Actor Lee Mu-saeng responded about "a good adult."
Lee Mu-saeng held an interview for the Netflix series As You Stood By at a café in Yongsan District, Seoul, on the 20th.
As You Stood By is the story of two women who decide to kill in the face of a reality they cannot escape unless they die or kill, who become entangled in an unexpected incident, and within three days of its release it entered the top 10 in 22 countries worldwide, including Korea, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, receiving strong praise at home and abroad.
In the drama Lee Mu-saeng played Jin So-baek, the head of a large food supplier Jin Gang Sanghoe and a reliable supporter of Eun-su (Jeon So-nee) and Hee-su (Lee Yu-mi), showing a powerful presence that overwhelmed the screen. Lee Mu-saeng emitted an untouchable aura with an unflappable expression and firm gaze in any situation, but he offered comfort in his own way only to Eun-su and Hee-su, remaining like a dependable pillar and portraying the image of a true adult, proving his chameleon-like acting ability with perfect character interpretation.
About the Jin So-baek he built, Lee Mu-saeng said, "Jin So-baek has a dark past. Since that incident, like the stopped clock that appears in the drama, his life seems to have actually stopped there. No one could get inside Jin So-baek, but after Eun-su and Hee-su entered, it seems to be a process of sensing change. He seems to have willingly helped because he could be with them. Because they became the trigger for him to take a step away from his trauma, on the contrary, I think Jin So-baek felt grateful to them."
Jin So-baek is a "kind man" to Eun-su and Hee-su while also showing a different side from the "kind man" in previous works. Lee Mu-saeng said, "Clothing and hair play a big part, and the director also said we should take Jin So-baek's mysterious feeling, so we were on the same page. For his first appearance the director suggested having long hair, and since it was a style I had never tried, I was worried but I trusted the choice. In developing the concept I felt a subtle point. Because the outfits and hairstyles felt like Jin So-baek, we concretized them, and while watching the character I thought the keywords were 'subtlety' and 'ambiguity.' Because Jin So-baek lived that way, I thought he would have a distinct personal style. I think the outfits and hairstyles that emerged after many attempts at that point were good, so I liked them," he said, explaining the points of change.
About the long hair that drew particular attention, he said, "It was my first time having long hair, so it took a lot of shampoo. I found myself unconsciously tucking my hair behind my ears and had to pay attention to many things. I realized how hard women work. I learned a lot from having long hair. Because there was a reason, people around me said they liked seeing a new side of me. I tried to grow it longer, but I didn't have time, so I used a partial wig. After it ended I didn't cut my hair immediately and kept it for a while. I didn't know what would happen in the next project, but because of scheduling I remember cutting it," he said.
Some viewers were worried that Jin So-baek might be a villain because of the villains Lee Mu-saeng had played before. On that, Lee Mu-saeng explained, "At first people thought he was a villain, but they said they were relieved. I think the director had his own intention and I tried to focus on what I thought was a kind of twist. Because of the villain images from previous works there might have been prejudice, but I thought the thrill would come from the twist that breaks that. I talked a lot with the director and the writer while acting."
So is Jin So-baek a good adult? Lee Mu-saeng said, "I don't know if Jin So-baek is a good adult. I approached him thinking Jin So-baek is just Jin So-baek. He lived a rough life in the past, and he had his own rules because of some major vicissitudes. To some people he may not be a good person. But the fact that he could change because of someone, that he was reminded of 'you' and 'we' rather than just 'me,' and that Jin So-baek accepted them makes me think it's a positive human direction before being a good adult. Rather than starting from the point of having to be a good adult from the beginning, I felt the message that even a somewhat lacking person with wounds can live again when they become you and we, not just me. Through Jin So-baek I felt that I hope people don't lock themselves up," he said.
He added, "The biggest question when dealing with Jin So-baek was 'what on earth is this person?' When his son died he must have thought the world no longer existed for him and that he had no one on his side. His lack of hesitation in any action could be the result of that. Living with a floating feeling, meeting Eun-su and Hee-su gradually created cracks in that life, and the points at which he became one with them made me break myself while watching this work and gave me the mindset that I could change."
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