(Following interview ②) Actress Song Ji-hyo, who gave a powerful performance in the film 'The Savior', expressed affection for the variety show 'Running Man' that she has been part of for 15 years.
Song Ji-hyo held an interview on the morning of the 23rd at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. At the event, she talked about the upcoming release of the film 'The Savior' (directed by Shin Jun) and her recent activities.
'The Savior' is a mystery occult film in which miraculous things happen to Yeong-beom and Seon-hee, who moved to the blessed land of Obok-ri, and they come to realize that all of it is the price someone paid for misfortune. Kim Byung-chul, who received acclaim for the drama Goblin, Mr. Sunshine and Doctor Cha, plays Yeong-beom, and Song Ji-hyo, who has continued to be loved through the variety show Running Man, plays his wife Seon-hee. In addition, Kim Hee-ra plays Chun-seo, who lived in Obok-ri, heightening the mystery.
In particular, through Seon-hee in 'The Savior', Song Ji-hyo breaks the familiar framework of Running Man. Regarding Running Man, which began in 2010 and in which she has continued to appear, Song Ji-hyo said, "Our Running Man is now more than 10 years old. It's 15 years. I started at 30 and now I'm 45. As the members' age groups have passed together, a time will come when Running Man will be a memory, but until then it seems our duty is to do our best. We've done it so far, so why can't we keep doing it until the end? Even if the cartilage wears away, it seems we did it until the end. To be honest, I want to do my best until the very end. Doing my best will mean I have no regrets about the projects I'm doing."
So do Running Man members cheer on Song Ji-hyo every time one of her projects is released? Song Ji-hyo laughed and said, "When I filmed 'House of Meeting' they said I visited a prison, and since it was released two years later, they didn't know if that was what I was talking about then. It's the same with 'The Savior.' Rather than thinking about what work I filmed back then, if I say, 'Oppa, I'm doing promotions, it's coming out,' they accept it, but as for cheering me on, we're too much like family now."
Above all, she said, "Now I have accepted Running Man. Before Running Man, when I did projects, I did a lot of heavy and dark works. My representative work is Whispering Corridors and horror films, and 'Some' was also a thriller. Those kinds of works kept coming in. I thought, 'I can do bright things too.' There was also talk about my voice, so I thought my voice was both a weakness and a strength. That was 20 years ago. Back then people thought I should have a lively, mood-lifting voice to do bright roles. So I tried to change my voice, but a third voice came out. I endured, thinking I should make the most of what I can do as an advantage. It wasn't that I endured only with my voice; as I endured that time, by holding on through Running Man and showing many bright and positive sides, more bright scenarios came my way."
She continued, "As a result, I found myself returning to the dark genres I was familiar with. At some point I came to accept that this is me as well as that is me, and instead of choosing one, I decided to maximize my current strengths. If works arrive that want to see that other side of me, I'll try those too. Early on in Running Man, I wanted to show a darker side to those who only saw me as bright, but it took time for the two to coexist. Now they coexist so much that there's even a bit of Running Man on set. Now I seem to blend things and handle them skillfully. On set I can be brisk like on Running Man, and when acting I immerse myself in the character; when it's dark I concentrate, and that coexistence has made me who I am now. Time has taught me restraint," she said calmly.
For that reason, Song Ji-hyo now said, "I no longer distinguish scenarios. Rather than a desire to do a certain thing, when I read a script I look a lot at whether I can do it, how much I can express, and whether I have affection for it. Even if viewers think I might not be able to do it, if they give me the script even once, I would like the time to think about whether I can do it or not." She called 'The Savior' "a work that gave me a question mark." Song Ji-hyo added, "If she is an object of salvation, I asked whether one could lean on it enough to believe it; it also gave me an assignment. If Seon-hee changes because of some object and there is something someone shows before my eyes, I think I would be drawn in too."
'The Savior' opens on Nov. 5.
(Continued from interview ④).<
[Photo] Provided by Mindmark.
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