Song Hye Kyo wouldn’t have been criticized as being too safe and boring if she had taken that role.
Song Hye Kyo is an S-grade actor with one of the highest payroll and is loved by many producers and directors. Throughout her career, she has refused many offered scripts, and “Hyena” is one of them. This is a drama series in which Joo Ji Hoon is the male lead, and the production team had wanted Song Hye Kyo to be their female lead. However, even when she had been on hiatus for 2 years at the time, Song Hye Kyo still refused to appear on “Hyena”.
At the time when Song Hye-kyo refused this drama, netizens have raised many suspicions on the reasons why she decided to lengthen her hiatus while her ex-husband was confirmed for movies and drama projects continuously. Some people guessed that Song Hye Kyo was still affected by the divorce so she didn’t want to accept that role. However, after “Hyena” was aired with its female lead played by Kim Hye Soo, fans realized that this character didn’t suit Song Hye Kyo at all.
Specifically, if Song Hye Kyo accepted the offer before the casting director brought Kim Hye Soo in, it could have become a memorable transformation in image for Song Hye Kyo. In “Hyena”, the female lead is a powerful and tough lawyer who is willing to do everything she can in order to win lawsuits, including immoral stuff, all because of money. Kim Hye Soo plays an extremely edgy, strong female character with multiple difficult action sequences. There are even scenes where she uses her teeth to fight with opponents. This is the kind of character that Song Hye Kyo has never tried before. As an actress who often refuses to step out of her comfort zone, constantly choosing safe characters through which she never has to turn “ugly” on-screen like Song Hye Kyo, the female lead of “Hyena” is perhaps beyond her capabilities. But thanks to Song Hye Kyo’s rejection that Kim Hye Soo could bag such an excellent role.
