(Interview ② continued) Actress Oh Se-young, who gave a passionate performance in The Judge Returns, cited senior actor Cho Seung-woo as the reason she dreamed of acting.
The MBC Friday-Saturday drama The Judge Returns concluded with episode 14, which aired on Jan. 14 (final episode). The Judge Returns is an adaptation of a popular web novel of the same name into a drama, a return-to-the-past justice-revenge drama in which corrupt judge Lee Han-young, who lived as a slave to a powerful law firm, returns to 10 years earlier and punishes great evil through new choices. In this, Oh Se-young played Lee Han-young's wife, Yoo Se-hee.
From her previous work Lovely Runner to the "Third Marriage" that led her to The Judge Returns and back to her 2018 debut drama The Beauty Inside, Oh Se-young has nurtured her dream of becoming an actor without pause since childhood. The decisive moment that gifted her that opportunity was Cho Seung-woo.
Oh Se-young said, "Watching senior Cho Seung-woo's acting in the film Marathon, I didn't know anything about acting before that. I didn't even know how films worked. But at the time, seeing the story and the seniors' acting, it felt like a real story. I accepted it so realistically, like watching a documentary, I cried so much and was so moved. After that I learned what acting was and it was shocking. I realized that acting is such an extraordinary profession. I was so influenced and moved at the time. So I realized how powerful acting can be. Then I wanted to try dreaming of being an actor."
After that, through vague dreams she attended acting school and graduated from Chung-Ang University's department of theater, with strong support from her family. In particular, Oh Se-young said, "My parents always try to support the direction I want. Though it might have felt like an uncertain career and art can be an unstable profession, they always worried a lot but still supported me. After this project aired, they were proud, not only of me but because they enjoyed the work itself, and they always felt proud."
Having worked again with producer Lee Jae-jin on The Judge Returns after the Third Marriage, she said she wanted to repay that trust. Oh Se-young said, "Because they trusted me and cast me again, I wanted to do my best prepared self. Fortunately, Se-hee received a lot of love, and I think I was able to show the director that the choice was not wrong, so I feel relieved," she said with a smile.
Now Oh Se-young said she dreams of following the example of role models she observed on set, including Cho Seung-woo and Jisung as well as Ban Hyo-jung and other stellar senior actors. She said, "I want to be an actor people want to see again, miss and want to work with. The thing that resonated most while doing this project is that I'm most curious and excited about what comes next. I want to be someone people are curious about once more and want to see again," she said, her eyes shining.
He said, "I hope you continue to look for me. I want to repay those who came looking for me. I am very grateful that so many people showed interest in and loved The Judge Returns. Thanks to that, I felt excited and happy throughout the broadcast, to the extent that it felt especially short. I thank the viewers for making me feel that way. I want to tell those who worked hard with me to feel as happy and appreciated as I do and that they did a great job. As many people remember this work fondly, I want to continue to show even better sides of myself going forward."
[Photo] Billions, provided by MBC.
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