Yoon Sang-hyun discusses his sudden popularity in Marie Claire

by javabeans

I’ve always thought Yoon Sang-hyun was a pretty charismatic guy — he was pretty decent back in Fireworks (his character was an ass and the drama sucked, but he and Kang Ji-hwan were enjoyable) and he was cute in Three Dads, One Mom — so it’s nice to see him enjoying his sharp rise in popularity with his latest role in Queen of Housewives.

A photo spread of Yoon is featured in the June issue of Marie Claire magazine, which also contains an interview wherein the actor talks about his sudden fame and his latest role.

Of his current status as the endearing Tae-bong character Yoon says, “Popularity? I’d like to be an actor with a long career, but this popularity came so suddenly… Phew.”

Of acting: “It wasn’t that I wanted to act from the very start, and I’ve never really learned. I just fell into it at the beginning, and did as the director told me.”

Of his earlier career: “At first I was just imitating acting, so how could I be any good? When doing Winter Bird, I learned a lot from Park Won-sook. It was from doing Winter Bird and Secret of Keke Island that I came to enjoy playing in front of the camera. I understood that in order for the viewers to feel, I had to feel.”

He expounds on that in another interview with Segye Sports World: “In my debut project, To Marry a Millionaire, I was just imitating acting. I realized at the time of Winter Bird that an actor has to prepare many other things outside of the script, and that even if the character is appealing, if the acting is bad, you can fall to the very bottom. That’s when I learned how to create a character, and that’s how I created Tae-bong as well.”

He had quite the rough time filming To Marry a Millionaire, as he describes crying in the bathroom one day: “I felt a heavy mental burden, and memorized the script, but when I went on set, my head would darken… Something that should take 20 to 30 minutes took 2 to 3 hours because of me. After doing that for three episodes, I thought that there was no way I could be an actor. I even talked to my agency, and thought to myself that I would just hang in there until my contract was up, and then leave. I changed my mind while doing Winter Bird.”

With his current fame in Queen of Housewives: “This is the first time in my life I’ve received such an outpouring of love, and it’s a really remarkable feeling. I’m most happy as an actor. This is the first time I’ve had ratings go past 20%, the first time I’ve received comments of praise in 37 years. Before Winter Bird, that was because of my acting, and afterward, even though I heard I was acting well, because my character was unlikable, I didn’t hear many positive things. It feels like a dream that I could come into such popularity now.”

Future plans? “I’d like to work more, so I want to marry later. I want to be an actor who acts well rather than being good-looking, someone who considers the inside more important than the exterior. I’d like to become an actor like Song Kang-ho sunbae in the future, and I really want to take on the challenge of acting as a coold-blooded character, too.”

Via OSEN, Segye

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