Actor So Ji-sub talked about his new movie “Confession”, which will premiere on October 26th.
Interview M recently met with So Ji-sub, who challenged a thriller movie for the first time with “Confession”. So Ji-sub appears as Yoo Min-ho, a promising businessman who suddenly becomes the only suspect in Kim Se-hee’s locked-room murder and is on the verge of losing everything he has accumulated so far. Playing this character, So Ji-sub showed a new appearance by expressing complex feelings, ranging from sincere and confident looks to anxiety, anger, and desperation of unfairness, with his dense manner.
In fact, the movie, which was completed two years ago, won Best Director (Directors Week) at the Fantasporto – Oporto International Film Festival. Apart from being selected as the closing film at the 24th Udine Far East Film Festival, “Confession” was also invited to Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland and Fantasia International Film Festival in Canada, receiving favorable reviews overseas. Revealing some behind-the-scenes stories about his participation at overseas film festivals, So Ji-sub said, “I was going to go together with ‘Confession’ team to the film festivals but couldn’t go because the schedules overlapped with the promotion of ‘Alienoid’. The movie has achieved a lot of achievements, but the director is quite shy so he didn’t talk or brag about it. I actually got to know about those achievements from articles.”
So Ji-sub revealed he found the scenario very impressive, but only decided to appear in it after the meeting with Yoon Jong-seok and gaining trust in the director and the work. The actor said, “I can feel that he had prepared for this movie for a long time. I asked a lot of questions during our meeting, he accurately calculated and described all the scenes and emotions without hesitation. He also wrote me a separate letter and introduced the movie in detail so I gained more faith. Even during our filming, he often said ‘One more spoon, one less spoon’, calculating the emotions thoroughly enough. I gained more trust in the director throughout the filming process”, introducing Yoon Jong-seok’s working style.
There are various kinds of locked-room murders, but this work deals with one that happens in a space-limited place, which is an isolated villa. So Ji-sub said, “There were a lot of filmings in confined spaces. There were the hotel room where the murder takes place and the spaces inside the villa. The frustration of acting in small spaces helped me act better. We didn’t act comfortably. Since each of us has a secret to hide, every move and every gesture we made was very important”, revealing how the environment affected his acting performance.
So Ji-sub delivered the meaning beyond the lines with subtle expressions rather than words and controlled the viewers’ emotions. He said, “I’ve never acted with such nuances. When I saw my face that came out at the beginning of the movie, I felt a little unfamiliar even though it was my face”, expressing his satisfaction. He continued, “Before the shoot, I read the script with the director many times and removed a lot of unnecessary lines. In the original scenario, Yoo Min-ho was very talkative, but then all the lines that could sound like excuses were removed. After changing the script with me, the director met Kim Yoon-jin and re-organized it then did it one more time with me. The process was repeated several times and after removing all the unnecessary parts, we only filmed the necessary ones. Other actors also focused on that and that helped me a lot”, revealing the secret of how he was able to create scenes that can raise the audience’s imagination to the highest level.
As for the ambulance scene that confuses the viewers the most, the actor said, “I thought I might cry even though it seemed like I was laughing. It was a scene containing complex emotions, ‘How did I even get here?’, ‘Am I doing well?’… There were several funny versions, but the director adjusted everything so well.”
So Ji-sub also praised his co-star Kim Yoon-jin’s acting, saying “She’s a really hard-working senior, and she memorized the entire script. She has been acting for so long, but I was surprised that she was still doing that. Most of the time, I faithfully prepare for what I’m going to film on that day, but everything was in her head from the start to the end. I was very shocked and got motivated a lot. I felt that I would be pushed back if my preparation was a little poorly”.
In addition, So Ji-sub also praised Nana. Calling her an amazing actress, he said, “We all think the same. You’ll see Nana’s new side when this movie is released. I was completely immersed in her eyes when she was acting. I got confused when acting various situations in the same space, but Nana was not embarrassed when she heard the director’s words and did it like the way she said, ‘Yes, I’ll try that’. When acting together, there are actors who only give and those who only receive, but Nana is an actor who knows how to do both.”
When asked if he had any prejudice that Nana was an idol-turned-actress, So Ji-sub revealed his past as an experienced singer who released 9 hip-hop albums, saying, “I’ve acted a lot with idols, and I don’t have any prejudice about that in the first place because I sometimes do musical activities.”
So Ji-sub, who recently appeared on the entertainment program “You Quiz on the Block” and said that he is steadily releasing albums for fans, confessed, “I really make albums for fans. At first, fans hated hip-hop, but now they play together with me.” He made everyone look forward to future fan meetings, “I do it because I like it, but I never did it as a joke. If I have a chance to meet and communicate with fans, I think I’ll make a new song again.”
So Ji-sub, who has been acting for a long time, said, “People who believe in me until the end and my loving family are the driving force behind my activities.” He signaled that he will communicate more actively with fans and the public from now on, “I don’t know from when, but it doesn’t seem like I’m working to be more successful. I feel better when I see the staff and fellow actors I worked with doing well. I think this change is possible as I get older. Marriage can be a reason, and the fact that I couldn’t work as I used to because of COVID-19 could also be a reason. There may be complex reasons, but I’m trying to break the stereotyped image and try to do it differently than before.”
So Ji-sub, who recently opened an Instagram under the name of “Soganzi”, was welcomed by fans by posting his past photos. He revealed the concept of his Instagram, “I’m thinking about whether to post something interesting or something normal. I started it because I was sorry to my fans, not because I’m not good at expressing myself or I do a lot of works. So I’m thinking of not only posting cool pictures, but also posting ugly ones and having fun together with fans.”
Regarding getting older, So Ji-sub said, “It’s great. As an actor, I’m at a slightly ambiguous age. I’m a little young to play fathers and I’m too old to act young, so I think I’ll be able to do anything freely when I’m older.” Viewers are looking forward to seeing another side of him in the future just as he showed a new image in “Confession”.
So Ji-sub, who is very happy to be able to release the movie “Confession” after 2 years, urged prospective audiences to visit the theater, “I hope you watch a lot of Korean movies even if it’s not ‘Confession’ at the theater. It’d be nice if you could watch ‘Confession’, but more than that, the revival of the entire Korean film industry is needed.”
The movie “Confession” depicts a story about Yoo Min-ho (So Ji-sub), who has been pointed out as the culprit of a locked-room murder, and his lawyer Yang Shin-ae (Kim Yun-jin) approaching the truth. It will be released on Oct 26th.
Source: nate
