Shin Hye-sun, who has created another iconic role in ‘The Inheritor,’ discussed the challenges of acting.
A roundtable interview with Shin Hye-sun, star of the Netflix original series ‘The Inheritor,’ was held on the afternoon of the 20th at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
‘The Inheritor’ tells the story of Sarah Kim (played by Shin Hye-sun), a woman who aspires to become a luxury item, even if it’s fake, and Mu-gyeong (played by Lee Joon-hyuk), a man who tracks her desires. Within its first week, ‘The Inheritor’ entered the TOP 10 in 38 countries and ranked third among non-English series, proving its global reach.
Shin Hye-sun joked about the show’s reception, stating, “Before I could even check reactions to the show, many people contacted me, making me feel like it was my birthday.”
She added, “During the holiday, I received more messages about enjoying the series than New Year’s greetings, which was amazing. Even though I’ve been working continuously, I received congratulatory messages as if I had just debuted.”
However, she confessed to difficulties stemming from differences in her usual preparation routine for projects.
Shin Hye-sun explained her process: “Usually, I plan how to portray a character, but ‘The Inheritor’ didn’t allow for that. I was curious about the outcome and couldn’t formulate any plans. I felt I needed to prepare on set rather than deciding on a specific approach beforehand.”
Despite these challenges, when asked why she chose ‘The Inheritor,’ she explained, “There are diverse personas within one person, and multiple characters intertwine with a single individual. As you can see, it’s not an easy or straightforward show. The script is even more confusing.”
She continued, “That piqued my interest. The relationships among characters were unique and appealing. On paper, it was hard to tell if my role was genuine, but we concluded that the emotions were real in each moment,” she added. “The subtle, undefined emotional lines were interesting, though the subtext was difficult to grasp.”
Shin Hye-sun admitted, “Physically, it wasn’t exhausting, but it was truly difficult. Although viewers might have seen such characters before, it was challenging for me because it was my first time experiencing such ambiguous emotional lines,” she confessed, adding there were moments when she wanted to give up.”
She added, “I felt fulfilled because the outcome resonated with my intentions. Sarah Kim’s voice tone was different from my usual, which proved challenging. I was concerned it might seem awkward to the audience, but I aimed for an elegant, non-revealing tone, which was well-expressed in sync with the music.”
While there are various discussions about the series, there appears to be no disagreement about Shin Hye-sun’s passionate performance. Regarding the praise of her performance as an “acting prowess show,” she humbly smiled and said, “It’s a cliché expression that senior Hwang Jung-min used—like putting a spoon on a well-prepared table. The costume and makeup teams did a great job, and I’m grateful to them.”
Throughout the interview, she discussed the difficulties of acting. However, Shin Hye-sun has previously tackled complex characters in works such as ‘Mr. Queen’ and ‘See You in My 19th Life.’
Addressing this, she remarked, “I guess that’s my preference. (laughs) After all, the character isn’t me, and the lines aren’t mine, so there’s no such thing as easy acting. In everyday life, I blush when lying to my mom, so acting is difficult, but I prefer to take on diverse roles. As my career advances, the complexity of the characters adds more difficulty.”
She added, “I like variations, and roles I’ve done once aren’t appealing if done consecutively. My daily life isn’t full of dopamine-inducing issues or events; it’s quite plain. So, acting out diverse human experiences makes the acting more enjoyable.”
She then raised expectations, saying, “Next, I’d like to try something lighthearted and connected to real life. After ‘The Inheritor,’ my upcoming project is quite cheerful and not deep.”
Image source: Netflix
