Kim Hee-won: “If I can be a part of a fun project, I don‘t care if I’m an actor or a director” [Photoshoot]

Actor and director Kim Hee-won met with Arena Homme Plus.

Kim Hee-won, who successfully took his first step as a director rather than an actor, receiving rave reviews for his first directorial work, the Disney+ original drama “The Lighting Store.” The person who suggested that he direct “The Lighting Store” was none other than the original author, writer Kang Full.

Kim Hee-won said, “I was curious too, so I asked the writer. I said, ‘I’ve never directed before, so how can you suggest that I be a director?‘ That’s exactly what he said. ‘Since you’re good at acting, the actors will be able to trust and follow the director as they act.‘ Since ”The Lighting Store“ deals with a lot of emotions, he thought that acting was really important. So I remember him saying that it would be good if someone who is good at acting did the directing,” he confessed.

Director Kim Hee-won said that he tried to prepare a tight schedule for the actors during this filming so that they would have less waiting time. What did he, as a director, try to pay the most attention to on set?

He said, “The most important thing is to convey my thoughts well. And to understand the other person’s thoughts well. It’s communication. Even if you use the same word, can’t different people understand it differently? For example, if the script says ‘dreary’, what color is ‘dreary color’? How dreary does it have to be? I tried to convey those parts as specifically as possible. That way, I could share the same goal with the staff.”

Despite successfully leading ‘Lighting Store’, Kim Hee-won said that he still doesn’t divide his roles into ‘actor’ and ‘director’. He confessed, ”Being an actor or a director is a job that requires others to do it. If I have a wish, I just want to participate in a good production. If I can be a part of an interesting production, it doesn’t really matter whether I‘m an actor or a director.“

You can see the interview and pictorial containing Director Kim Hee-won’s honest side in the February issue of ‘Arena.

Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.