'Final Interview' Star Kim Jae-won, Passion for His First Screen Debut: "Lost 6 kg and Even Filmed Without Makeup" [Interview ①]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Actor Kim Jae-won shared his impressions of debuting on the big screen with the film 'Final Interview' and the challenges he faced during the acting process.

On the 3rd, at a cafe in Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, we met with actor Kim Jae-won from the film 'Final Interview' to discuss the work.

'Final Interview' is a story about six candidates who gather for a final interview and discover mysterious envelopes containing each other's confessions, leading them to suspect one another and fall into confusion.

In the film, Kim Jae-won plays Han Jin-woo, an idealist who approaches the world with an open mind, steadily portraying the confusion experienced between trust and suspicion in people while guiding the emotional arc of the drama.

On this day, regarding his impressions ahead of his first film release, Kim Jae-won said, "I am very nervous. It is my first film, and it is a work that challenges a new genre, so I worry about whether I can approach the audience convincingly," adding, "It is a complex feeling where nervousness and excitement coexist."

He then explained the reason for joining the project: "When I first received the script, I heard that casting for other actors was already underway. Above all, the immersion provided by the script itself was very good." He continued, "I personally had a desire to challenge myself with a film, and if it were a tense script, I thought I could try a new challenge as well. I chose the work with that honest mindset."

In particular, since this is his first screen debut, he considered an acting style different from that of television dramas. Kim Jae-won laughed and said, "Seeing myself on the screen, there were parts that felt a bit awkward," adding, "I tried to approach it with a different sensibility than when filming dramas."

He stated, "I thought that while dramas require sustaining emotions over a long span, films need to capture characters within a relatively compressed timeframe. Especially since we face the audience on a large screen, I felt that even a small movement could be seen greatly," adding, "So I tried my best to portray the character with restrained expression."

This concern continued in the process of playing Han Jin-woo in the drama as well. Kim Jae-won explained, "When I first read the script, I thought it would be a very difficult character to act. While every character has distinct purposes and emotions, I felt that Jin-woo is someone who does not easily reveal such emotions on the surface," adding, "In that regard, I thought restrained acting was particularly necessary."

He continued, "Especially since it is a film where identifying the culprit is important, the director sometimes said he would like me to look like the culprit. There were also times when he requested an unreadable expression," adding, "It seemed he wanted me to appear endlessly affectionate in tender moments, but as if there was another side hidden behind my kind face."

He added, "We had many discussions on set with the director about how to express the affection Han Jin-woo possesses and the complex emotions hidden within it."

To portray the character's change in the latter half of the film, he also put effort into external aspects. Kim Jae-won explained, "In some scenes, I did not wear makeup at all. My actual skin tone is on the darker side, but for the interview scene, I wore makeup about two tones lighter than usual and styled my hair. On the other hand, after getting hurt, a much more natural look was needed."

He continued, "I had a strong desire to give my best to this film. So I minimized my lip color as much as possible and also went on a diet. I lost about 5 to 6 kg in weight, which was a huge change for me since I have a high basal metabolic rate," adding, "If you compare the early and late stages of filming, it seems the changes due to weight loss are visible."

He added, "I also reduced my water intake because I wanted my face to look a bit more flushed," sharing the effort he put into realistically expressing the character's transformation.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original