(Following interview ③) Singer Kim Jong-hyun, formerly of NU'EST, said he aims to solidify his standing as actor Kim Jong-hyun.
On the 26th, Kim Jong-hyun met with OSEN for an interview at Evermore Entertainment's office in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
When asked that day about planned activities besides fan meetings or album releases, Kim Jong-hyun said, "I plan to focus a bit more on acting going forward. I think it might be important to work hard so I can show more as an actor," drawing attention.
He said, "There are projects under discussion, but nothing is confirmed yet," and added, "Sometimes offers for projects come in, and sometimes I go to auditions, but I haven't gone as far as auditions yet since my discharge. I think I will probably start auditioning and preparing for my next work from April."
Kim Jong-hyun made his serious drama debut in 2021 with the SBS drama drama Your night will be mine and has built acting experience by appearing in Start with the first kiss, Sound candy, My friend's graduation ceremony, and others. When asked what characters or genres he would like to challenge in the future, he expressed acting ambition, saying, "I think it might be interesting to show psychopathic aspects."
He showed that he had shaken off some of his burden, saying, "Because I couldn't receive training while I was in the military, I'm starting again now, and I feel more at ease than before. Now when I start, I feel like I can do better than I did then."
He said, "I think it would be fun to do genre works. I haven't done them before. Until now I mainly did romance and youth pieces. There were also many music-related works. But now I would like to exclude those and just be able to become that role," expressing his desire to shake off the idol image and approach the public purely as the character as an actor.
That does not mean he wants to completely discard his identity as a singer. Kim Jong-hyun said, "Rather than distancing myself from being an idol, I want to concentrate more on acting. That doesn't mean, 'I'm going to be an actor now so I won't act cute.' Actor Kim Jong-hyun is also Kim Jong-hyun, and when I do music I'm also Kim Jong-hyun, so I don't think it's about changing something but about which side I focus on a bit more," and emphasized, "While pursuing acting, I will do music activities as much as I can."
As for what prompted him to decide to focus on acting, he confessed, "Rather than there being a specific trigger, I kept setting my future direction as, 'After I return from the military I'll do that.' I feel like, 'Isn't this the direction I should go?'."
When asked what he wants to show after ending his 'military hiatus,' he said, "I don't think my future image will change greatly. Compared to before, I think I'll just show more of my true self. As for activities, music is music, but as an actor I will try to show more sides of myself," and added, "Right now, the biggest goal seems to be to make actor Kim Jong-hyun known. I want to grow through more projects and good acting."
[Photo] OSEN reporter Min Kyung-hoon
[OSEN]