[Dispatch | Busan=Reporter Jung Tae-yun] "I still want to keep running."
Actress Shin Min-ah is familiar with the modifier "rom-com queen." Yet she doesn't settle into that familiarity. From endearing romance to the recent chilling thriller "Eye Contact."
She has unveiled new facets by crossing genre boundaries. Rather than guarding the image the public remembers, she has consistently explored possibilities beyond it.
This time too, she reveals unfamiliarity hidden within a familiar face. She took on romance fantasy with Disney+ 's "The Remarried Empress."
The reason she doesn't stop is because acting is fun. She laughed shyly, saying "I think the profession of actor is my destiny."
Shin Min-ah participated in Actors House, a program of the 31st Busan International Film Festival, held on the 10th at Shinsegae Department Store Centum City in Haeundae-gu, Busan.
She engaged in conversation with the audience while reviewing her 25-year filmography. Shin Min-ah began her career as an exclusive model for the high-teen magazine KiiiKiii in second year of middle school.
She recalled, "High-teen magazines were popular back then. I wanted to escape from the daily routine that repeated every day. There was also a sense of accomplishment in working with adults."
That work has brought her to where she is now. Her full-fledged acting career began in 2001 with the film "Volcano High" and SBS-TV's "Beautiful Days."
Recalling that time, Shin Min-ah said, "I was eager to work hard and do well. But on screen, sometimes less appeared than what I did, and sometimes more." She continued, "From then on, I started to think about what mindset to have and how to approach it."
In her early twenties, she also felt impatient. She revealed, "I had a strong desire to express myself quickly and work on good projects. Thinking that the time I could act might not be long, I tried to give my best in every moment."
Shin Min-ah is unafraid of physical challenges. She was particularly so in the 2020 film "Diva," where she overcame her fear of heights and took on diving for the role.
She said, "When I learn something by using my body, I feel like I'm halfway into the character. I also develop pride in being part of the project before other staff members." She added, "I wonder if there's another job where you can learn so many different things. I feel dopamine when I use my body intensely."
Her efforts to show a different face in each project are visible throughout her filmography. In the film "A Bittersweet Life," she left a strong impression despite limited screen time, and in "Gyeongju," she completed the character's ambiguity and silence in her own color.
In the drama "Our Blues" and the film "3 Days of Rest," she expressed the emotions of characters facing family and loss.
Shin Min-ah said, "As we live, we part ways and eventually have to leave. It's pain everyone must endure, but I liked how it didn't neglect that and made audiences feel it directly."
The genre that has received the most love from audiences and viewers is romantic comedy. She said, "Romcom was new with 'My Girlfriend is a Gumiho.' Even then, I wondered if I could do bright acting."
She continued, "Every time I do romcom like 'Hometown's Embrace,' 'Reluctant to Lose,' it's so much fun. It's different from my personality, so it's actually more fun. My body moves more freely."
In Disney+ 's "The Remarried Empress," she made a completely new attempt. It's a fantasy historical drama with a firmly established world from the original webtoon. When she first received the script, she recalled thinking, "What is this?"
"The name is Navier, Sovieshyu…. Above all, the original work is vast with many characters and episodes. Within 10 episodes, Navier's beginning, development, climax, and resolution of betrayal, divorce, and remarriage had to be clear."
She focused on a person's choice rather than an empress's dignity. She said, "Navier is an empress, but she's a character who makes new choices as a woman. I hoped she would become a relatable character that many could empathize with and understand."
She continued, "It's an era where it's not strange for an emperor to take a mistress. How to accept that and make choices was important. I wanted audiences to follow the story from Navier's perspective, hate together, and feel those emotions."
Despite experiencing various genres and characters over 25 years, her desire to show new sides remains. Shin Min-ah is currently filming the new MBC-TV drama "Mon-Tue-Wed."
At the same time, she is also managing promotional schedules for "The Remarried Empress." Even amid a busy schedule, when asked about acting she wants to try in the future, she answered without hesitation.
She said, "Recently, I've only done calm acting, so I'm thinking I want to do comedy again. And I really want to try authentic historical drama. I want to challenge it before it's too late."
Finally, she added, "I want to keep working on projects and keep running. There are difficult moments, but the desire to (act) is greater. I think I want to believe that the profession of actor is my destiny."
<Photo source=Dispatch DB, Disney+>
