Yim Si-wan on going the extra mile in 'Road to Boston'

Movies

Published: 25 Sep. 2023, 17:46

Yim Si-wan on going the extra mile in 'Road to Boston'

Yim Si-wan plays Suh Yun-bok, a real-life marathoner who won the 1947 Boston Marathon, two years after Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, in the upcoming film ″Road to Boston″ [LOTTE ENTERTAINMENT]

Taking on a role in a film is a serious endeavor for most actors, but for Yim Si-wan, playing a national team marathoner in the days following Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule was on another level. He portrayed Suh Yun-bok, a real-life Korean marathoner, with “the sense of representing Korea,” in the upcoming film “Road to Boston.”

“I was immediately moved by Suh’s story when reading the script of ‘Road to Boston,’ and became thrust with a kind of responsibility — that I was portraying a person who represented our country at a very critical time in history,” said Yim during a group interview with local reporters at a cafe in Jung District, central Seoul, last Thursday. “I think everyone, myself included, lives with a dormant patriotism that could become activated if it is ever challenged. Though we may not show that we love our country every day, if a time comes when it needs to be shown, we have the potential to put it to use.”

Playing a real-life historical figure did come with a pressure and a burden, said Yim. Born in January 1923, Suh won the 1947 Boston Marathon under the coaching of Sohn Kee-chung, the winner of the 1936 Berlin Olympics marathon.

Actor Yim Si-wan [LOTTE ENTERTAINMENT]

“Playing a real-life historical figure — and someone as important in Korean history as Suh — comes with a responsibility,” said Yim. “I tried to imagine what it must have been like to run an international marathon wearing the Korean flag just two years after liberation, and portrayed Suh with the sense that I was also representing Korea.”

To film the running scenes and be convincing as a professional marathoner, Yim went on a diet and maintained a fitness regime for a total of eight months.

“It was a difficult process, because I actually love to eat and had to cut off everything delicious while I was on that diet,” said Yim. “The hardest part was when they sent food trucks to the film set. That was nearly torture,” he said, laughing.

Main poster for ″Road to Boston″ [LOTTE ENTERTAINMENT]

Other than the struggle of maintaining a fit body, Yim had a great experience on the set of “Road to Boston” because director Kang Je-gyu gave him a lot of freedom, according to Yim.

“Film sets are places with many different variables, and the director’s job is to control those variables and make a playing field for the cast and crew,” said Yim. “Kang was a master at that. He considered every possibility and gave me the freedom to choose within that spectrum of possibilities, which made the atmosphere on set very comfortable and natural.”

Training for the film made Yim learn to love running, and he has been active in a running crew for the past three years since filming wrapped up.

“When I go to a new place nowadays all I think about is how nice it would be to run in a place like this,” said Yim. “Last year when I was in Cannes, France for the film festival, I ran 10 kilometers along the beach in very warm weather. I am thankful for ‘Road to Boston’ in many ways, but especially because I gained this new hobby. Running is great because it is so simple — you have a goal and a destination, and you just move your body, and you get there.”

A scene from ″Road to Boston″ [LOTTE ENTERTAINMENT]

Yim, who debuted as a member of the boy band ZE: A in 2010, ventured into acting with the TV drama “Moon Embracing the Sun” (2012), and made a breakthrough with roles in “The Attorney” (2013) and “Misaeng: Incomplete Life” (2014). He has since starred in a number of films and dramas, building up a steady career for himself.

“I love acting, and I am grateful I am able to do this as a job,” said Yim. “I think now I have learnt that the way to grow as an actor is to learn how to erase everything from past works in preparation for the next film or drama and the next role. I'm still learning how to do that perfectly and I hope to become an actor who can take on projects that are challenging. ‘Road to Boston’ was another step forward for me in that sense.”

“Road to Boston” opens in theaters on Sept. 27.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]