The Face Genius Actor

Episode 112 

The first day of shooting “I Am Not a Villain”.

Director Choi Seo-young never thought Si-joon would make so many NGs.

But for some reason, Si-joon kept making mistakes, unable to immerse himself in the role.

Above all, the problem was that Si-joon’s acting wasn’t as good as Director Choi Seo-young had known.

Director Choi Seo-young had actually been watching Si-joon for a long time.

Although she dreamed of being a film director, Director Choi Seo-young’s taste leaned towards dramas.

There are such people.

People whose likes and talents differ.

Director Choi Seo-young was exactly like that.

She liked dramas but was good at making movies.

So, Director Choi Seo-young tended to watch all dramas, and naturally, she was interested in “Arrest”.

It was natural.

Just the combination of Director Kang Han-sung, writer Kim Hee-soo, and lead actor Ji Jung-hyun was enough to create expectations for “Arrest”.

And the moment she saw the first episode of “Arrest”, Director Choi Seo-young was captivated by Si-joon.

It couldn’t be helped.

Be it looks or acting.

Si-joon was a flawless actor, lacking nothing.

Moreover, he was perfect in expressing emotions, which Director Choi Seo-young considered most important when watching dramas.

Since then, Director Choi Seo-young watched all the dramas Si-joon appeared in, becoming more and more enthralled.

In “I Will Cast Love”, he expanded his acting boundaries by taking on the role of Kim Won-young.

In “Let’s Live Together, Princess”, he rose to become Korea’s most notable actor as the main male lead.

And the peak was “Escape”.

Watching “Escape”, Director Choi Seo-young had to acknowledge Si-joon as one of Korea’s best actors.

It wasn’t just because of the 10 million audience record.

Beyond simply acting well as in the past, he gave the impression of permeating the entire script.

It felt like he was born and living completely as the character Kim Sung-yeon.

Moreover, he didn’t cause any dissonance in the process.

It felt like he completely blended into the world of the movie.

Thus, Director Choi Seo-young began to dream of working with Si-joon someday.

And the opportunity to realize that dream came faster than expected.

When a previously planned project fell through, she discovered Festa Entertainment’s notice.

‘Is it true? Can I really work with Lee Si-joon if I apply for this project?’

It was a bit disappointing that she couldn’t make a movie with her own scenario, but now wasn’t the time to be picky.

Above all, she didn’t know when she’d get another chance to work with Si-joon.

So she immediately filled out the application and received unexpected news.

‘Lee Si-joon really wrote this scenario?’

As the situation unfolded like this, she felt fortunate that her colleague who had agreed to make a movie together ran off with the part-time wages.

Otherwise, Director Choi Seo-young would now be filming another movie in the cold.

And in an even worse environment.

After various twists and turns, Director Choi Seo-young was able to take on the direction of “I Am Not a Villain”.

And she met the long-dreamed-of Si-joon to discuss the work.

Si-joon was much more mannerly and respectful of others’ opinions than she had imagined.

They say he lives up to his looks.

That was exactly right.

Because he was a person perfect in every way, just like his face.

Not only that, but he also showed acceptance of her somewhat unreasonable requests.

He didn’t just accept them but even came up with new ideas.

‘I have to do well. To not tarnish the name of such a person, I have no choice but to do well.’

Director Choi Seo-young made this resolution, and finally, the first day of shooting dawned.

Until the morning, the atmosphere wasn’t bad.

Rather, it felt like the shooting was going better than expected.

But Si-joon faltered, and Director Choi Seo-young was flustered by the unexpected situation.

The on-set staff also showed clear signs of agitation.

‘Why did this happen? Is it because I gave lackluster on-set directions?’

Director Choi Seo-young knew that Si-joon was someone who never made NGs.

Because one of her colleagues who had done part-time work as on-set staff had observed Si-joon’s filming before.

But for this to happen…

Director Choi Seo-young couldn’t help but be shocked.

Fortunately, Si-joon showed his true abilities on the ninth take, but the worry hadn’t completely disappeared.

If NGs continued like this, filming could be indefinitely delayed, and the fatigue of the on-set staff could increase.

‘I need to find some solution.’

After thinking all night, Director Choi Seo-young couldn’t find a suitable solution.

The only thought she could manage was that she shouldn’t put too much pressure on Si-joon.

‘If the actor collapses, we all collapse. So I need to give him confidence to shake off the pressure.’

So Director Choi Seo-young tried to instill confidence in Si-joon.

On the other hand, she delivered detailed on-set directions.

She thought that maybe this aspect had prevented Si-joon from demonstrating his true abilities.

During this, Director Choi Seo-young suddenly felt a sense of dissonance.

She realized that Si-joon’s expression was too calm.

He didn’t look at all like someone who had made eight NGs yesterday.

And soon, in the filming that began, she could understand why.

‘Yes! This is it!’

Si-joon’s acting was excellent.

It was exactly as she had originally known.

He showed perfect chemistry with Park Jun, who was playing the role of the duty driver for the day.

‘Incredible…’

What was even more surprising was that Si-joon acted as if he was aware of the entire set.

Next scene, and the next.

As the shooting progressed, she could be more certain of this fact.

Sometimes he showed details that Director Choi Seo-young hadn’t thought of, dominating every scene.

It really felt like he was devouring the scenes.

‘So this is what it’s like… Working with someone like Lee Si-joon…’

Director Choi Seo-young felt deep emotion.

It wasn’t just Director Choi Seo-young.

The on-set staff also didn’t hold back their admiration.

It was natural, as a completely different person had appeared in just one day.

At that moment, a camera director near Director Choi Seo-young muttered.

“The god of acting has returned…”

The camera director was someone who had worked with Si-joon on “Let’s Live Together, Princess”.

* * *

I was satisfied with today’s shooting.

Overall, my acting came out as I had practiced.

But above all, I liked that I could act while encompassing the entire set.

‘It was really a unique experience.’

As soon as Director Choi Seo-young gave the start signal and I opened my eyes, I could feel everything.

Who was doing what and where, what acting they were preparing, and how they were breathing.

It felt like everything was being transmitted through all five senses.

It felt like I had really become the protagonist of this world.

Even though I was the protagonist in “Let’s Live Together, Princess” and “Escape”, it didn’t feel like this.

I wasn’t completely immersed in the world of the movie like I am now.

During “Let’s Live Together, Princess”, I barely felt connected.

During “Escape”, I felt a bit more connected, but this feeling I have now while filming “I Am Not a Villain” is a first.

So, even though I wasn’t matching rhythms with someone, I felt elation.

‘To feel elation even in scenes where I’m acting alone… It was amazing…’

Thanks to my satisfactory acting, the atmosphere on set came alive again.

Even the on-set staff who had looked somewhat gloomy were walking around with bright smiles.

Director Choi Seo-young’s expression also improved greatly.

“Actor! You really worked hard!”

“You worked harder, Director. I’m glad today’s shooting ended well.”

At that moment, Park Jun, who had stayed behind even after finishing his part of the shooting, approached me.

“Si-joon. Good job.”

“Was it okay?”

“It was the best. After working together briefly, I regret again that we couldn’t do a project together.”

I also felt good about working with Park Jun after a long time.

Above all, Park Jun played the role of the duty driver better than I expected.

I thought Park Jun’s appearance might not express the role of a timid and stubborn duty driver, but that wasn’t the case at all.

He perfectly embodied the role of the duty driver, bringing out even the smallest details in his expressions.

It was surprising to know that such expressions were hidden in Park Jun’s face.

But Park Jun, whether aware of my thoughts or not, was busy talking about himself.

“If I had gone in with you, it would have definitely hit 10 million…”

“It will do well even without me. You’ve always done well, haven’t you?”

“Yeah. That’s why ‘Escape’ took all the awards.”

“You said you were fine that day… Were you holding onto it all this time?”

“No way. How could I? I just didn’t receive one Best Actor award at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.”

He definitely had been holding onto it.

But I just smiled without saying anything.

After all, I knew that Park Jun would achieve close to 10 million viewers with this movie.

Park Jun had been cast in a movie called “Mostly Sunny”.

It was surprising.

Because before the regression, Park Jun didn’t choose this movie.

But somehow, the future had changed.

And “Mostly Sunny” was a movie that would achieve tremendous results.

‘Surely… The results of “Mostly Sunny” won’t change, right?’

Anyway, the future I knew was changing little by little like this.

Originally, it felt like only the future directly related to me was changing.

But now, even the future of things I had barely been involved in, like Park Jun’s, was gradually changing.

‘At this rate, the advantage of knowing the future might disappear faster than I thought.’

But I wasn’t disappointed by this fact.

Rather, I felt curious about what would happen.

I had now gained enough composure to look at life broadly.

‘The future was never mine to begin with. So it’s okay not to be impatient.’

While thinking this and continuing to talk with Park Jun, it happened.

An unexpected contact came, and I could see once again that the future had changed in a way I didn’t know.

This time, the scale was a bit bigger.

[ShortAnswerMan][17:33] Hey

[ShortAnswerMan][17:33] Are you filming?

[Si-joon][17:34] Yeah, why?

[ShortAnswerMan][17:34] I got a drama casting offer

[Si-joon][17:34] What? Really?

[ShortAnswerMan][17:35] Yeah, but it seemed too good so I accepted the offer

[Si-joon][17:35] What drama is it?

[ShortAnswerMan][17:36] Love in 18

[Si-joon][17:36] Ah….

I was surprised that hyung was really starting to act in earnest.

Above all, “Love in 18” was a drama I knew about.