Q1. You're considering trying other acting roles in future right? hehe Dream High was so good, I watched it all the time~
Yeah. It was really fun. Filming for 'Dream High'. I could do it again if I got another offer, but I'd probably worry for a long time like before and I'd have to go in for casting again. I was really worried about 'Dream High'. As I said in a previous interview, just I mentioned a lot about not having given much thought to acting yet, I really didn't particularly care for acting... the reason why I took on 'Dream High' was because the majority of the cast consisted of singers, and it was a story about singers, and since there were many scenes requiring singing, they had no choice but to cast singers, so I thought I would probably be able to do a good job as Pilsukie. There were so many singing scenes and the director also promised me I would get to sing many of the songs that I liked.
(So you could say that instead of signing on to act, you were signing on to sing ^^)
That's how I came to be cast, and because the response was good, I thought I did well. In making the decision to act in 'Dream High'. I'm not sure what will happen in the future, so if I were to take on the challenge of going solely for the acting, whereas in 'Dream High' I could rely on my singing and dancing, but now if I were to only act, I think that will be quite difficult. I would probably need to have many discussions with the people in my agency.
Have you ever formally learned acting prior to this?
Before I debuted, I attended an acting school. I think I went for about a year. When I was younger, I didn't dream of becoming a singer, I just vaguely knew I wanted to become an entertainer. I was willing to do whatever it took to quickly become an entertainer and that's probably why I started attending acting school.
(Before taking part in this drama, did you receive any more acting lessons?)
Nothing of that sort. There was really no time at all, and since I had to balance everything together with my 'Good Day' promotions, I didn't even have time to sleep, let alone receive acting lessons.
(In spite of all that, you did really well...)
However, there were many times I felt quite burdened. Because Pilsuk's character was so much like a comic book character, in a sense, I kept thinking that this character could be all the more burdensome.
(It doesn't seem like an easy role to act...)
That's right. Also, my real voice was the biggest issue... while filming for 'Dream High'. When I normally speak, my voice is either middle or low-pitched like this. It's husky but the character Pilsuk required a cute, bubbly voice, so that was the most tiring part. The audio director kept requesting for a slightly brighter, slightly cuter voice, and so I think that was kind of difficult... even so, compared to others who had to deal with emotional scenes, you could say that this was probably a much easier task.
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Q2. If the opportunity arises, is there any acting role you wish to take up?
(If there is such a role, would you want to try acting again?)
I think it would be fun to take on a more definite role. Like antagonist Baekhee's role. When I first looked over the script, I was really interested in Baekhee's role. It would be so much fun. If I took this role. However, since Eunjung-unni* [NOTE: from T-ara] did such a great job, those thoughts disappeared, but I still think it would be fun to play the bad guy just once.
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Q3. While filming Dream High, was there anyone who particularly helped you to act well???
Well, we all looked out for each other and supported one another throughout filming... we also had Uhm Kijoon-senior there and Lee Yoonji-senior gave us some great words of wisdom as well.
(It seems you received a lot of advice.)
Yes. Also, since Soohyun-oppa was already such a great actor, he was coaching us for most of the time. Since most of my partner scenes were with Wooyoung-oppa, we would read the script together and if the tone was really awkward or something, we would point that out to each other.
(So one could say that all the members of the cast helped each other out?)
Yes. That's right.
(Your expressions and portrayal of emotions, to say that it's only because you attended acting school when you were younger is somewhat...)
It's just that I had so much fun filming, I think that's why those things just came naturally for me. And the atmosphere on set was always so nice.
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Q4. What would be your TOEIC* [NOTE: TOEIC stands for 'Test of English for International Communication'] score for acting?? When you're acting, are there any areas in which you feel that you're lacking?
My acting score?
(Ratings can be biased, so instead, do you feel that you are lacking in any areas?)
It's just that there were scenes where I thought I could push it a bit further, but I just couldn't. I have a habit of holding back slightly, and I tend to think that being too excessive isn't good, so for me, playing the character Pilsuk was way more difficult.
She's a character for which you really need to go all out. So if another actor had taken on this role, they would've made the character much more interesting, and I can't help but think, once the costume came off, did she not become rather ordinary. Because the costuming was so prominent, I didn't even have to try, and I'd still come out looking like a comic book character, but after removing the costume, I should have still been able to express the image I had when I was plump, but I couldn't and so I think I have trouble with my expressions. I should have immersed myself into the role more, without feeling so embarrassed about it.
(Is this your opinion... or did someone point this out to you before?)
Nothing of that sort. I just felt that this was a character whom I could've expressed in a more interesting manner.
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Q5. When you were filming, was there anything specifically tiring or fun?
What was tiring was... when I had my costume on because it was so very heavy.
(How long did it take?)
The entire costume. With the face make-up, it took roughly 4.5 hours. Without the face make-up, the time was cut down by a lot. We were finished in about 1.5 hours. However, the suit I had to wear was so heavy that initially, I couldn't keep myself steady. If I fell and there was no one there to help, I wasn't able to get up.
(And it's not like you were on screen as soon as they finished your hair and make-up.)
I was on standby then. Even so, they were very considerate of me. Knowing that I would be tired with that costume on, they were very considerate and so that made it more bearable. If shooting went past midnight, then the prosthetics would start to peel off and so they'd have to keep re-doing it, and the smell of the glue would give me headaches and since they applied prosthetics even on my lips, I couldn't eat anything. I couldn't even drink water. I was lucky if I didn't have many scenes, but occasionally, if they had to film for 10 hours, then I couldn't drink anything for 10 hours. Looking back, it was close to death. Since I couldn't go use the restroom, I couldn't eat either. That was tiring for my body. When I had on all that make-up.
(In the drama, didn't your character lose weight sooner than originally planned?)
Originally, we were first going to take it all off around the 10th episode, revealing the new self only near the end. But there were so many people who requested for it that I had to quickly oblige them.
(Anything interesting happen during the filming?)
It's just that Park Jinyoung-senior was always lightening the mood...
(Not just while acting, but he was normally bringing people together as well?)
Any scene with Park Jinyoung was automatically fun to shoot. We all played around as we filmed. We all knew how tiring it was, we've all stood on stage as singers, since we were all appearing at other events as well as doing this, we all knew how tiring this was. Encouraging each other along the way, the atmosphere amongst everyone was really nice.
(So it must've been Samdong [NOTE: played by Kim Soohyun] who felt left out?)
Samdong-oppa played a really huge role in everything. Giving us acting tips, that was really fun. He's a very very fun oppa. So he really helped to lighten the mood. I'm extremely thankful towards him for taking up the role.
(Another fun question, this is just what the fans are raving about. Will you tell us about it?)
Of course. (Smiling) Yes. Yes
(About Wooyoung...)
You mean, what did we talk about when he took me out to a restaurant?
(Did you two really only eat?)
(Hearty laughter) If you're asking what the mood was really like, before we arrived, it was a very friendly atmosphere. What to eat, what to eat, we were deciding through our manager oppas, so when they asked me what I'd like to eat, I jokingly suggested that we go to an expensive place, and so we ended up at the "O" Steakhouse [NOTE: "O" stands for the name of the restaurant]. And so upon arriving, the seating arrangements should have been carefully thought out, but we ended up sitting like (Laughter) at one table was all of Wooyoung-oppa's team, and at a different table was my team. As if there really was an imaginary line drawn between us, the two teams ate by themselves. Later on, because the situation was so funny, I said that we should've just eaten separately. We even joked whether or not we were going to suffer from indigestion, then we just quickly ate and left our seats to go foot the bill, but it turned out to be quite a large sum. There was quite a number of people. Because there were over 10 people who came out to eat, I felt bad but I promised to treat him to a meal next time, saying that a few days later, I would treat him to a meal and then, we left. However, I don't know if Wooyoung-oppa was playing around with me this time, but he made a reservation at a BBQ restaurant, so I went and he suggested we eat samgyeopsal [NOTE: grilled pork belly]. We were at a beef restaurant, and he was suggesting we eat pork. I said "Nah, that's all right, let's just eat beef," and so we ordered ribeye, this time, we made sure the seating arrangement was good. Before I got there, I told myself to make sure to arrange the seating well. And so, we mixed everyone around before they seated themselves, and everyone was having fun eating and talking to one another, and once again, because we ordered ribeye, the bill turned out to be quite a large sum. Since 10 of us had come to eat. So I joked that if oppa were really cool, if I were to get up to pay only to find out that he had already paid the bill in advance, then he would be a really cool guy. I really only said that as a joke, but then I found out that he had already paid.
(It seems he had already paid before you even said anything.)
And that's what I regret the most. It felt so awkward. I was feeling so awkward, I asked him why he did that. He tried to play it off by saying "What, this is just manners," [NOTE: He's quoting his own character in 'Dream High'] so I was definitely going to treat him next time. Since I got free meals from him now. And both times were expensive. I felt really sorry towards him.
(There were so many fans who raised this question...)
They must have been a Wooyoung fan.
(IU fans weren't particularly curious about all this.)
Honestly, when we were eating at the restaurant, we mostly just ate, we just quietly ate.
(Since it was a family restaurant, there must have been a lot of regular people there.)
Yes. That's true.
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Q6. Do you find any resemblances between the character Pilsuk and yourself??? In what ways would you want to be like her????
At first I thought we had a lot of similarities, but after acting as her, I think the two of us are polar opposites. She was always a bright, cute and lovely child. Also, she wasn't one to let sadness bring her down, instead she was a strong child who could quickly get over it, when I first read the unofficial script, she seemed like a really timid child, but when she manages to overcome that, she brightens up. When I only saw her as timid, I thought she really resembled me, one who enjoyed being alone, unable to converse well with others, avoiding their gazes, that she was really similar to how I was as a trainee. That's what I thought but with every episode, she became a different person. It was kind of difficult. It was difficult to act out such a bright role.
('Dream High' had many typical characters, but Pilsuk was quite an unusual character, hard to find in most Korean dramas...)
Therefore, with each episode, it became more tiring for me.
(Having seen IU's bright image on stage, perhaps the writer was inspired to come up with that character...?)
At first, it was during the auditions for Dream High. When I went along with the directors for the meeting, everyone was surprised. They asked if I was always like this. They expected me to be brighter. They met up with me thinking only of my character portrayed in 'Heroes' [NOTE: A variety show for which IU is part of the cast.] Even the way I spoke, my voice was quite low and I didn't laugh much. Later on, we all got very close, I became really close with the director and that was when I started to show more of my bright side. On the last day of filming, he told me how great it would have been if I were like that from the beginning. And was I aware of how despicable I was when I first started out as Pilsuk? He was telling me all this. (Hahaha) That this kid didn't even know how to smile. That he cast me thinking I'd be very bright but on site, I was always alone and timidly sitting all by myself, that it was despicable for me to be so different from what he was initially expecting, he kept joking to me like that. That now, I'm finally like the image of IU he had in mind. He said that to me. Because I'm really shy around strangers, I don't smile very much around people I've just met for the first time.
(Then you must not wish to be like Pilsuk in any way at all?)
Wishing to be like her in some way? I do wish to be bright like her all the time.
So you think it would be nice if you could be brighter?
It's of no real concern to me. Right now, I'm very comfortable with my personality, but I make it hard for those around me. My personality. They can't seem to grasp it. Since I'm so different from what they expect, so when people get to know me for the first time, they tell me that they are quite surprised. There are many people who wonder how such a young kid can be so gloomy. For the people around me, a character like Pilsuk's would be much better.
(It doesn't sound like you really want to be like her.)
I don't really feel the need, but those around me are so...
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Q7. When you were filming 'Dream High', who were you closest to???
I probably got closest to Wooyoung-oppa since I had the most scenes with him. But in terms of clicking, I immediately thought that Soohyun-oppa was amazing, but we didn't really get too close, I can't get very close to people but with Soohyun-oppa, for some strange reason, I felt comfortable around him. Soohyun-oppa always makes people feel at ease. He was really popular. Even on the set. Even all the directors favored him. Even I was like "Wow! He's amazing." I really have a hard time being comfortable enough to speak informally. Even with Suzy who is a year younger than me, until the very last day of filming, I couldn't speak informally with her. But with Soohyun-oppa, I just naturally began speaking informally. I think it's because he made me feel really comfortable, but with Wooyoung-oppa, because we had a lot of scenes together, it was very awkward at first. Wooyoung-oppa put forth a lot of effort. Fortunately. Since he was my oppa. He put in a lot of effort for us to get closer, so in a short amount of time, it seems I got closer to Wooyoung-oppa as well. On the contrary, the cast member I was least close to was Taecyeon-oppa. The last day of filming was when we spoke to each other for the first time.
(Was it because the two of you didn't share the same scenes?)
There were a fair number of scenes we shared. But they were mostly group scenes. Especially in the presence of more people, I don't say much. I like to listen in on conversations and laugh along. Then, when we were filming the final scene, I talked to Taecyeon-oppa for the first time, and it was so much fun and it was really nice. So it was such a pity. Ah, only during the final shoot did we get to open up to one another. With Eunjung-unni as well, since it was the final shoot, I must have been in a better mood. We talked to one another and I even said I had something interesting to say to her... that I have two dramatically different sides to me. Depending on my mood, depending on how comfortable I am with someone, it's bad enough to have people think 'Really? Why is she like that? How can she be such a seclusive loner on one hand, yet be so maniacal on another?' I probably went a bit crazy on the last day. Enough for me to think 'Why am I in such a good mood?' So I told Eunjung-unni that I would tell her a funny story. After I did, I think Eunjung-unni was really taken aback. Since I was being so different from my image for the past 3 months. She told me she had no clue I was this kind of kid. Had she known this earlier, it would have been so much nicer, that it's a real shame. That's what she said to me. I too really regretted it. That it took so long for us to become close.
Translation: squishyblob @ WeHeartIU
Editing: janeberryblue @ WeHeartIU
Credit: WeHeartIU
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