K-drama star Lee Bo-young on ‘Hide’, changing scene for women, love for ‘3 Idiots’

‘When My Love Blooms’ star Lee Bo-young is back with another spectacular drama ‘Hide’. In a career spanning across two decades, Bo-young has earned accolades for her captivating performances across diverse genres, ranging from drama and romance to thriller. In SLL’s new drama ‘Hide’, she adds another layer to her already illustrious body of work.

In ‘Hide’, Lee Bo Young plays the role of Na Mun-yeong, who wants to uncover the secret behind the sudden disappearance of her husband Cha Sung-jae [Played by Lee Moo-saeng] amid the bustling life in Seoul, South Korea. Her strength throughout is thoroughly enjoyable and shows her wide emotional range.

Lee Bo-young, known for her adept portrayal of multifaceted characters imbued with depth and authenticity, spoke to IndiaToday.in exclusively about ‘Hide’ and giving life to various roles. She also spoke about K-dramas having a global audience today and her exposure to India and Indian cinema.

Excerpts from the interview:

How did you approach the character of Na Mun-yeong? Was there anything in particular you worked on, be it the body language, or the EQ of the character given that you dived right into it after ‘Agency’?

When choosing a project, I used to go with a role that I wanted to play a character with building a narrative and making the audience understand. However, ‘Hide’ is an event-oriented drama, not character-oriented, so I felt a little frustrated while filming since the character was following the events that happened in front of her. But at a certain point, I let go of that mind and tried to shoot each scene while staying true to the events and Mun-yeong's reactions to those events rather than trying to build up character myself. So, it feels very different from the character in my previous work, ‘Agency.’ Also, I tried to show Mun-yeong in a colourless and dishevelled way because she is trying to find her husband after losing him.

Since ‘Agency’ was your last show. In what ways was filming for ‘Hide’ different in experience?

In ‘Hide,’ there were many scenes where I guess, deduce, and chase after the husband by myself. In the previous work, ‘Agency,’ I felt it was very fun to collaborate with lots of people and act together, but I think I felt a little lonely on the set of 'Hide'. I came to know that how hard, boring, and lonely it is to work alone.

You have portrayed a wide range of characters throughout your career. Is there a particular role that has been most memorable or impactful for you?

I can pick Seo-young in ‘My Daughter’ for that. Seo-young is a daughter who abandoned her father, which is fragmentarily incomprehensible to everyone, and what she has done can be called a depravity in a way. However, it was very satisfying for me when the narrative of why Seo-young had no choice but to do that was accumulated, and the viewers could understand and sympathise with the character and accept her.

Globally, I feel the shelf-life which people usually attached to women in the industry has gone. More interesting roles are being written for women. Do you see that change as well and particularly in what context if your body of work is considered?

There are a lot of various female epic dramas these days. Just the roles I've been in lately have been very empowering, and I think audiences are really enjoying those independent female characters. So, I'm very grateful for that.

As an actor, how do you navigate the balance between staying true to the character while also bringing your own interpretation and nuances to the role?

I tend to think the actor who plays the role has the best understanding of the character. The director must see the whole thing, but I reckon the actors playing in the scene have a better idea of why the character is doing with the emotional changes from the previous scene and the connections between scenes. So, for me, it's right to incorporate a lot of my interpretations and nuances in the character. But I'm also very receptive to what the director says, who sees the whole thing.

Your performances are known for their depth and emotional resonance. How do you prepare for emotionally demanding scenes?

I feel like, for emotionally demanding scenes, I go into them in a state of complete nothingness. I think about the scene a lot while I'm acting for it, and I go into it with a full understanding of the character's emotions since the question of "Why did she do that?" is already built up as enough narrative. So, if it's an emotionally challenging scene, I don't go into it specifically thinking about how I am going to act here. It's more of a blank slate, and then when I come to myself, I'm like, "Oh, I did this scene." Like this, I start acting with a complete blank and concentrate on it.

Are there any actors or directors you would like to collaborate with in the future?

I love working with actors who have been in the theater for a long time. It's so fun when I get reactions I didn't expect, not just the usual reactions. Moreover, it's great to work with new directors these days because, while shooting, it feels so refreshing to get a fresh perspective on scenes and directions from the directors that I didn't come up with, and I’m like, "Oh, that's so novel."

Since I am from India, I want to know if you have had the opportunity to watch anything from India and what do you think about visiting here or collaborating with any Indian maker in future?

Whenever I hear about a good Indian movie, I tend to check it out ever since I enjoyed ‘3 Idiots.’ I personally feel that the dancing and singing scenes in Indian movies give positive energy to some degree, so I really enjoy watching them, and it'll be good to collaborate with Indian producers in that regard.

For those unaware, ‘Hide’ also features Lee Moo-saeng, Lee Chung-ah, Lee Min-jae in pivotal roles.