“Dream” Park Seo Joon, “I tried to be less stubborn to understand and digest the directions of director Lee Byeong Heon”
Park Seo Joon revealed his experiences of working with director Lee Byeong Heon in “Dream”.
Actor Park Seo Joon recently joined an interview and answered questions related to his upcoming work, the movie “Dream” directed by PD Lee Byeong Heon. “Dream” tells the story of conceptless former football player Hong Dae (Park Seo Joon) and passionless PD So Min (IU) challenging impossible dreams with a national football team consisting of homeless people.
Park Seo Joon talked about working with director Lee Byeong Heon, who successfully created “Extreme Job” with his unique directing style and attracted 16 million viewers. He said, “Actors Hong Wan Pyo, Yang Hyun Min, Heo Jun Seok, etc. have already worked with director Lee Byeong Heon for a really long time, so I asked them for their know-how. I asked for their tips on how to do well in a movie directed by PD Lee Byeong Heon. They told me that the director is a genre himself, and it’s more important to understand his intentions and digest his directions well rather than be stubborn and insist on my ideas or acting style. It was not easy at first, but I tried to get used to it in my own way.”
Describing PD Lee Byeong Heon’s directing style, Park Seo Joon said, “After filming a scene in one take, the director gives feedback on my speed and feeling when saying the lines. At that time, I tried to find or feel the director’s intention. He would even act out the lines himself to explain his ideas, and although his voice and face were different from mine, I could feel the changes in my performance after receiving his directions.”
He continued, “Although delivering lines is important in scenes and with roles that have many dialogues, it can be boring or interesting depending on the speed and rhythm of the line performances. I thought a lot about matching the director’s directions and put a lot of effort into my acting. I think I learned how to work with the director better through this project. This could become a weapon for me, and I can use it in other works as well”, revealing what he gained from digesting a movie with Lee Byeong Heon’s unique directing style.
When asked if he had ever felt frustrated because he could not act with his own opinions and styles he prepared, Park Seo Joon said, “At first, I expressed my own ideas, but there were many times when I had to follow the director’s viewpoint since he looked at the entire picture rather than just from the view of my character. Senior actors told me that director Lee has a wide strike zone, and the range to get an ‘OK’ from him is very wide. He gave clear directions on what he wanted to see, but he also let the actors do whatever they want in scenes that allowed free acting. For example, there was no direction given for the scene where I visit my mother. I could feel that director Lee is very good at adjusting the overall production.”
When asked if there has been any change in the way he approaches a character since his debut 12 years ago, Park Seo Joon said, “Nothing has changed. I think it is the actor’s job to fill in the empty spaces after understanding the setting and scenarios of the script. However, these days, I try to feel or think of various things to change while shooting. I try to feel more emotions because they seem to bring more liveliness to my acting performance.”
Source: Daum
