My ultimate favorite who used to flash a killer smile has appeared as a 'murder' suspect.
On the afternoon of the 16th at The Saint in D-Cube City, Sindorim, Guro District, Seoul, Genie TV original drama "Idol Eye" held a production presentation. Director Lee Kwang-young attended the press conference along with actors Choi Soo-young and Kim Jae-young to talk.
"Idol Eye" is a mystery courtroom romance that unfolds when star lawyer Maeng Se-na (played by Choi Soo-young), a fan to the max, takes on the case of her favorite idol Doraik (played by Kim Jae-young), who is framed as a murder suspect. To uncover the truth, the "favorite" must hide her true feelings, and the innocent-proving romance of the "favorite" will deliver thrills amid cheerful laughter.
Through this role, Kim Jae-young is challenging an idol role for the first time. He said, "I didn't know about idol life, but while playing the role of Doraik in this work I did jacket shoots and recorded music, and I learned instruments, so I thought it was a very attractive profession," and added, "We filmed scenes of concerts and festivals, and being able to receive the audience's energy was so great. If I were reborn, I'd like to try being an idol once."
In reality, Soo-young is a top idol, but in "Idol Eye" she transforms into 11-year fan Maeng Se-na, a lawyer. About her relationship with Doraik, she said, "At the beginning of our drama, there's no one around who is certain Raik is not the perpetrator. But Se-na appears and defends Raik. What Se-na thought was that she physically cannot touch Raik and has never been in a deep relationship with him. Although she has never had a relationship with him, the fan-and-star relationship feels like one that can be 100% trusted. That seemed attractive to me."
Soo-young said, "So the relationship I think fans and stars have is one that can be fully trusted and supportive," adding, "When I chose and prepared for this script, the beings I thought of most were the fans. I tried to follow what that feeling might be. In the work there's a line under the stage that says, 'I just hope you're happy,' and the fact that someone fervently wishes for my happiness itself is very moving and heart-tugging," expressing gratitude to fans.
So did director Lee Kwang-young have reasons for casting Soo-young, a top idol, as an 11-year fan and lawyer, and Kim Jae-young, who has no idol experience, as a "visual center" idol? The director said, "When I saw Soo-young through media, I thought she would have a very haughty and intellectual image, but when I looked up old variety shows she was so funny. She's also very funny in person. The most important point of Maeng Se-na was the on-off. I wanted an actor who could go back and forth between a competent lawyer and an 11-year fan, so I clung a bit to Soo-young's pant leg."
About casting Kim Jae-young, director Lee Kwang-young said, "I had seen Kim Jae-young in genre works and thought he was mostly a composed, genre-style actor, but when I actually talked to him he was so lovable. He has a lot of aegyo, he's cute, and he plays a character who expresses emotions as they are. The actual Doraik character is also someone at the peak of idol status and had to be someone who expresses his emotions more honestly than anyone. So I thought Kim Jae-young should definitely do it, and he actually sings very well," he praised.
So what charm did fan Se-young find in Kim Jae-young? Soo-young said, "First of all, Kim Jae-young is such a good person. Whether it's his acting or his character, he doesn't seem to like pretension. So he always tries to act with sincere emotions, and even when I go to set having thought it through, seeing him act makes me think I can receive sincere emotions well, so I was positively influenced while acting."
She continued, "I couldn't easily imagine him standing on stage. Kim Jae-young has purity and honesty, and in some parts a fragility? a freedom? Those emotions over time became the most necessary elements when playing Doraik. He genuinely wants to treat people deeply, and that is Raik's free-spiritedness? fragility? yet there's also a tragic beauty. Finding it hard to imagine Raik on stage was a shallow approach. Kim Jae-young's facets are perfect for playing Doraik, so I can't imagine Doraik without Kim Jae-young," she lauded.
Kim Jae-young also spoke about chemistry with Soo-young, saying, "Soo-young is not only great at acting, but she makes people very comfortable. When I act, she adjusts so well that I can come out without thinking. That ability is outstanding and helps bring out my charm. It's so fun and makes me want to keep working with an actor like this; she's sincere about work and considerate of her co-stars," he said gratefully.
In "Idol Eye," Kim Jae-young plays Doraik, the visual center and main vocal of the popular idol band Gold Boys. Asked whether there was a group he used as a motive for this role, he said, "I referenced DAY6 a little. And because it goes back 10 years, I leaned a bit toward the feel of CNBLUE and FTISLAND."
When asked what "role" he would be if Kim Jae-young were an actual idol, he said, "I've only done center before, so I'd have to be the center," adding, "If I'm going to do it, I'd like to be the visual center."
When asked what role comes to mind when thinking of Soo-young of Girls' Generation and Kim Jae-young together, she said, "Kim Jae-young seems like that kind of character. He's not a character who openly does aegyo, but occasional actions make you fangirl; he seems chic but has a dog-like charm, acting very macho while a puppy-like side bursts out. And that person is more charming as a leader. He has leadership but is actually a bit clumsy, a character with a charm of contrasts," she said. Hearing this, Kim Jae-young said, "I like that a lot. I'd like to try being a leader," prompting laughter.
Although scheduling was not intended by the actors, Soo-young will compete in the courtroom genre with Jeong Kyung-ho, who is appearing at the same time in "PROBONO." As fellow lawyers, what differences did they try to give? Soo-young said, "First, the genres are different, and the dramas themselves are different, so I didn't deliberately think about differences. I've always wanted to try playing a lawyer. When I read the script it was fun, but there was also a pull in that it's a lawyer role."
She added, "And this drama isn't mainly about courtroom defense scenes. Rather than that, it's a drama that focuses on relationships and incidents that occur while together with Raik, so I hope you pay attention to that part. Memorizing legal terms was difficult, but I worked hard and produced it well," she said.
Soo-young said why she wanted to play a lawyer: "Because it's a job I'm doing for the first time, the idea that defending someone with words could determine victory or loss depending on how I do it was appealing." She mentioned a viewing point, saying, "When I read this script I was drawn to and found interesting the point that the fan hides that she is a fan. But when Raik becomes a suspect and they meet, Se-na feels that there is no one in this world who can defend him as well as she can. She knows him better than anyone and observed him closely. When she becomes certain he's not the perpetrator, Se-na's strength became an attraction to me."
Meanwhile, the Genie TV original drama "Idol Eye" will air Monday the 22nd at 10 p.m.
[Photo] Reporter Park Jun-hyung
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