Actress breaks mold, tackles ‘Killer’ role
Q. What attracted you to “Killer Toon?”
A. I like the Web toon component in the movie. The graphics, they are almost like a character in the film. In a sense I relied a lot on the computer graphics.
You said that playing a character in a horror film suited you well. Are you like the character Jiyoon in real life?
I’m not at all like the character. I’m a bright person. But I do have a low-pitched tone [of voice], which was great for a horror film. And because of that I found it easy to play the character, at least vocally. When I film a rom-com, I have to speak in a higher pitch.
What do you think about Jiyoon?
She’s a pitiable character. I felt sorry for her from start to end. She’s defensive and tries hard to protect herself. And the fact that she erases memories from the past, because of the pain, she’s forgotten it. She just believes that her talent got her that far as a Web toon writer. That’s what’s so tragic about her; she can’t even remember how she got by.
Especially when toward the end she gets what she wants - she sees dead people - but the sad thing is she is actually happy. She thinks she won.
Does the film signal the end of rom-com for you?
You are a boxer, too. Why not take on an action film rather than a horror film?
If I’m presented with an offer, it’d be nice to take on an action film. I don’t have a preferred genre. I decide to take a part if I like the character. I’m not sure how other actors decide on a project, but that’s the way I do it.
Then what kind of characters do you find yourself drawn to?
Is there such a thing as a preferred character? If there is, I haven’t decided on it. I guess if I come across a character I can emphasize with, I’d be drawn to her.
There are supernatural elements to the film. Did you find yourself getting spooked at all?
Before I started working on the movie, I experienced intense paralyzing nightmares and saw a ghost. But otherwise I’ve never seen a ghost. I didn’t have a hard time snapping out of character once filming was over. If anything, I was a bit down before I started working on the film.
Your TV debut was somewhat late [mid-20s]. Why did you wait so long to break into acting?
It wasn’t by choice, it just didn’t work out for me earlier. From a young age I prepared to be an actor. Looking back, I think you need a lot of factors to line up to break into the industry. Now I can see that I wasn’t ready at all.
BY CARLA SUNWOO [carlasunwoo@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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