Lee Yeon-hee’s new ‘Race’ where acting is fun again [인터뷰]

An actor whose face has been mirrored since middle school got married before he knew it and became a married woman. As I ran wildly, I felt doubt and fear for the famous life that was my calling. At this time after 15 years of debut, interest in the acting profession arose again. This is a story about the actress Lee Yeon-hee, who showed a new side of herself through ‘Race’.

Disney+ original series ‘Race’ (script Kim Ruri, director Lee Dong-yoon) is a drama about Park Yoon-jo, who has no qualifications but joins a big company with passion, gets caught up in a recruitment scandal and struggling to survive. in a variety of working life.

Lee Yeon-hee takes on the role of Park Yoon-jo, a marketer who has nothing to offer, such as academic or family background, but is serious about his work. Park Yoon-jo, who worked at a public relations agency, joined Public Relations Team 3 at the Business Strategy Headquarters through a specific demonstration.

The plot, where the main character, who puts passion before the specs, grows while going through different things in the company, reminds me of the popular ‘Misaeng’ in the past. After the screenplay of ‘Race’ was released, many people compared it to ‘Misaeng’.

“I think it’s because a lot of people think of ‘Misaeng’ when they think of office water. After watching ‘Race’, they said it was fun in itself rather than saying it was remind them of another office water. I want to do that. lead and stand tall as ‘Ras’ itself.”

One of the features that differentiates ‘Race’ from other office products is Yoonjo’s personality. Yoonjo, born in the 1990s, gets rid of hardship and injustice with alcohol and prepares for tomorrow with great courage. As the so-called ‘candy-type’ protagonist, it is hard to see in current office work.

“Even though Yoonjo was born in the 90s, there are aspects of him that don’t seem like friends these days. Actually, the water in the office itself has a lot of reality, so if it looked too realistic, I thought the drama would turn. heavy We have light parts, and there are parts where three friends get together and think ‘let’s play and solve’. Indeed, the younger generation Just like I had a friend who grew up early and looked at society logically, I just understood Yoonjo .”

Lee Yeon-hee, who had never experienced corporate life, prepared the character Park Yoon-jo through various advice and materials. At the same time, I became curious about the publicity field, which changed the attitude of working on publicity.

“There’s a PR team around, but I didn’t know exactly what they were doing, so I asked the author about the data. I found a lot of help in reading the books recommended by the publishers. I was wondering if it was. I felt a great sense of achievement when I made a brand and let many people know about it. When I asked, ‘How are you?’, I thought if PR is going well, I have to do it anyway.”

Lee Yeon-hee, who started acting in the drama ‘Haesin’ in 2004, has already reached her 20th year. Even though she has been working constantly, Lee Yeon-hee honestly admitted that she was a little intimidated by the interest and attention that came with living as an actress.

“When I was young, I liked to dance in front of other people and show my talents, but there were times when I was a bit afraid of being noticed while doing this job. I thought I wasn’t born to do this job. But for 10 years, I think I just ran like crazy. It’s a job that requires effort, and it gave me experience, and I also wondered if I had the ability. I think I worked without thinking for 15 years. I was interested in it as a job and it was right I’ve been thinking about it for about 4-5 years? I don’t think it’s been that long.”

The change in Lee Yeon-hee’s attitude towards acting and the profession of an actor was the drama ‘King Lear’, which was presented in 2021. At that time, Lee Yeon-hee took the role of a clown in ‘King Lear’ and went on stage for the time being first. And through this, Lee Yeon-hee was able to find the joy of acting again.

“Before that, I was constantly running and worrying about whether I was right or not, but when I acted in a play, I think I went back to it when I liked acting for the first time and wanted to do that, it was thrilling and fun.

As I enjoyed acting, I naturally developed a desire for different jobs. The biggest criterion for Lee Yeon-hee’s selection of works is ‘sympathy’, but she did not hesitate to make an unconventional transformation as a villain. Through this, he also developed a desire to be recognized by those who watched his acting.

“Now, when it comes to choosing work, I think I choose works that I can understand and sympathize with. I want to try works that reflect reality. Work that expresses people from’ m surroundings or my neighbors, or sometimes that express subtle emotions. I want to try it. Also, I look good, but if I play a villain, I think it will be fun because there is a twist. I want to express my role well and become a ‘trusted treasure’ for everyone.”

Only 6 episodes have been released since ‘Race’, which was released on the 10th. Yoon-jo, who joined the company by specification, is about to go through a lot of suffering as the recruitment corruption scandal unfolds. Lee Yeon-hee foresaw Yoonjo’s change throughout the work and asked for a lot of viewing.

“Yoonjo starts talking more and more in a big company that is being suppressed. I hope you will see what the changes will be like. And as each episode goes on, each character, including Yoonjo, Jaemin, Guijeong, and Song team leader, it is explained.. Just like a location makes a person, everyone has their own worries. I hope everyone will sympathize and comfort the hardships in the work without bias.”

[저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]