can’t act just for the mere fact you’re acting in front of the camera? It honestly tickles me to call myself an actor. People call me an actor because that’s my job but I still regard myself as an aspiring actor.

10: So could I say that you’re a hopeful?
Kim: That’s right, a hopeful! Director Kang Woo-suk said that from time to time as a joke ? that I could really become an actor. It’s not that I haven’t heard of that before but I’ve never been happier to hear it. It made me gain the confidence that I could really become an actor.

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Reporter : Lee Seung-Han fourteen@
Photographer : Lee Jin-hyuk eleven@
Editor : Lucia Hong luciahong@, Lee Ji-Hye seven@