The Face Genius Actor

Episode 071

Director Kim Pil-sung was a legendary figure.

He had struggled to build his career by making independent films with money saved penny by penny.

Then he burst onto the scene like a comet with his first commercial film titled .

After that, he rose to become a world-renowned director.

It took only 3 years after the release of for Director Kim Pil-sung to reach the ranks of global directors.

That year, Director Kim was nominated in 6 categories at the Academy Awards and achieved the feat of winning the Best Original Screenplay award.

Even excluding this skill and fame, Kim Pil-sung was my favorite film director.

It was because he made films that most closely aligned with my personal taste.

Among them, was my favorite of Director Kim’s films.

I had read and re-read the script as much as I had analyzed for the audition before my regression.

And now, to have an opportunity to appear in Director Kim Pil-sung’s film like this.

From my perspective, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

I could almost hear my heart pounding in my ears.

Ji Jung-hyun, sensing something unusual, asked me:

“Do you know about the work called ?”

Upon receiving this question, I calmed my excitement and quickly recalled my memories.

It would certainly be strange to know about at this moment.

I knew from past interviews with Director Kim that had struggled with production due to lack of investment.

‘Wasn’t it Senior Ji Jung-hyun who helped at this time?’

It wasn’t just help.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he led to success by being involved in both investment and production.

Moreover, he solidified his position as Korea’s top actor by perfectly portraying ‘Yoon Woo-sung’, one of the two main characters in .

‘Although the other lead was criticized for not matching up to Senior Ji Jung-hyun…’

The success of was tremendous.

It was natural, as it was the work that propelled Director Kim to the ranks of world-class masters.

Anyway, it was risky to answer that I knew about now.

So I was about to answer that I knew about Director Kim Pil-sung, but I held my tongue again.

I realized that Director Kim’s name hadn’t been mentioned by Ji Jung-hyun yet.

Feeling dizzy at the thought that I almost complicated things, I answered:

“…Honestly, it’s my first time hearing the movie title .”

“Is that so? Then why were you surprised?”

“I didn’t expect you to suggest appearing in a movie together, senior.”

I wasn’t yet used to hiding my expressions in the moment.

It was because I had overcome my innate flaw of being physically awkward through the method mask.

So in this situation, it was more important to evade with an appropriate answer rather than attempt clumsy acting.

After all, being surprised that Ji Jung-hyun suggested appearing in a movie together was a fact that didn’t require acting.

Fortunately, this strategy of mine seemed to work.

Ji Jung-hyun nodded and replied:

“You must have been a bit surprised.”

“Yes? Yes, that’s right.”

“But as an actor, you shouldn’t be too swayed by your surroundings. What’s more important than familiarity or fame with your co-stars is the work itself.”

“Ah, yes. You’re right, senior. The work is what’s important.”

“I thought you might be curious, so I brought the script.”

Ji Jung-hyun took out a script from the bag placed on the floor next to the sofa and handed it to me, and I politely received it.

On the first page of the script was the title along with Director Kim Pil-sung’s name.

“Kim Pil-sung…”

“A name you’re hearing for the first time, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“But as I said earlier, what’s important is the work itself.”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ll remember that and read the script thoroughly.”

“Good. Read it and contact me. Well then, I’ll be going now.”

Ji Jung-hyun stood up as if he had said everything he needed to say.

It was a completely unexpected timing.

Because of that, I, Goo Kyung-mo, and Yang I-deum were momentarily flustered but stood up without delay.

As we followed him to the front door to see him off,

Ji Jung-hyun left one last comment:

“Ah, I forgot to mention. If you join , your role would be ‘Kim Sung-yeon’.”

Hearing this, I felt like my heart was about to burst again.

I couldn’t help it.

Kim Sung-yeon was the other protagonist of , modeled after activist Kim Sang-ok.

He was also my favorite character among all the characters appearing in the movie.

‘Can I really take on the role of Kim Sung-yeon?’

Perhaps because of this, I felt dazed even as Goo Kyung-mo and Yang I-deum were making a fuss about how amazing this was.

I just couldn’t believe this situation.

* * *

I returned home late at night.

It had been a while since I had drinks with Goo Kyung-mo and Yang I-deum, so it got later than I expected.

After sending Yeo Kyung-chan home first and taking a taxi back, it was 3 AM.

After finishing my shower and about to go to bed, I remembered the script of .

‘Let’s just read a little…’

Feeling like I wouldn’t be able to sleep otherwise, I started reading the script.

Once I picked up the script, I couldn’t put it down.

The contents of that I had analyzed myself started coming back to me vividly.

‘Right, there was a scene like this. It would have been better to act differently here.’

The actor who played Kim Sung-yeon before my regression wasn’t objectively bad at acting.

He was originally an actor who stood out more for his acting than his visuals.

To begin with, it was impossible to find someone with both acting skills similar to Ji Jung-hyun and good visuals.

But for some reason, the actor who played Kim Sung-yeon in showed disappointing moments here and there.

It was because Ji Jung-hyun’s acting skills, which had matured to the fullest, were so extraordinary.

Moreover, Ji Jung-hyun was already good at acting, but his understanding of the script reached its peak as he was involved in the investment and production of .

It was natural, as he would have frequently met with the director to discuss the script.

Thus, the actor playing Kim Sung-yeon ended up looking relatively lacking in acting skills compared to Ji Jung-hyun.

As a true fan of , I always found this part regrettable.

Naturally, I started pondering how the role of Kim Sung-yeon could have been performed better.

These were the memories that were vividly coming back to me now.

‘Right, I thought this part should have been done like this. With even richer emotions.’

As I read the script of , time flew by.

And I woke up belatedly to the sound of the alarm.

Ding ding ding.

When I opened my eyes, it was already daylight.

I must have fallen asleep while reading the script for the third time.

Today was a day off from filming, so I was about to sleep more, but then I remembered the ratings and reached for my phone.

After checking the ratings, I had to suddenly sit up in bed.

Surprisingly, the ratings for the first episode of were 4.88%.

* * *

I had expected the ratings for the first episode of to be in the early 2% range.

Even this was a high expectation.

If Director Yoo Sung-hyo hadn’t changed the screen composition and editing speed, I would have expected early 1% range.

That’s why I never thought the ratings would exceed 4% and approach 5% like this.

At the same time, I had this thought:

‘Did I underestimate Senior Cindy’s star power too much?’

As explained earlier, Cindy was Korea’s top romantic comedy master.

So from the viewers’ perspective, if a new romantic comedy drama starring Cindy came out, they would naturally be interested.

Also, since the drama dealt with a subject that could sufficiently raise expectations, the first episode’s ratings could be higher than expected.

‘Maybe even before my regression, the first episode ratings of were high.’

There’s a saying that goes, “The feast everyone talks about has no food.”

There were dramas like that.

Dramas that, once they start airing, turn out to be so disappointing that their ratings gradually decline.

The before my regression might have been such a drama.

So it wasn’t yet time to feel relieved.

‘The ratings of could drop in the second episode.’

But on the other hand, I was doubtful if that would really happen.

The 4.88% rating couldn’t be filled just by various expectations for .

There was something that couldn’t be explained just by Cindy’s star power and the intrinsic interest of the drama’s subject.

For a 4.88% rating, a more plausible reason was needed.

I was deep in these thoughts when:

[Team Leader Kim Bo-mi][09:03] Actor-nim?

[Team Leader Kim Bo-mi][09:03] Are you awake by any chance?

To get a message from Kim Bo-mi at this hour.

As it wasn’t a common occurrence, I hurriedly replied that I was awake, wondering if something had happened.

Then I received a call from Kim Bo-mi.

-Actor-nim!

“Hello. Did something happen?”

-Of course something happened!

I felt worried by Kim Bo-mi’s answer.

“Is it bad news?”

-No! It’s very good news. Have you checked the ratings by any chance?

“Ah. So it’s about the ratings. I was worried for nothing. Yes, I’ve checked them.”

-You’ve worked so hard. We wouldn’t have gotten such results without you.

“Thank you for the congratulations. But these results are thanks to Senior Cindy’s popularity and the interesting subject of , you know.”

-What? What are you saying? Even Cindy’s agency has contacted us to thank you.

“Contacted? Why would they…”

Kim Bo-mi’s explanation continued at length.

To summarize, my participation in , after raising my stock with two successful projects, had raised viewers’ expectations.

And my unexpected performance on had greatly helped the drama’s success.

I felt dazed listening to Kim Bo-mi’s explanation.

“Did the ratings really rise because of that?”

-Of course. There’s no other reason we can find.

“Ah…”

-Since your chemistry is so good and the drama’s quality is high, today’s second episode ratings will probably rise even more.

Everything Kim Bo-mi said made sense.

That’s why I couldn’t refute anything, and I just felt embarrassed.

I was so unaccustomed to receiving this kind of praise.

‘Is this what it feels like to succeed as the main male lead of a drama?’

As I was reminiscing about the past and getting sentimental, Kim Bo-mi suddenly brought up something unexpected.

-If continues to be successful like this, do you think we can expect an award at next week’s Baeksang Arts Awards?