Han Hyo-joo in Dazed Magazine
According to dramamilk.com, in the interview portion of shooting the drama, the chemistry between Lee Jong-suk and Han Hyo-joo was really neat to read about.
In the shooting process, they had to shoot the same scene in the daytime and the nighttime, like a time-switch, back and forth between the real world and the webtoon world. It took two days and several hours for just several seconds in the drama.
This is the interview between Dazed Magazine and Lee Jong-suk and Han Hyo-joo, according to dramamilk.com:
How was today’s pictorial? You had a lot to overcome since you are wearing thick clothes on a hot day.
Hyo-joo: I heard Korea is already in Fall weather… I enjoyed the last bit of summer here.
Jong-seok: Even though it was warm, I enjoyed it.
It has been a while since you two have seen each other since the drama [W] ended, how do you feel?
Hyo-joo: We were together all the time during filming, it is the first time to see each other since the finale.
Jong-seok: That is true. It has been two weeks!
You both have a deep connection with Tokyo. Jong-seok is very popular in Japan, you even had a fan meeting until late last night, and Hyo-joo, last year, you shot the movie MIRACLE: Devil Claus’ Love and Magic with Masaki Aiba in Japan. What is your impression of this country every time you visit?
Hyo-joo: First of all, I like it here because of the delicious food. I really like to visit good restaurants.
Jong-seok: Right. I like this place because of the food too. Personally, I visited Tokyo when I was in high school as my first trip abroad. I like simple and quiet towns like this.
Hyo-joo: I like to be a traveler somewhere not that far away from Seoul.
The drama W was a success. The critics said the drama ventured into a new genre, a fantasy drama, so I guess it would be remembered as a special drama for actors in the drama as well.
Hyo-joo: Because the theme and script themselves were very fresh and new, it was meaningful to me personally and I guess it was interesting to the audience for the same reason. I was very tired because we had a lot of overnight or all-day shoots due to the drama production system, however, it made me focused on the drama. Because I spent a lot of time at the site, I was able to focus more on the drama without realizing it. I became even closer to the staff members, so when it was done, I really felt sad.
Jong-suk: Noona (Hyo-joo) was sorry to say goodbye. It was my honor to work on a good project together.
Did you have any hardships?
Hyo-joo: We started the drama semi pre-produced with the script up to the 10th episode. Because we didn’t shoot the drama chronologically from the 1st episode to the 8th, I had to memorize a lot of dialogue each day. It was difficult for me at the beginning.
Jong-suk: Agreed. Too much dialogue to memorize… (laughs)
Hyo-joo: I always had my script in my hands even when I was taking a break.
Jong-suk: Right. It was too much to read all at once. After practicing the dialogues from episode one to four, everyone was knocked out.
Hyo-joo: However, it was great to have enough time to prepare.
I guess you had many interesting incidents since Kang Chul and Oh Yeon-joo in the drama went back and forth between the real and the fantasy world. Do you have memorable episodes?
Hyo-joo: We had a lot of time and space jumps in the drama, the scenes where we time jumped two months forward or night became day were memorable for me. I honestly thought it would be easy with the help of computer graphics, but I was surprised to see them actually shoot a still scene every second and stitch them together afterward. It was more of an analog way. Something like taking a 30-minute night scene, then taking the day scene at the same location the next day, then run the 1-hour scene very fast. It was less than 30 seconds in the drama, but we spent one hour in two different days to complete the scene.
Jong-seok: I entered into the comic world after saying, “I summon myself into the comic world!” and it was nighttime in that world, but daytime in the real world (laughs). It was hectic because the drama was running so spectacularly.
Maybe because of those underlying efforts, such a well-made drama was created. What is your secret for the good chemistry you two had?
Hyo-joo: I think it is because we communicated a lot.
Jong-seok: Because the project was difficult, I personally wasn’t sure if my emotional line was the correct one. That is why I had to ask someone close to me, and I relied on Hyo-joo noona a lot. Especially, I was following Kang Chul’s emotional line well until the moment in episode nine when Kang Chul’s memory was reset after saying, “Oh Yeon-joo, please forget about me.” I had to think a lot and asked for advice from noona on how to express Kang Chul after his memory was reset.
Hyo-joo: Usually, actors don’t ask each other how was his/her acting, but Jong-seok enthusiastically asked me about his acting, which was impressive.
Jong-seok: People usually say it’s okay even if it wasn’t good, but noona gave me her honest opinion (laughs). Therefore, when noona’s response was lukewarm then I thought, “Ah, it wasn’t that good.”
Hyo-joo: I didn’t want to answer roughly.
The comradery of actors?
Hyo-joo: I just wanted to tell him honestly. Actually, I asked him a few times as well.
What did he say?
Hyo-joo: He is pretty honest as well. When we take one scene three times, he told me, “The second time was better, noona” (laughs).
Of course, communication is always very important. Do you have anything to hope for each other as actors?
Jong-seok: Before I met her in this drama when I thought of an image of the actress Han Hyo-joo, the quiet image of her was dominant. A feeling of somewhat sad and tragic love? I was surprised because she was so bright when I actually met her. My wish is for her to take parts in projects that can shine a light to that side of her.
Hyo-joo: In my point of view, Jong-suk has many advantages as an actor. He has the potential to be a good actor in the future, but it is pitiful that he himself feels nervous and worries so much about it. I think he doesn’t believe that he is a powerful and good actor more than he thinks of himself. I wish he becomes more relaxed towards acting. He is already doing well!
Heartwarming conversations between you two. You have nicknames like “Man jjit nam” and “Man jjit yeo” (a man/woman who came out of a comic book).
Jong-suk: Knock it off. Aren’t those words made by the PR agency?
Hyo-joo: I like good comments on the project or our acting better, rather than those comments.
Jong-suk: Agreed. They control our moods.
Hyo-joo: When people say it was good, feel good, but when people say it was bad….
Jong-seok: It feels rocky (or shaky).
Hyo-joo: It feels tattered. But who doesn’t care about them?
Jong-seok: No one.
I guess you feel great because this drama ended successfully. You have a break after a long time, what do you want to do the most?
Jong-seok: I don’t think I can take a break for a while since my new project starts in two weeks. My character is a serial killer and I am stressing out to show a new kind of psychopath which no one has ever seen before. I am thinking about it but I haven’t come up with a breakthrough idea yet.
Hyo-joo: I am going to take a break for a while. Recently, for the first time, I had an idea of just resting without doing anything. I worked hard without any rest. Lately, I gradually realized the importance of resting.
It is okay to rest. I hope you have a nice time relaxing as a gift to yourself. Office workers (or employees) have those moments every 3, 6, and 9 years.
Jong-seok: Agreed.
Hyo-joo: That is right because next year is my 12th year since my début.
We only have two more months of this year. What do you want to accomplish?
Jong-seok: I haven’t done movies for a while and it is kind of scary to start a new project right after the drama. It is a difficult role but I want to accomplish it successfully, and I want to do the best acting job of my life… That is my wish for this year.
Hyo-joo: I just let it go. I intentionally didn’t make a plan to focus on the thoughts coming into my head all the time.
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