High Cut (Sep 2016) Lee Jong Suk Interview Translation- Part 2
Part 1 here
Q: In an interview, you said “because the character is imaginary in W, I consider it my responsibility to demonstrate a sense of difference.” In order to demonstrate this sense of difference, I think you have worked hard in ways we cannot see.
A: Compared to me, the CG team worked really hard. It is not something I can accomplish with my own effort. CG team really did a good job. Also I think the music director did half of the drama. The BGM is really effective when we watch the drama. It was not like the other dramas with just the OST in the background, the use of light music and suitable sound effects gives life to the drama.
Q: Looking at the dramas you were in up till now, it often starts with male and female leads “two top” but often ends up with you being “one top” alone. When you choose your work, how much influence is there for the character’s weight or the character’s charm?
A: I pay a lot of attention to the character’s charm. However, it is a bit different for W. At first, I am happy that I did not to have a heavy weight in the drama, it was really fun, the character was strong. And then later, the weight of my character became a lot heavier. (Laugh) Among all the works I have done up till now, it was the one with the most lines. Even when the lines are long, when I can exchange conversations with the other party, I can deduce the next sentence and continue to talk, but having to talk continuously on my own is difficult. Scriptwriter and director was thorough from the start, so the same scene was done a few times, there were times when my throat was painful.
Q: The description “the actor who can be trusted and watched for” has arisen for you. Do you want to become an actor with other descriptions?
A: Even when the work is good, when they are asked, not many acknowledge Lee Jong Suk as an actor. Even when I do my best, not all people watch my works, right? I need to continue going along with it. More than making a living as an actor, I just want to be called an “actor”. For every piece of work I did, I got praised for improvements in acting. However, the more I do, the degree of my growth lessens. There are times when I feel troubled, I got into the dilemma of what good acting should be like. For me, scenes of emotions tend to be easy, in W, the context of Kang Chul’s emotional side is often skipped, so it is a difficult piece of work for me.
Q: In the interview in the January issue of High Cut, you said the slogan for 2016 is “working like a cow”. You work from Jade Lover, W till VIP without a break. When one is working a lot, one misses the time for rest. What about Lee Jong Suk now?
A: I want to rest. (Laugh)
Q: So what is the motivation for Lee Jong Suk to work hard?
A: Firstly, I have taken a rest for a year last year, so I have a sense of gulit. Golden age of 20s, pretty with overflowing passions and burning day after day, I should have left at least one more piece of work. Because I have taken a rest in 2015, I need to fill this year up even if I need to force myself to. I said I would do 4 pieces of work this year, but I am a bit exhausted so I will do 3 pieces of work.
Q: When you are tired, what are the little joys of life?
A: When I work nonstop for 2 weeks, and then I get to sleep at home for a whole day? There was only once when I feel really happy. The year before the last? The time with fan meeting here (in Korea), I had quite a few fan meetings, but that time at that moment, I felt really happy from the bottom of my heart, and I cried a lot. I often got the happiness and thankfulness because I receive a lot of love, but truly that moment was the happiest time.
Q: You said you are a drama otaku, among your works, which one did you enjoy the most?
A: Pinocchio. I think it is really a masterpiece. The drama has 20 episodes, many things happened in between. And it is also difficult to wrap up the foreshadows. There are not many viewers who watched all the episodes from episode 1 to 20. Even if you just watch Pinocchio from the middle, it is easy to understand, and the writer put a message of social criticism inside the story. Therefore, I really love and respect scriptwriter Park Hye Ryun who wrote I Hear Your Voice and Pinocchio.
Q: I read in an interview that when you monitor (your own acting), you watch the scenes you don’t like for 300 times. Are there scenes that made you kick your blankets (in shame) even up till now?
A: Many. Even for the scenes that are okay for other people, I found some of them unpleasant. When I have been staying up for the whole night filming, I am troubled by all sorts of different things. Recently I was troubled about my voice. How many decibel and what tone should my voice be like? Every time I deliver the lines, my voice sounds different, this is difficult and hard even after a few years.
Q: People said you are too frank about your own shortcomings and excessively humble. You said in an interview that was because you have the confidence to correct that shortcoming, and that left a deep impression in me. Is there any shortcoming you wish to correct through W this time?
A: My pronunciation is not good and so I paid a lot of attention this time. I wish I can tolerate and persevere and accept it all. I have a “glass” mentality, so I am swayed easily.
Q: In W, all the characters in the comic has an initial setting. For this person Lee Jong Suk, what is the initial setting?
A: For the setting, even though my ability is also included, I think basically my appearance constitute for more than 70%. One’s life changes according to how one looks. If I was not as tall as I am, could I become a model? 14 September 1989. Because of my genetics, my setting were fixed. (Laugh)
Q: Are you searching for the context of the life for the present Lee Jong Suk?
A: The springtime of life is gloomy, tomorrow is insecure, and today turbulent times are also experienced sometimes. Everyone is working hard to try to survive in the battlefield, right? I also save by installments and prepare for my old age. I feel troubled every day trying to find the context of my life.
(Source of Interview Text)
