CEO of Namoo Actors – Kim Jong Do answered an interview for the first time in 4 years.
Kim Jong Do is known as the founder and CEO of Namoo Actors, which is considered one of the companies that rookie actors want to join the most these days, as well as a best friend of the late actor Kim Joo Hyuk.
– What have you been doing?
“I’m doing the same thing. Home to the office and back home then to the office again. Last month, I took the Seohaean Expressway and enjoyed some fresh air on Joo Hyuk’s anniversary day. Kim Jun Ho, who was with us on ‘2 Days & 1 Night’, joined me so I was very happy. For the first time after a while, we were able to share talks about our acquaintances and Joo Hyuk. I miss Goo Taeng (Kim Joo Hyuk’s nickname)”.
– Many rookie actors these days want to join Namoo Actors.
“Who spreads such a rumor? But I hope it’s true (laughs). It’s been 18 years since I established Namoo Actors in 2004. Our company has become bigger and the staff also want to move to a better place, but doing that is not as easy as it sounds”
– Didn’t you make a lot of money?
“It’s true that our company has expanded, but I’m also a salaried worker. CEO Kim Dong Sik is in charge of the entire activities, while vice-CEO Kim Tan is leading the management and is in charge of Song Kang and Park Eun Bin. As a CEO, I have no power. My only job is spending all day long looking through scripts and scenarios.”
– What are the criteria for the selection of works for Namoo actors?
“What the actors want to do and what they can do well may be a little different, but the key is to narrow that gap. I recently watched ‘One Dollar Lawyer’ and felt quite disappointed because I think this work could have been more successful”.
– Park Eun Bin and Kang Ki Young are carrying out active activities overseas.
“Park Eun Bin was supposed to hold a fanmeeting after ‘The King’s Affection’, but it was postponed indefinitely due to Covid-19. As ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ gained so much love, I believed it would be a good opportunity for her to hold overseas fanmeetings, which is a project that we had planned for a long time. Kang Ki Young will also meet overseas fans in Osaka on November 26th”.
– What kind of person is Park Eun Bin?
“Looking at how Eun Bin lives, she is very kind. She is deep-hearted and nice. To put it in a word, she is a rational actor in everything.”
Park Eun Bin and Kang Ki Young signed exclusive contracts with Namoo Actors in 2015 and 2020, respectively, and took steps to achieve formidable results through “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”. Namoo proposed “Age of Youth” to Park Eun Bin, and since then, the company has steadily helped her build up a solid filmography with “Father, I’ll Take Care of You”, “Judge vs. Judge”, “The Ghost Detective”, “Stove League” and “Do you like Brahms?”, followed by two back-to-back hits, “The King’s Affection” and “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”. The motto of Namoo is to create good actors with long-term careers.
– How did you recruit Kang Ki Young?
“While watching Kang Ki Young’s entertainment show at home, I suddenly thought of Joo Hyuk. He has kind eyes, a bright image, and even a bit of sloppiness. I was acquainted with Ki Young’s wife, so I arranged a meeting with him because I heard that his contract with the former company was ending.”
CEO Kim then told a very important story. In the process of recruiting a new actor and parting ways with an actor whose contract has expired, various noises and speculations are bound to come out, so real management and business power will be exercised at this time.
He said, “Eun Bin and Ki Young’s success is also thanks to the managers who worked hard at their former companies, Keyeast and Yooborn, not just me and Namoo. I worked with Shin Se Kyung for nearly 20 years, and now I am at another company. But in my heart, I always cheer for Se Kyung like her manager. I only want her to walk on the flower path. That must be the heart of every manager.”
Source: Daum
