Kim So-hyun, the lead actress of ENA’s Monday-Tuesday drama Between Steps, directed by Ahn Pan-seok, written by Min Hyo-jung, planned by KT Studio Genie, and produced by Studio Goti, recently sat down for an interview with Cosmopolitan magazine.
“When I first received the script, my initial thought was, ‘Could this character come across as a little unlikeable if I get it wrong?’ I shared my concerns with director Ahn Pan-seok, but he actually advised me to portray her exactly as she is. He said that the moment I tried to make her more appealing, Yujin’s individuality would disappear. So I tried to experience and portray Yujin’s emotions as honestly as possible,” Kim said. She continued, “Even I have aspects of myself that I don’t particularly like—personal insecurities that I never show anyone. Everyone has those sides to them, so I thought it was only natural that Yujin would, too. Rather than judging her by my own standards, I decided to accept her as she is and portray her that way. I think that helped make her a much more three-dimensional character.”
Kim is also an actress who frequently receives praise from co-stars and crew members who have worked with her. Asked why such positive stories about her continue to emerge, she explained, “Since this is a profession in which we are constantly being chosen for roles, even I sometimes wonder why people cast me. The first thing that comes to mind is that I may be a fairly steady and reliable person. Even when I feel extremely nervous or anxious, it doesn’t show much on the outside. I manage to remain calm in almost any situation, and I think people may appreciate that about me.” She added, “I’ve also built up quite a bit of experience over the course of my career, so perhaps the crew members feel reassured when working with me. Personally, I think those qualities may be part of why people like me.”
Kim was also asked about her on-screen chemistry with Choo Young-woo. “We’re actually the same age in real life, but in the drama, Minjae is Yujin’s senior, and she shows him a great deal of respect and follows his lead. So I thought it would be fine for us to maintain a little distance between us. If we became too close, our real-life comfort with each other might naturally seep into our performances,” she said. “We didn’t do that many rehearsals, either. The director preferred seeing genuine emotions and reactions emerge spontaneously in the moment. Fortunately, our chemistry worked really well. Even without discussing it beforehand, we naturally picked up on each other’s ad-libs. It was a really fascinating experience.”
Meanwhile, Between Steps tells the story of Park Minjae, a doctoral student who was a competitive swimmer in high school but lost one of his legs due to an illness, and Lim Yujin, a master’s student who lost her sense of direction in life before finding a new path.
Sources: Nate