“Want to Bet? You Won’t Become an Actor”: Go Kyung-pyo Exposes Abusive Director
Actor Go Kyung-pyo (34) shared behind-the-scenes stories of his past auditions
On the 21st, a video featuring guest Go Kyung-pyo was released on BigBang member Daesung‘s YouTube channel ‘Dae House.’
In the video, the production team mentioned, “In the behind-the-scenes footage of the drama ‘Reply’ series, director Shin Won-ho said, ‘I wish you would lose some weight,’ and you actually lost a lot of weight. It showed how desperate you were.”
Go Kyung-pyo, who appeared in the role of Sun-woo in ‘Reply 1988’ in 2015, had previously auditioned for ‘Reply 1994’ in 2013, where he first met director Shin Won-ho.
Reflecting on that time, he confessed, “I have something to apologize to director Shin Won-ho for. During the auditions for ‘Reply 1994,’ I was really arrogant. I was frustrated with how things weren’t going my way and thought, ‘Even if I audition and act here, they won’t pick me.’ I had this misconception that they wouldn’t like me no matter what.”
He added, “The director even asked our company representative if I was mentally okay because he was concerned.”
Go Kyung-pyo then shared what changed his mindset, “When I realized how tough reality was, I understood how happy acting made me and how fortunate I was to get audition opportunities. I felt ashamed of myself and wanted to act well. From then on, I approached auditions with a desperate attitude.”
He reunited with director Shin Won-ho during the auditions for ‘Reply 1988’ and recalled, “The director noticed my change and asked, ‘What happened during that time?’ I replied, ‘I really want to act.’ But the director then commented, ‘Well, but your weight…’ which made us laugh.”
Daesung pointed out, “Your mind came back, but your weight didn’t. So, weight was the issue.” Go Kyung-pyo recalled, “I starved myself and worked out really hard because I wanted to be part of that project no matter what.”
When asked if he ever cried after auditions, Go Kyung-pyo admitted, “I’ve cried both when things went well and when they didn’t.”
He shared a shocking experience, “There was a time when a director had no reaction to my audition. But as I was leaving, he stopped me and asked if I would play a corpse. I was 20 at the time and said I would. When he asked why, I said I wanted the experience and to learn on set. He then told me, ‘I’m not here to give you experience. Get out. Want to bet? You won’t become an actor.’ It felt like he was taking out his stress on me.”
Discussing the difficulties of auditioning for different roles, he said, “It’s not about the director being good or bad. They look for actors who fit a specific style they have in mind. It’s just that there are many applicants. It’s not because I lack talent or because I’m inadequate. I hope everyone remembers this and keeps practicing sincerely. I believe everyone will get their chance eventually.”
Go Kyung-pyo recently finished filming the JTBC drama ‘No Secrets’ on June 6 and is currently active with Baek Jong-won on tvN’s Sunday variety show ‘Backpacker 2.’
