The beginning of actress Kim Ji-yeon <스물다섯 스물하나>(2022), if you think it is an endemic forest, you are mistaken. He debuted as WJSN’s Bona in 2016 and appeared in a drama the very next year. <최고의 한방>He made his debut as an actor. <오! 삼광빌라> <조선변호사> He built his filmography by fighting against himself with an overflowing competitive spirit and sincerity, and created a character with a strong will despite appearing weak. Eventually, eight years after her acting debut, she finally achieved the role of taking responsibility for the entire work. series <피라미드 게임>In the drama, Kim Ji-yeon played the role of Seong Su-ji, a high school senior who transferred to Baekyeon Girls’ High School’s second-year class 5. In her class, Suzy suffers from violence after receiving the lowest grade of F in the ‘pyramid game’ where outcasts are selected through voting. She not only escapes the outcast, but finds the mastermind behind the game, and she hatches a plan to destroy this bizarre system itself. however <피라미드 게임>Seong Soo-ji is neither a simple embodiment of revenge nor a hero. How will the complex and complex aspects of Seongsuji change this class in the future? We directly asked actress Kim Ji-yeon, who made our hearts turn to the difficult character of Seong Soo-ji.
– <스물다섯 스물하나> After a long time, I returned as a second year high school student. Made to wear school uniform again <피라미드 게임>What was the charm of ?
= The subject matter of the pyramid game itself had great freshness and was immersive. first half of last year <조선변호사>I first received the script when I was filming the historical drama “Ran”, and I read all four parts in the early morning in the car on the way to Seoul after finishing local filming. Crucially, I liked that the main character was smart and independent. She liked the fact that just because the female protagonist is in crisis, the prince does not come to pick her up, and in the end, she solves the case on her own. However, there was no mention of willingness to do it. This is because I was worried about whether I would really suit the character of Suzy. However, director Park So-yeon and writer Choi Su-i supported me, saying, “There was no other actor I had in mind for Su-ji other than Ji-yeon.” Thanks to that, I was able to gain courage.
– I think there must have been a lot of pressure because most of the fellow actors who played the roles of classmates were rookies in a big role whose name appears first in the credits.
= This was my first time playing such a significant role and being the ‘older sister’ on set, so I had no choice but to do so. It was a series of days where I asked myself, ‘Can I really do this?’ So, at the beginning of filming, I went into it with the mindset of not causing any inconvenience. But one day, the director said to me, “I hope Jiyeon can help me in many ways.” After hearing that story, I realized that what I had to do in this field was not just to do well for myself, but to make everyone do well together. From then on, I started talking a lot with my fellow actors and thinking about ways to lead everyone.
– Was there any difficulty in accepting the setting of the pyramid game?
= It was a barrier to entry. So the first thing I discussed with the director was about the setting. I remember saying that the priority would be to make viewers understand the pyramid game. From an acting standpoint, it wasn’t difficult because of the setting. <피라미드 게임>This is because the story takes place from the perspective of Suzy, who wonders why everyone is playing this game, and follows the confused emotions she feels.
– The format of this series is a narration that conveys Suzy’s inner thoughts. It must have been difficult because the narration serves as a guide for viewers entering an unfamiliar story and the length of the story is considerable.
= That’s right. It was really difficult in the beginning. For example, when narrating a scene where someone is being bullied, I couldn’t quite figure out whether to do it out of breath as if they were actually being beaten, or whether to go for a calm tone since it was just the sound of the heart. But is there anything else? Even if I wasn’t sure, I had no choice but to keep trying, and the more I got used to it, the more I got a feel for it. Since the role does not require brightness, I did not raise my voice tone and kept my original low tone. Considering the weight of the story, I consciously tried to tell it powerfully.
– According to her life records, Suzy is a girl with ‘very low interdependence and strong individualistic tendencies.’ How did actress Kim Ji-yeon interpret Suzy?
= A friend who is both good and bad, just and selfish at the same time. In other words, I saw Suzy as a character that is not fragmentary and can show various aspects of a person. So, I paid attention to controlling the tone to avoid highlighting only one side, and tried to reduce the emotion as much as possible. I also thought she was a person with a strong sense of independence that stemmed from loneliness.
– I think the fun of this series will be watching how far Suzy will climb and execute her plan.
= That’s right. I can’t go into detail because the work hasn’t been released yet, but there will be a huge battle of brains. Not only Suzy, but the entire class shakes their heads. As they form alliances to somehow survive, various relationships arise, and it is fun to deduce them. Even though I had a headache trying to figure out all the relationships. (laugh)
– Last February 25th was the 8th anniversary of your debut in the entertainment industry. How do you look back on the time you spent as a singer and actor in your 20s? I am also curious about what expectations you have for yourself in the future.
= I am proud that I lived really fiercely and hard. I looked only ahead and did my best with what was given to me. I think I finally have some time to look back on that time. From now on, I will try to differentiate between when I work and when I don’t, and listen to my heart about what I like and don’t like. As an actor, I would like to meet a genre that I have never done before, such as a disaster movie, or a character who says and acts in a way that I would not normally do. I’m not the type of person to plan ahead, but I think my future self will be enjoying the journey to find myself.
