Actors who used to be popular singers are receiveing preferential treatment in the acting market.
The appearance of K-pop stars in the drama and movie markets is a quite tempting card. This is because the fandom of popular singers becomes a kind of “insurance” to expect a certain level of ratings, and the rise in the popularity of the work due to their appearance has a considerable promotional effect.
While the artists want to expand their activities through acting, the works sought favorable results from the singers’ appearance. Thanks to this, popular singers have already appeared in dramas (or movies) for a long time. However, despite the lack of acting experience, there were singers who made their debut as the main characters because they were popular, and eventually faced a backlash of “acting controversy.”
Since the acting skills of former singers have been on the cutting board of the public, most singers are starting their acting careers step by step from supporting roles. Apart from their career and popularity as a singer, they have deepened the perception that their acting skills as a “new actor” should be recognized by the public.
However, not all of the “K-pop effect” disappeared in the filming industry. The number of unconventional casts that take over leading roles has decreased noticeably, but more opportunities and preferential treatment are still provided to popular singers who want to try acting.
For example, popular singer A, who recently took on his first acting challenge through a TV drama, appeared in the work for a fee of 5 million won per episode. He has no acting experience since his debut. It is an exceptional treatment considering that he played a supporting character that does not have a large proportion of screentime.
In fact, the drama fee of a supporting actor with a similar acting experience to A is far below this. Of course, I agree with the opinion that A’s popularity and topic should be taken into account. His fee is also likely to have been set in consideration of this. However, we still need to wait and see whether A has affected the increase in ratings or the popularity of the work.
Most importantly, regardless of popularity and topic, A participated in the work as an actor. This kind of story is not limited to A. It is necessary to prove the result of one’s acting ability, not a self-comforting attitude such as “I added buzz to the work, so I did my part.“
Recently, it was reported that ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo was offered to appear as the main character of the Hollywood-Korean joint film “K-Pop: Lost in America” and is discussing it. Around the same time, it was reported that Jennie of BLACKPINK is also considering appearing in the HBO drama series “THE IDOL.” (Jennie is expected to star in a supporting role or cameo role.)
In the case of Cha Eun-woo, he has been acting in several dramas in Korea, but he has yet to completely remove the “idol actor” label that follows his acting skills. In addition, if Jennie’s appearance in “The Idol” is set, she will take on her first acting challenge since her debut in an American work. Of course, there must be a clear reason for their casting. However, it is difficult to avoid the view that their positions were obtained thanks to the “K-pop effect.” In the end, the only thing they need as actors to prove their legitimacy is “acting skill.”
Source: daum
