Korean actress Lee Sung-kyung and actor Kim Young-dae are currently starring in the new drama “Shooting Stars” (“Sh**ting Stars”), which premiered on tvN on April 22.
The Friday-Saturday drama tells the story about people in the entertainment industry.
Lee Sung-kyung, who starred in the drama “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo,” essays the role of Oh Han-byul, the head of the PR team at an entertainment agency.
Kim Young-dae of “The Penthouse: War In Life” is top star Gong Tae-sung, who is Oh Han-byul’s natural enemy.
Lee Sung-kyung and Kim Young-dae talked about their roles and how they prepared for the drama.
Since the drama is similar to the real-life situation of the two stars, like working with staff, they were asked if they felt anything towards the staff around them.
“Maybe it was because I started to film this drama, (I thought) ‘What is that person sitting there doing?,’ ‘What is that person's role?’ I didn't know about them previously. I learnt a lot through this opportunity. To our PR team sitting with us here today, I’m also starting to feel very thankful. This drama had instilled a lot of such emotions in me,” said Kim Young-dae.
Lee Sung-kyung said, “I have worked for a long time with the people around me, some of them are still working, some have already left. We would talk to each other on any difficulties since we became closer than just work relationships, staying beside each other when we face difficulties.”
“A lot of such scenes flashed back in my mind; I have also taken them as references while acting. I didn't experience personally but indirectly beside them; I could relate to them. I'm glad that I could express them through my acting, not just for this occupation, I believe a lot of others could resonate too. This is possible to achieve too. I really like this part,” she added.
To prepare for his role as a top star in “Shooting Stars,” Kim Young-dae said, “Actually, I have learnt a lot from my seniors at the filming site. They all have their own comfortable pace of acting.”
“Since I'm not actually a top star in real life, I was a little unsure of what to do at the start, actually Han-byul helped me a lot. She told me a lot of stories which I can refer to, that helped me a lot. You could even tell the difference in the front part of the drama versus the back part, I have progressed while filming the drama,’ he said.
The 26-year-old actor added, “Apart from this, you mentioned that this is a flawless character just now, actually he has a lot of flaws. I have also worked on how to play out those flaws in an interesting way. It was easy, because I actually have a lot of flaws too. It was like expressing my original self in an interesting way.”
Kim Young-dae was noticed when he appeared in the drama “The Penthouse: War In Life.” He is now playing the lead role in “Shooting Stars” and said he felt a lot of responsibility.
“I was very nervous and insecure. To be honest, I felt a lot of responsibility and stress. But I saw it as a process that I must go through with my first lead role, so I accepted it as it was. It will become memories when I look back in future,” he said.
As head of the PR team in the drama, Lee Sung-kyung said, “There were a lot of existing references for Han-byul's character based on my experience so I didn't have to seek for extra advice, I already had a lot of materials to refer to.”
“There are a lot of people at my company whom I have worked with and got close to. I have heard a lot of stories from the senior female staff and their worries, although I didn't experience what they went through personally, I could resonate with them a lot. And I incorporated what I resonated with into my acting. It was fun, like my own story and experience. Playing this character brought me such a fresh experience,” the 31-year-old actress said.
About any similarity between her character and herself, Lee Sung-kyung said, “I like to resolve issues quickly and I feel the importance of it. From Han-byul's point of view, PR and crisis management need to be quick, I also think it's important to respond to issues quickly. I've always been doing so, I think the direction we work towards is similar.”
When asked what will they wish for if they see a shooting star in the sky, Kim Young-dae said, “‘Shooting Stars’ will be a hit. It's my personal wish. If I could wish for something else, I hope Covid-19 could end soon, I hope the world could be peaceful, I hope everyone could be happy. That's all from me.”
“Me too. I hope Covid-19 could come to an end, I hope the world could be peaceful. I hope everyone who watches our ‘Shooting Stars’ could be healthy and happy. Everyone please be healthy and happy, and watch our ‘Shooting Stars,’” said Lee Sung-kyung.