[Interview] Choi Seung-yoon of ‘Rice Boy Sleeps’: “Winning the Best Actress Award was Beyond my Expectations”

Choi Seung-yoon revealed his thoughts on winning the best actress award for ‘Rice Boy Sleeps’. Photo|Pan Cinema

Dancer and actor Choi Seung-yoon (34) seized the chance and chance that came to him, leaving a deep impression with his first feature film debut, ‘Rice Boy Sleeps’, imprinting his name.

Choi Seung-yoon played mother So-yeong in the movie ‘Rice Boy Sleeps’ (directed by Anthony Sim). ‘Rice Boy Sleeps’ is a semi-autobiographical story by Korean-Canadian director Anthony Shim, depicting the unforgettable time between mother So-yeong and her son Dong-hyun, who were the only family in Canada in 1990, where everything was unfamiliar to them.

Choi Seung-yoon joined ‘Rice Boy Sleeps’ through 5 zoom auditions.

Director Anthony Shim conducted a video interview after watching numerous audition tapes, and cast Choi Seung-yoon, who did not have much acting experience, for the role of So-yeong, the mother.

Choi Seung-yoon, who starred in his first feature film in ‘Rice Boy Sleeps,’ said, “Everything was new and fun.”

He added, “Casting director Sue Kim, whom I had known before, strongly recommended the audition. Since it was an audition for a lead actress, she went ahead with the mindset of giving it a try as an experience without greed. She said that the director felt like he was looking for So-young rather than looking for an actor with good acting skills. I’m not sure what she resembles with Jeon So-yeong, but she says she is similar around her. I’m not the type to talk back, but I tend to talk casually. They seem to be similar in that way,” he said, trembling.

“After the last audition, the fear reached its peak. I wondered what they would believe in me and try to cast me for the lead role, and I wondered if they would stop because just passing the audition was a new enough experience. Then, when I went to Canada and met people, I gained courage. I was scared because I was vague on my own, but when I saw the people I would actually work with, I felt like I could do it while relying on it together.”

Choi Seung-yoon expressed his feelings about his first feature film role in the movie ‘Rice Boy Sleeps’. Photo|Pan Cinema

In 2012, when the Koroda pandemic was in full swing, including the quarantine period, I filmed in Canada for two months and then in Korea for four to five days.

He said, “It was more difficult because it was during the pandemic. Only the actors took off their clothes for a while during filming and continued to wear masks. He had a supervisor, so he was helped. It was difficult because he didn’t have much acting experience, but the director made it possible for the actors to act in a comfortable environment. He allowed me to feel emotions naturally, so I was able to immerse myself in it. The director also acted together, so he understood the difficulties and uncomfortable parts of the actors, and Eden and Dohyeon also acted delicately and well.”

“Soyoung is a single mother and lived a life earlier than me. So she looked for music and movies in the 1970s and she tried to reference the era or women’s image at the time. The director also sent her a documentary about immigrants, so she referenced it, and she tried to find out and understand So-young’s growth period, which was not included in the film. She has never had a child, but the director gave her time before filming to get close to Hwang Eon-Hwang Do-hyun, who plays her son, and they naturally developed affection for her, and that was able to be captured in the film,” she explained. .

‘Rice Boy Sleeps’ is achieving 24 awards at film festivals and critics’ associations around the world. Choi Seung-yoon received her Best Actress Award at the Marrakesh International Film Festival in Africa, and she was nominated for the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards Acting Award, held on the 16th.

He said, “I couldn’t have imagined it. it’s still amazing My father likes it very much. At first, it was very uncomfortable for me to appear on the big screen.

I couldn’t concentrate because I looked like me and not So-young, but when I watched it for the third time, I was still separated from myself and I was able to follow the story of the movie. Even now, when I see the trophy, I feel strange.”Choi Seung-yoon, who showed off his versatile charm from being a dancer to an actor and director, said he wanted to take his time. Photo|Pan Cinema

Choi Seung-yoon, who started ballet at the age of 5 and graduated from the Department of Dance at Ewha Womans University, is a talented choreographer who has been invited to the National Contemporary Dance Company of Korea, Tanz Fabric in Berlin, European Rap Forum, and the Swiss Pavilion at the Gwangju Biennale. He debuted as an actor in 2015 through the web drama ‘Two Women Season 1’.

Afterwards, ‘DXYZ: Choi Seung-yoon Actor Making Project’, which was nominated for an Emmy Award in the short form series category, co-directed and starred in ‘I By You By Everyone’, a fictional documentary about the life of a dancer, and was invited to the 24th Busan International Film Festival. and was recognized for his competence as a director.

He said, “‘Two Women’ was produced and created by friends, and he asked if he could appear in it, so he did it. I couldn’t make money from performing, so I worked like a part-time job. It was fun working with my friends. Then, as I got used to the camera, I made my own work, and casting director Sue Kim saw it, so I accidentally auditioned for ‘Rice Boy Sleeps’. I came this far through a series of coincidences and opportunities biting my tail.”

dancers, actors, and even directors. He showed a multi-talented side, but said he had no plans for the future.

“There are currently no specific plans for directing. If there’s something I want to say someday, I might do it, but right now I don’t know. After ‘Rice Boy Sleeps’, I signed a management contract with an American company, and there are quite a few audition offers, but I don’t know what will happen. However, I hope that I can afford to fully enjoy the things life gives me.”

“’Rice Boy Sleeps’ is personally meaningful to me. It was my first feature film, and there is a sense of accomplishment that I tried a new art. At first, I thought it was an individual achievement and development, but movies are something to enjoy with the audience. When the audience shed tears and told me they had a good time, I think it was a challenge with greater meaning beyond individual achievements. In a way, acting is an extension and extension of the dance that I love. Our film is a story that even non-immigrants can relate to. I am excited and nervous about how Korean audiences will see our films. (laugh)”

[양소영 스타투데이 기자]

[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]