(continued from interview②) 'Honour' Lee Na-young spoke about acting chemistry with fellow actors including Jung Eun-Chae and Lee Chung-ah.
On the morning of the 11th at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, a wrap-up interview was held with Lee Na-young, the lead actor of the ENA Monday-Tuesday drama Honour.
Honour is a heated mystery pursuit about three female lawyers who confront a past that has returned as a massive scandal head-on.
In the drama, Lee Na-young played Yoon Ra-young, a celebrity lawyer who is the external messenger of L&J (Listen&Join), a law firm specializing in defending victims of sexual crimes, and she shared a close chemistry with Jung Eun-Chae (as Kang Shin-jae) and Lee Chung-ah (as Hwang Hyun-jin). The three are friends of 20 years, and after the sexual assault Yoon Ra-young suffered in college, they formed an even stronger bond and try to protect each other.
When asked about her chemistry with Jung Eun-Chae and Lee Chung-ah, Lee Na-young said, "It was very good. They are actors I had supported and liked before, but since we were meeting for the first time in this project, it felt novel. Everyone is shy, so at first we were careful during readings and when we met. We were more cautious because we didn't know each other's styles or how we would converse. The director worried that if we tried too hard to act like 20-year friends and suddenly became close, it would look forced, so I suggested we rehearse a lot in our own spaces. I thought that might make things more natural on set."
She explained the process of becoming close, saying, "Like in melodrama, if you try to force closeness it shows, so we did many readings. The director postponed set filming by a month. Before that, we filmed mainly scenes showing each of us at work in our parts. Even though we couldn't meet well for a month, we spent that month acting as the characters, so a sense of camaraderie had already deepened and it felt like we didn't have to force it. I thought this would carry us through to the end."
She continued, "Their personalities are all very deadpan. The three's conversations feel like the conversations of fools. They are realistic conversations about what they ate, how they felt, and where something hurts. 'Where was it tasty,' 'what's around here' — just those kinds of conversations. Honestly, in the final episode's ending when the three link arms and walk, their exchange was 'What are we going to eat?' 'Is there a jjamppong place?' They kept talking about lunch menus like ventriloquism while laughing,' and she added, "I usually like food. I eat well. When the two ask, 'You ate that and your stomach doesn't show?' I even show them my stomach," showing off their natural chemistry.
When asked whether they became 'real friends' through this project, Lee Na-young said, "We met once during the shoot. I can't boldly say we're real friends yet. We haven't known each other long. Still, the three of us were talking in the group chat just yesterday and decided to meet at the end of March. Jung Eun-Chae is currently shooting and is fitting it into her schedule," adding with a laugh, "She is fitting it into the representative's schedule. Thinking about it makes me mad."
When asked about their appearance on Car, the garden's channel to promote the work, she said, "The three of us still don't fully understand it. I wondered, 'Is this right? Did the three of us understand the game?'" She added, "I thought we matched well with those people. Rather than the three of us trying to talk a lot, when we enjoy something together the synergy is better and more natural, so I think that content suited us well," expressing satisfaction.
In particular, this was the third meeting with Seo Hyun-woo, who played Park Jae-yeol, the operator of a prostitution app and the man who sexually assaulted Yoon Ra-young in the past. Lee Na-young said, "Even without speaking, it feels like the closest. People accumulate familiarity, right? He's the actor I've met the most, so this time I didn't have to say much, but because of the role I avoided him a lot. I avoided his gaze. Seo Hyun-woo jokes a lot. He kept making jokes and I avoided him," adding, "This time I first noticed that when I had scenes where I was angry or being victimized, my palms sweated so much whenever I met Park Jae-yeol. It was strange. I realized how genuinely angry I was inside about Park Jae-yeol. The chemistry is very good. And because he's such a flexible actor, he's reliable when acting together."
About Jeon Soyoung, who played Han Min-seo, she praised, "She is a very lovely actor. She and the director adjusted their acting tone together a lot. She absorbs like a sponge on set. Because my tone had to be different, there were parts where the three of us adjusted together with the director. She must be really lovely. Even when I tell people to speak informally, I can't easily switch, but Jeon Soyoung naturally drops to informal speech without me realizing it. That's her aura. She's really cute, follows well, and performs well. She understands things immediately, so the chemistry was good."
Later in the work it is revealed that Han Min-seo is actually the biological daughter that Yoon Ra-young, who was sexually assaulted by Park Jae-yeol, gave birth to alone and put up for adoption. Lee Na-young said, "I had read the script only up to episode 8 when I joined, so I knew," but added, "I think the director probably didn't tell Min-seo that. We said, 'We must protect Min-seo,' 'We must keep Min-seo safe.' If we knew this, it would spoil the fun. I'm not sure when they told her," she shared behind-the-scenes. (continued in interview④).
[Photo] Eden9
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