[ⓓ Interview] "That's them, and that was them?"…Kim Jae-won, Rookie Who Changes Faces

[Dispatch=Reporter Jeong Tae-yun] Ten minutes before the interview began, word came that the actor had gotten indigestion from nervousness. When the interview started and I asked "Are you okay?", he laughed awkwardly, saying "Word travels fast, huh?" But the moment he opened his mouth, the face of a newcomer was nowhere to be found. He spoke fluently about how he interpreted his character, what he felt on set, and what kind of actor he wanted to become. Looking at his filmography, you can't help but nod. In Netflix's 'Alchemy of Souls: Part 2', he played a man who wanted to become a woman, and in 'Lady Dua', he played a bar hostess. Each time, he wore a different face, and he didn't shy away from bold choices. "I don't want to just take the stable path after doing well with romance. I approach each project with the mindset of changing my face. That's the reason I first decided to become an actor." Dispatch recently met actor Kim Jae-won. We spoke about another face he created—Sin Sunrok from Tving's 'Yumi's Cells 3'. ◆ Goo-woong, Yu Babi, and Sin Sunrok 'Yumi's Cells' was reborn as a drama in 2021 based on a popular webtoon. From Season 1's Goo-woong (played by Ahn Bo-hyun) to Season 2's Yu Babi (played by Park Jinyoung), it was beloved for its casting's high synchronicity with the webtoon. With Season 3's production confirmed, the most anticipated question was the casting of the final lead, Sin Sunrok. Kim Jae-won said, "It would be a lie to say there was no pressure," adding, "It felt like they were watching me as if their cherished daughter had brought home a new boyfriend during the holidays." "Many people put themselves in Yumi's position, and those who had seen the original work knew she would marry Sunrok, so it seemed they watched with their arms crossed even more carefully. There were also many reactions from people around me asking, 'Do you think you can do it well?'" Sunrok is even like a unicorn of a man. He's younger, tall, handsome, and a principlist, but once he falls for someone, he has the aspect of a bulldozer that charges straight ahead. In short, a character lacking nothing. "Since this is a popular character, I thought I needed to give 200% instead of 100%. Honestly, I have many regrets acting-wise, but if I were to go back, I did my best to the point of having no regrets." ◆ Sunrok's On and Off To become Sunrok, Kim Jae-won first explored the character's charm. The point about Sunrok he identified was the on-and-off difference. Sunrok seems cool at work, but transforms into a homebody once he gets home. He explained, "I tried to give a lot of external differences in how he looked at work versus at home. At work, I combed my hair back and wore glasses; at home, I had my hair down and posed in ways I wouldn't at the company, looking disheveled." There were aspects actually similar to Sunrok. He said, "I'm on the extroverted side, so I differ from Sunrok in that way. But I'm similar to him in having ENTJ-like tendencies where I try to do everything perfectly. After putting all my energy into work and then feeling drained—I empathized with that, so it wasn't difficult to act." His motto when filming the melodrama was "Don't be cheesy." "I think the line between cheesiness and excitement is just one step. I tried to maintain as bland an expression as possible. I even repeatedly asked the PD, 'Please tell me anytime if I'm being cheesy.'" He received a lot of help from the cells in particular. He emphasized, "'Yumi's Cells' is different from other dramas in that the cells explain the emotions. Since the cells express everything anyway, I controlled my emotions as much as possible to avoid overdoing it." ◆ Kim Go-eun as the Center Kim Jae-won and his co-star Kim Go-eun (playing Yumi) have a 10-year age gap and a 9-year difference in acting career. Moreover, it was his first time leading a drama as the male lead. What was it like working on set with this senior? He recalled, "The lead has to drive the project's tone and manner from the beginning, and I lacked that experience. But my senior had a lot of that experience, so she guided me well." "If you watch the making-of, you'll see that's exactly what the set atmosphere was like. The most grateful part was that. With an inexperienced actor, the senior opened up a lot and asked for my thoughts first. It was a set where we collaborated by sharing opinions." He asked questions without hesitation as an actor about his concerns. He said, "I even asked how I should choose projects as an actor going forward. She advised me, 'I hope you make choices without regret.' She didn't speak as if teaching, but mixed in humor and treated me as a junior without burdening me. I learned a lot in terms of character too." Just as Sunrok did with Yumi, he didn't hide his admiration for Kim Go-eun. "My senior can convey so much just with her eyes without saying lines. Her actions are so clear that my reactions naturally followed. I wondered if I could ever have such a precious experience again in my life at this age. She's full of things to learn. My senior has this power to energize everyone on set. I thought, someday I need to become an actor like that too." ◆ Eight Episodes Feel Short 'Yumi's Cells 3' recorded mega-IP-level box office success, ranking first in weekly paid subscribers for three consecutive weeks. The final episode drew a happy ending sealed with a wedding march between the two. The only criticism was that it ended too quickly. Kim Jae-won said, "I have regrets too. But it takes a long time for Sunrok to realize his feelings, and after that, it's just a straight charge, isn't it? I think it became shorter because we showed a figure without anything to measure or improve on." It's also a shame that the two's full-fledged love line was compressed into just two episodes (7-8). He said, "I think if we showed Sunrok building a steel wall against Yumi the writer for a longer time, the impact of that wall crumbling would be even greater." "I loved Sunrok so much that I thought a lot about the entire series. I think it was a process of showing that Yumi was important enough for him to break down all his solid principles. I think those aspects made the character more charming." Sending off Sunrok, he said, "I think my acting was not significantly disappointing to the love and interest the original webtoon fans sent. But from a personal perspective, I think there's a long road ahead. Especially after watching Go-eun's acting, I thought about that a lot," he said with a quiet smile. ◆ The Face That Changes, The Heart That Doesn't Forget Through this drama, Kim Jae-won emerged as a new romance powerhouse. His tall frame and proportions befitting a model, his handsome face—an actor optimized for romance leads. But looking at his filmography tells a different story. Especially with the bold faces shown in recent projects 'Alchemy of Souls: Part 2' and 'Lady Dua'. He said, "I chose to become an actor because I wanted to play diverse roles. Showing a different face for each role is my acting philosophy." "I approached each project with the mindset of changing my face. Even choosing the hostess role in 'Lady Dua' was because I wanted to break the first-love image. It was a decision that could have risks, but I thought there needed to be a turning point at some point." So his project selection criteria is a face he hasn't shown. "It would be good to become a master of romance by only doing romance, but I thought that doesn't align with my values. I want to show diverse rhythms and eye expressions. With that mindset, I'm choosing projects," he emphasized. "These days, when people see my past filmography and react like 'That was him?', I feel happiest. Some people might not recognize my face since I'm a newcomer, but I thought it might be because I digested each character well. I want to gain different modifiers for each project." What sustains that commitment is his fans. He said, "An actor's roles come to audiences through editing and after a long time passes. I started using Bubble thinking about a channel to directly share emotions with fans, and the bond grew deeper." "I think loving someone unconditionally is truly a big thing. Because I know how difficult that is, I communicate every day. I realized that without fans, I wouldn't exist. I want to be an actor and person who doesn't forget that feeling and keeps their center well-grounded." <Photos provided by Mystic Story>

Who Wins? You Decide on MURAPOP

by. TaeYun Jeong