Driving the 'Misa' to 'Manager Kim' syndrome... So Ji-seob: "If they give me the Grand Prize, I'll take it, but I have no greed" [Interview 2]

*This content was translated by AI.

• Interview with actor So Ji-sub, who plays Manager Kim in SBS's Saturday-Sunday drama "Manager Kim"

Actor So Ji-sub, who created a new phenomenon with "Department Manager Kim," has shared his thoughts on whether he will win at the 2026 SBS Drama Awards.

So Ji-seob conducted an interview to commemorate the finale of the SBS Friday-Saturday drama "Manager Kim" (script by Nam Dae-jung, directed by Lee Seung-young and Lee So-eun) at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 30th.

The drama "Manager Kim," which concluded on the 25th, is a revenge action series about an ordinary father who becomes the most dangerous man in the world to reclaim his only daughter. According to Nielsen Korea, the final episode achieved viewership ratings of 23.4% in the Seoul metropolitan area and 23.0% nationwide. Notably, the peak rating soared to 27.1%, once again shattering its own record high.

So Ji-seop portrayed Manager Kim, a seemingly ordinary employee of a small and medium-sized savings bank who is actually an agent dispatched on numerous special operations, delivering a powerful performance.

Soo Ji-seop, who debuted in the 1997 SBS drama "Model," has met the public by appearing in numerous well-known works that are instantly recognizable by name alone, including the dramas "Square," "Doctor Lawyer," "Terius Behind Me," "Oh My Venus," "Sun of the Lord," "Ghost," "Road Number One," "Cain and Abel," "Sorry, I Love You" (hereinafter "MiSa"), "What Happens in Bali," "Thousand Years of Love," "Love Now," "Delicious Proposal," and the films "Confession," "Alien + Man," "Now You Are Going to Meet Me," "Ganghwa Island," "Sado," "Office Worker," "Only You," and "The Movie Is a Movie."

For him, the meaning of this "Manager Kim" is bound to be special. So Ji-seob said, "Many people have been calling me 'Manager Kim.' If 'Misa' opened the first page of my career wide open, I feel like the drama 'Manager Kim' will open the second page just as widely. It seems that from now on, I am more likely to be called 'Manager Kim' than 'Misa,' and he expressed his special affection for 'Manager Kim.'"

Given the remarkable viewership ratings, interest has already begun to focus on whether So Ji-sub will win an award at the '2026 SBS Drama Awards' scheduled for later this year. When asked about the Grand Prize, So Ji-sub replied, "I have no desire for awards. If I am given one, I would accept it, but I would prefer that the team behind 'Manager Kim' receives it rather than me personally. I hope those who worked with me receive the award instead of me. It would be enough if this helps make selecting my next project easier."

The chemistry between the three actors playing the "Manager Kim" trio — Choi Tae-hoon as Sung Han-soo and Yoon Kyung-ho as Park Jin-cheol — was also highlighted. So Ji-seob said, "Both of them are excellent actors, so I received a lot of help from them," adding, "When the three of us came together, we spent a great deal of time thinking about how to fully fill out each scene, and once filming started, we almost always got an 'OK' on the first take. The cage scene in the final episode was also shot after much deliberation, so it is one of my favorite scenes," expressing his satisfaction.

He added, "Yoon Kyung-ho talks a lot but uses his body very well. Choi Tae-hoon is good at acting by speaking in a calculated and coherent manner. When the three of them are together, they keep having conversations like 'What should we do? What should we do? What should we do?' It seems synergy has occurred," praising both Choi Tae-hoon and Yoon Kyung-ho. He then added with a joke, "(Yoon Kyung-ho) talks too much, and you never know what words might come out, so just in case, I told him to be careful until the drama ends," eliciting laughter.

How was the chemistry with actor Ju Sang-wook, who played Joo Kang-chan, his on-screen rival? So Ji-seob joked, "(Ju Sang-wook) seems to like getting hit," adding, "He took all the action with his whole body and ended up bruised everywhere. I truly believe it was a great collaboration."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.