'Bi-gwang' Ha Ji-won, Harsh Criticism of Swearing Performance: "Even Swearing Needs Maturation" [Interview ①]

*This content was translated by AI.

Actress Ha Ji-won revealed behind-the-scenes details about her challenge with coarse swearing in the film 'Bi-gwang'.

On the 25th, we met Ha Ji-won at a café on Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, to discuss various topics regarding the movie 'Bi-gwang' (directed by Lee Ji-won).

'Bi-gwang' is a heartfelt family chronicle by director Lee Ji-won of 'Miss Back', following top celebrity couple Jung-gu (played by Ryu Seung-ryong) and Nam-mi (played by Ha Ji-won), whose lives are upended when Jung-gu's daughter Dong-joo (played by Kim Si-a) suddenly appears. Eight years later, they risk everything to save Dong-joo from a shocking incident while uncovering the truth.

Although Ha Ji-won was a top star, she took on the role of Nam-mi, who falls from grace in an instant due to the sudden appearance of Dong-joo and now lives as a working-class entertainer.

Ha Ji-won, who has primarily portrayed strong characters in fantasy and action genres until now, stated that she was drawn to Nam-mi's more realistic life.

"I have played many strong characters in fantasy and action genres," she said. "But this time, what appealed to me was that the character is placed in a more real-life situation. Not only Nam-mi but also her family, and the lives of people living within that world felt incredibly vivid. I really wanted to work with senior actor Ryu Seung-ryong."

She also shared behind-the-scenes details about her harsh swearing performance in the film. Earlier, when director Lee Ji-won gave Ha Ji-won a score of "20 points" for her swearing acting, Ha Ji-won laughed and said, "I cannot agree with that score."

"I didn't even know that the director himself recorded the swear words during post-dubbing," she said. "I thought I did well. It seems I didn't realize that swearing also needs maturation since I had only recently started using them."

She continued, "Even with the same swear words, they seem to have different flavors. I wasn't just spitting out curses; I worked hard to deliver curses filled with resentment within the character's life. There is clearly a difference between long-matured curses and those practiced over a short period." She added with a joke, "I think the director felt that difference. Still, 20 points was too disappointing."

Ha Ji-won revealed that she repeated recording dozens of times for just one line of swearing during the post-dubbing process. She explained, "During post-dubbing, I recorded it dozens of times and selected the best take. I worked very hard because I believed that for Nam-mi, swearing wasn't just about using rough language but was an extension of a life where she had no choice."

She further added, "So even in scenes where the script didn't include swear words, I kept trying to deliver them naturally as if Nam-mi would have said them. I struggled to create expressions that were truly embedded in the character's life."

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

*This content was translated by AI.