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INTERVIEWKim Hee-sun: From teen commercial star to versatile actress

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Kim Hee-sun played double roles in the fantasy series
Kim Hee-sun played double roles in the fantasy series "Alice." Courtesy of Hinge?Entertainment


By Lee Gyu-lee

Nearly three decades have passed since Kim Hee-sun ― who was still in high school at the time ― first set foot in the entertainment industry in 1993, with a TV ad that immediately made her a star.

Starting from a young commercial star, Kim has since become one of the most beloved and prolific actresses, appearing in more than 30 films and TV series, including "My Fair Lady" (2003), "Faith" (2012) and Jackie Chan's 2005 film "The Myth."

Kim, 43, now the mother of an 11-year-old daughter, believes her career is far from over and, with her role as a parent and a wife, it can expand to other areas she would not have taken on many years ago.

"I want to show different sides of me (to my fans) through playing diverse roles. I want people to think, 'oh, I didn't know Kim Hee-sun could do that," Kim said during an online interview with The Korea Times.

That mindset brought her to a main role in the sci-fi series "Alice," which recently ended with a 9.1 percent viewership rating.

The time travel-themed show tells the story of reserved detective Jin-gyeom (Joo Won) who uncovers the truth of a time-traveler group as he tries to find his mother's killer.

Kim plays a double role ― as genius physicist Tae-yi, who helps Jin-gyeom solve the mystery of the machine and his mom's case, and as his mom Sun-young, a time traveler who holds the key to the time machine.

"Playing a double role was difficult," Kim said."For a few of the scenes, I had to switch into another character in such a short time. And if I only had little more time in between, it would've been better to focus (on each character)

"If I failed to perform both roles well, I was worried that it could put a blot on my career … My high expectations for the series and myself made it even more challenging."

For some action scenes, the series required her to kick, jump and fight with swords ― which she had never done ― and she pulled it all off. Kim says she is happy with the final result.

"I think it's the perks of fantasy genre works… they are so hard to act but are so interesting and pay off (to see the final product)," she said. "And the action scenes, I was surprised to see how they came out so nicely with sound effects and graphics."

Kim says she discovered the fun of performing the action scenes and expressed hopes of more roles in action films and TV series.

Scenes from the TV series
Scenes from the TV series "Alice." / Courtesy of SBS

Kim, who married in 2007, said she used her experience as a mother to play Sun-young.

"I imagined what it would be like to leave my daughter after I die, and how I would feel," she said. "So I would tear up just looking at Joo Won, and would get really emotional."

To play Jin-gyeom's mother and his partner ― who develops a romantic relationship with him ― on the same day, Kim said she tried hard to immerse herself in each character.

"When I dressed up like Sun-young, the way I looked at Joo Won was different (than when dressed as Tae-yi)," she said. "Joo's character gives up his mother's possessions to save Tae-yi. So, as Tae-yi, it was more of feeling appreciative (rather than a romantic feeling) to see him sacrifice for her."

When she finishes a big project, Kim says she tries to find something new to do, something she can enjoy until her next movie or TV show. And this time, it is YouTube.

"It's a wild idea (of opening my own channel)," she said. "But I know a lot of hidden restaurants, like the ones that are not on the map and don't even have signs. I think it would be interesting to share videos of me introducing these spots."
Lee Gyu-lee gyulee@koreatimes.co.kr


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