Actress Park Eun-bin honestly shared her feelings and behind-the-scenes stories before and after appearing in “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”.
Park Eun-bin had an interview with Wikitree at a cafe in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul on August 22nd to share various stories about ENA’s drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo“.
“Extraordinary Attorney Woo”, which ended on August 18th, tells the survival story of Woo Young-woo, a rookie lawyer who has a genius brain and autism spectrum disorder, at a large law firm. “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”, which started in June with a rating of 0.95% (Nielsen Korea, based on paid households nationwide), recorded 17.5% nationwide in the last episode, achieving the merit of successful conclusion by breaking its own highest rating.
“Extraordinary Attorney Woo” gained explosive popularity with its solid story and actors’ impeccable performance. In particular, Park Eun-bin, who played the main character Woo Young-woo, was greatly loved by viewers for her detailed emotional expression.
“I was very confused when the media began to name me together with ‘syndrome-level popularity’. I was neither excited nor amazed by such things that happened to me. I just waited and saw people’s reactions as an observer. I don’t know how to describe this feeling.”
It is already widely known that Park Eun-bin rejected the offer of appearing in “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” several times. She said, “From the first time I read the script, I already thought that it would be a good work. Apart from that, I was scared about many things because this role was very difficult to play.”
“I didn’t refuse the casting offer because I was doing better, but I actually didn’t have enough confidence that I could perform well in this work. I was scared because I had no idea how to portray Woo Young-woo.”
Nevertheless, director Yoo In-shik and writer Moon Ji-won believed in Park Eun-bin and waited. In response, Park Eun-bin also decided to appear in the drama based on her trust in the two and challenged the role that she was afraid of. However, the autistic lawyer Woo Young-woo is not an easy character, so Park Eun-bin is known to have been very worried.
“I believed that I could play Woo Young-woo defensively if I focused on expressing the symptoms and behaviors that are often seen in an autistic person. I tried to take diverse approaches so that Woo Young-woo could be expressed to the fullest within the worldview of the drama.”
What was difficult while playing the role of a genius lawyer was the legal terms that required specialized knowledge and the amount of lines beyond imagination. Park Eun-bin confessed, “I felt like I was taking an exam every day for 7 months straight. There were many legal texts that were difficult to understand at once, so I thought I was studying for an exam.”
“It was very hard because I don’t have a genius brain like Woo Young-woo. My first homework was to get used to the large number of lines for Woo Young-woo. Memorizing is also a habit, and it took time to be formed. I wrote them all on A4 papers and tried to memorize them. I practiced this even on my days off.”
Regarding the love line with Lee Joon-ho (Kang Tae-oh), she wanted it to be transparent and harmless. However, some viewers wondered if a love line is necessary for a healing and growth drama. In response, Park Eun-bin said that the love line would have been necessary for Woo Young-woo’s growth.
“I personally thought about ‘Do a person grow only through love?’ in accordance with human society. The writer said similar things to me. She told me that it was a good growth when you can invite others who can fill you up to a world full of your individualities. I think it would be more meaningful for Young-woo to combine the world made up of ‘me’ and ‘you’, who knows ‘me’ and ‘yourself’ well, instead of living in her own world all alone.”
As much as Park Eun-bin did her best, the existence of the work “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” is very special to her.
“I did my best. That’s why I shed tears after a long time while saying my closing remarks. I was happy, and I felt a lot of sincerity when I worked together with such good people to create such a good series. I did my best, so I don’t want to go back even if someone tells me to. I don’t want to be dissatisfied as much as I did my best, even if it’s not proportional to my satisfaction.”
As soon as “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” ended, stories about season 2 flowed out. It is not a confirmed issue, but the production team is positively discussing season 2. In this case, Park Eun-bin expressed a slightly different stance from other actors, who mostly responded positively to season 2.
“No official plan has been made. I also heard the news through articles. As much as the drama is loved, expectations for season 2 are very high but I don’t think I can confirm anything at this time, considering whether I can show anything beyond that. I think it would be great to keep the image of Young-woo in a treasure box. If you ask me to open the treasure box again, I think I need a much stronger resolution than when I first decided to face Young-woo.”
Park Eun-bin, who debuted as a children’s clothing model in 1996, has accumulated various filmographies since then. She has already been an actress for 27 years, and she is receiving a lot of love through “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”. On September 4th, she will hold her first fan meeting since debut to meet fans.
“I feel so lucky being able to meet a work that could be loved this much even when I’m already over 30. I haven’t decided on my next project yet. I haven’t been able to take a good rest since I finished filming so I haven’t reviewed any new work. But I’ll be back with another amazing work.”
Park Eun-bin is not arrogant despite her popularity and the favorable reviews she received, but quietly walks her own path. Expectations are high on what kind of work she will come back with.
Source: wikitree
