Actor Lee Chae-min shared his thoughts on dramatically joining Bon Appetit, Your Majesty.
On the morning of the 30th at a café in Gangnam District, Seoul, a wrap-up interview was held with Lee Chae-min, the lead actor of the tvN weekend drama Bon Appetit, Your Majesty.
Based on the popular web novel "Surviving as Yeonsangun's Chef," Bon Appetit, Your Majesty is a survival fantasy romantic comedy in which a chef who time-slips to the past at the peak of his career meets the worst tyrant and a king with absolute taste. In the series, Lee Chae-min played the Joseon monarch, Yeonhui-gun Lee Heon.
Originally Park Sung-hoon had been cast as Lee Heon, but he dropped out just before filming amid SNS controversy, and Lee Chae-min was hastily cast right before shooting. Asked for his thoughts, Lee Chae-min said, "I am always very happy to be cast in any project, but this one was especially significant for me, and it would be a lie to say I didn't feel pressure. I tried to prepare and do my best in such a short time, and I'm grateful that many people recognized my efforts and feelings. That part is precious."
Lee Chae-min was cast with less than a month until the first shoot. Asked why he decided to join despite the tight schedule, he said, "At first I suddenly received a meeting proposal and had the meeting, and actually I was a fan of director Jang Tae-yu. I told him that at the meeting. I said, 'Director, I'm a fan. I'm happy just to have this meeting.' I was such a fan of director Jang that there was even more reason not to turn down this project, and I read the script and found it very fun and to my taste. It was so fun. But I felt I really had to work hard for the role. I went in with pressure, expectation and excitement."
When asked what he prepared for the role in the short time, Lee Chae-min said, "I was given about a month, so I tried to do my best within that time. I went to horseback riding and calligraphy academies several times a week to learn as much as possible quickly and asked a lot of questions on set. That helped me build a foundation, and I kept repeating practice before shooting. In doing so, I learned a lot on set. I actually didn't know if I could ride well, and although there were stunt doubles during filming, when I had to do it myself I improved by doing it in real situations. Toward the end I rode well on my own and felt a bittersweet 'Why am I riding well only at the end?'"
Because Lee Heon is set up to dance the Cheoyongmu well, he practiced dancing a lot. Lee Chae-min said, "I did perform the Cheoyongmu. Of course there were doubles for more graceful lines. I'm not originally good at dancing. I'm clumsy. So I think I worked harder on this than on other things. I practiced more with my teacher at the academy, and I kept practicing on set. I asked the doubles how to make the lines more beautiful and graceful, and I think that helped."
In particular, Lee Chae-min received a lot of praise that his acting improved sharply compared with previous works. He said, "I worked hard on every project. Because this one had such a short time for me, I felt an obsession and responsibility that I had to do it within this time. I reduced sleep to study, watched many reference videos when available, kept reading the script and tried different ways of speaking. The director called me in often for group readings. In the early stages of shaping the character, it wasn't only my effort; the director, senior actress YoonA and other seniors and colleagues helped a lot. Because of that, I think I was able to shape a character that could be filmed to some degree in a short period."
He added, "Regarding vocalization, I had been attending a vocal training academy for four years. It's a place I've attended continuously. Considering the genre and the role, I think many people recognized the points I learned."
When asked whether the many praises for this work would become a greater burden in choosing his next project, Lee Chae-min honestly said, "That's the biggest concern." He said, "So I'm being more careful choosing my next project. I'm trying to think carefully about characters I can do well, and I will have to work harder. These days I think I need to make even more effort going forward." (Interview part 2 to follow.)<
[Photo] Baro Entertainment
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