The Time Accumulated
Through Effort and Faith in Oneself: The Actor’s Perspective, the Depth of an
Artist - Three Chapters on Actor NamKoong Min
Sources: Cine 21 (Part 1)
“I’ve been waiting for you.
Here, for a very long time….” Lee Jang-Hyun’s line from the finale of My Dearest is not unlike
Cine21’s
long-held desire to meet NamKoong Min. Last year, Cine21 named NamKoong Min from My Dearest as the ‘Series Actor of the Year,’ and over the past
seven years, has followed his extensive drama filmography as devoted viewers,
including works like Chief Kim, Doctor Prisoner, Stove League, and The Veil. Finally, in July 2024, the meeting between NamKoong Min and Cine21 came to fruition.
Throughout the lengthy
conversation, NamKoong Min
repeatedly emphasised emotion and sensitivity as the secret to his acting.
Constantly turning the dial in his mind to consider the various possibilities a
character might face is different from his nature. Yet, NamKoong Min is also one of the
most rational actors. Looking at the array of interesting stories he chooses
hearing the tales of his superhuman dedication on set, it’s clear his decisions
are filled with intuition and logic. Cine21 delved into NamKoong Min’s career through three focused chapters,
highlighting how he continues to rewrite his prime with a balance of reason
that never overshadows his emotional depth.
The Fan, the Sword, and Love: Actor NamKoong Min
Lee Jang-Hyun always held a fan and a sword until he
finally took his lover Yoo Gil-Chae’s
(Ahn Eun-Jin) hand. These two tools, which seemed like accessories to showcase
Jang-Hyun’s charm, were disguises to hide his precarious self. However, the fan
and the sword soon became symbols, proving that Jang-Hyun was willing to risk
everything to save his loved one. Like Jang-Hyun, who would fan himself and
tease people, My Dearest created a buzz in the latter half of 2023. And
like Jang-Hyun, who wielded his sword to protect the commoners and Gil-Chae with all his heart, My
Dearest captured the viewers’ hearts with its tale of cruel separation and
poignant love. Despite its record-breaking success and numerous accolades,
people have not heard NamKoong Min talk about My Dearest for some time.
Half a year after the series ended, we asked him about his lingering feelings
for My Dearest as NamKoong Min prepared to move on to other projects and
passions.
You decided to join My Dearest three days after receiving the script from director Kim Sung-Yong, with whom you worked on The Veil. You once mentioned not choosing projects solely because you like the character.
I tend to respond to offers as quickly as possible. I know it causes problems if I delay a decision when people wait for my answer. It wasn’t easy for the director to offer me another project right after The Veil, but I felt it was meaningful that he did. An actor should focus on faithfully portraying a character within the story, and if you start being greedy about characters, you won’t find good projects. To be honest, My Dearest is more about Gil-Chae’s growth narrative. Jang-Hyun appears alongside Gil-Chae as she grows through historical hardships and struggles. Jang-Hyun’s role is to reach the highest sincerity one man can have when he loves a woman.
It was nice to see you in a melodrama like My Dearest after a while. Jang-Hyun also changes and grows after meeting Gil-Chae during the war.
Indeed. I can do melodrama! I never intentionally avoided melodrama. Before My Dearest, I chose good stories that didn’t have a melodramatic plot. Writer Hwang Jin-Young also emphasised to me that Jang-Hyun is a man who learns about love and has compassion for people.
Jang-Hyun is what you might call an ‘overly designed’ character. He’s a sly rogue but shows sincerity and regret before Gil-Chae. He’s skilled in diplomacy, martial arts, and commerce. He rejects Confucian ideals, embracing modern concepts like ‘dating’ and ‘non-marriage’ and critiques the flaws of capitalism. It must have been challenging to embody all these aspects with consistency.
I also thought Jang-Hyun’s character was over-the-top. I even joked with the production team, “Is there anything Jang-Hyun can’t do? If a Westerner shows up, will he speak English too?” (laughs) But it was good that viewers had many points to connect with Jang-Hyun. When acting, I didn’t plan a detailed strategy for how all these traits should stem from a single thread. The essence of acting is emotion. I prefer to follow emotions and instincts rather than meticulously planning how a character should act.
Among Jang-Hyun’s many moments, the close-up where he discovers Gil-Chae on the Qing Dynasty slave market and screams, “Why?!” in episode 13 was particularly striking.
I wasn’t satisfied with my performance on the first take. Then, seeing Ahn Eun-Jin’s sorrowful tears brought out new emotions in me. No one can match her tearful performances; she’s the queen of tears with an overwhelming amount. Calculating too much in front of the camera can be a trap. So, I try to hone the skill of immediately externalising emotions that arise on set. While filming One Dollar Lawyer, I created scenes based on new emotions discovered on set. Do you remember the scene where Cheon Ji-Hoon, my character, cries after putting a one-dollar bill into a glass jar in the office of his deceased lover, Joo-Young (Lee Chung-Ah)? That scene wasn’t in the script. Seeing the glass jar on the set, I suggested putting the bill in it.
As My Dearest progresses, Jang-Hyun experiences increasingly harrowing moments. He loses his memory twice and confronts his estranged father, Jang-Cheol (Moon Sung-Geun), revealing the deep wounds inflicted by his father.
I know viewers had mixed feelings about Jang-Hyun losing his memory twice. I have great trust and respect for writer Hwang Jin-Young. It’s the actor’s duty to perform in a way that makes the story resonate with the audience within the narrative the writer has created. Given the epic scale of My Dearest with its 21 episodes, it was crucial not to let the story become too heavy towards the end. Ensuring viewers wouldn’t get bored by showcasing Jang-Hyun’s multifaceted nature was more important than my passionate performance. Jang-Hyun only had one chance to meet Jang-Cheol, so I had to convey years of loneliness in a single scene with my gaze and dialogue. This scene was also changed from an outdoor to an indoor location. It was better this way. On such a cold day, if I had done that long monologue outside, I would have had more snot than tears. (laughs)
Do you have a favourite line from My Dearest?
When I first read, “I should hug you, as you must have
suffered,” I was struck by how someone could say something so beautiful. This
one-line melts Gil-Chae’s
heart like snow and offers her comfort, so I wanted to deliver it perfectly.
The Man Was Not There: Actor NamKoong Min
Looking back at NamKoong Min’s works, which have resonated
with audiences, one can see that he has always portrayed men who seemed to be
transplanted from another culture. Bong Ma-Roo from Can You Hear My Heart?
chose to abandon his poor biological family and be reborn as the adopted son of
the Woo-Kyung Group. Kim Sung-Ryong from Good Manager used his talent
for handling accounting books for a local organised crime group to join TQ
Group’s accounting department, ultimately realising justice despite the
internal opposition. There’s also Baek Seung-Soo, the new general manager of
the Dreams baseball team in Stove League, and Lee Jang-Hyun in My
Dearest, who suddenly settles in Neunggun-ri and stirs up the village. Na
Yi-Je from Doctor Prisoner heads to West Seoul Prison to exact his
revenge, and Han Ji-Hyuk from The Veil erases a year of his memories to
infiltrate the National Intelligence Service as a new person. Like black sheep
among whites, NamKoong Min’s characters eventually integrate into the stagnant
communities they find themselves in and successfully transform them. Just like
these men who didn’t originally belong, NamKoong Min also erases himself to
meet and persuade the expectations poured onto a “NamKoong Min drama.” From
playing the leading roles in shows titled after their protagonists to winning
three acting awards in four years, we reflect on the journey of a young actor
who appeared out of nowhere and grew into a reliable name in his 30s and 40s.
Many first recognised
NamKoong Min’s value in Can You Hear My Heart? (2011) as Bong
Ma-Roo. Even now, comments searching for “Ma-Roo Oppa” can still be found
on posts related to you.
Ma-Roo’s journey from a kind boy to a bad man was
heartbreaking. He committed misdeeds, but there was a pitiful side to him,
allowing viewers to empathise with him. At that time, playing a villain usually
meant receiving viewer hatred. When I appeared on MBC’s News Desk due to
the show’s popularity, I was even asked, “How can a villain gain viewers’
support?” Back then, I didn’t have a long-acting career and was gaining various
experiences, and given the different production conditions, all filming was
rushed. Still, I gave my best and have no regrets about that work.
According to an interview with Cine21, you used to carry a camcorder on set to review your acting immediately. Seeing the Stove League filming scene on I Live Alone, it seems you’ve continued to bring a camera to monitor your acting.
Every actor probably feels the same. I’m not always satisfied with my acting. The broadcast only shows the best cuts. As I pondered how to improve my acting, I realised that increasing the time for reflection was the best way. By reviewing my unsatisfactory performances more frequently, I could find and correct more of what I perceived as deficiencies. Before the camcorder, it was a mobile phone. The devices have evolved in line with advances in video technology. (laughs)
The year 2015, when you played Kwon Jae-Hee in The Girl Who Sees Smells and Nam Gyu-Man in Remember: War of the Son, was a significant turning point in your filmography. Both characters were psychopathic killers. How do you recall playing such emotionally and energetically demanding roles in succession?
I never thought the two roles overlapped. If Jae-Hee is type I (introvert) in MBTI, Gyu-Man is type E (extrovert). Jae-Hee was a killer and a gentlemanly star chef, much like Joe (Penn Badgley) in Netflix’s You. It was a unique story and character at the time, so I had no reason to turn it down.
Gyu-Man was clearly a villain but had an unlikable side. Initially, he wasn’t meant to be such a volatile character, but the more impolite my portrayal, the more people liked it. I remember the day we filmed the scene where Gyu-Man beats Dong-Ho (Park Sung-Woong) on the rooftop. Feeling that my anger as Gyu-Man wasn’t enough, I asked for another take, and the director, puzzled, showed me the footage. I looked angrier than I thought. (laughs) During Remember: War of the Son, I didn’t have a stylist for a while. I went around tailor shops myself, having three-piece suits made. My neighbour was a suit expert who helped me pair the pieces before each shoot, contributing to Gyu-Man’s character. Thanks to that experience, I’m now quite adept at matching suits.
Stove League was a work appreciated by both critics and the public. Baek Seung-Soo is a PT master who influences crowds without explicitly stating “I” as the subject. He is also a confident leader who asks his conversation partner, “Why do you think so?” already knowing the answer. He has an interesting speech style in many ways.
While he doesn’t impose his views, all his sentences imply, “I am right,” which can frustrate the listener. When Baek Seung-Soo briefed the Dreams team members on his decisions, I thought his speech should lack emphasis. He needed a more sophisticated way of speaking than a protagonist simply demanding to be listened to. Thus, I developed Baek Seung-Soo’s unique indifferent tone, and the director also worked with me on this approach. When Baek Seung-Soo speaks this way, listeners tend to accept his arguments more strongly. I wouldn’t want to argue with someone like Baek Seung-Soo, either.
In your second award-winning role in The Veil, you performed intense action scenes like car chases and shootouts in every episode. You continued action scenes in your next project, My Dearest.
From The Veil, I worked intensively with the martial arts director to design the action scenes. We planned the transitions and striking methods like a curriculum and practised endlessly at an action school. Ji-hyuk, who had returned from hell, was a perpetually melancholic character. As I was working out for three hours a day, six days a week, the physical and mental strain mirrored Ji-hyuk’s suffering. I started working out to showcase my abilities, but the process was tough. I often cried pathetically while taking a shower.
You’ve shown parts of your acting notes, including a camera for monitoring your performance and detailed feedback on your acting. What drives you to review your performances continually? The notes even include detailed analyses of Korean phonemes’ vocal mechanisms and phonetic features.
I wrote notes yesterday, too. I consider myself an emotional person who feels deeply and delicately, but that doesn’t mean I have innate acting talent. Therefore, I have no choice but to reflect and work hard constantly. Out of fear of missing something, I absorb everything I can study. Then, I practice forgetting what I’ve learned in front of the camera. Once efforts are complete, they remain within me, so if I fixate on my notes during a performance, I might get lost in other thoughts or overact. I also took vocal training and studied anatomical diagrams to train my voice. Through this, I realised that the vocal cords engage according to emotion. Instead of endlessly analysing and commanding myself, focusing on the emotion I need to portray lets me produce the desired voice. All this investment of time has given me confidence and boosted my self-esteem as an actor. I believe that every scene has its fate. Even if I don’t perform to my fullest potential today, that is fate. However, continually doing my best in preparation builds self-respect and trust. I think accumulating such time deepens an artist’s craft.
Beyond Logic and Formulas: The Emotional Collaboration of Actor NamKoong Min
Seeing NamKoong Min on the big screen rather than on TV feels somewhat unfamiliar. Although his filmography includes significant early 21st-century Korean films such as Bungee Jumping of Their Own and A Dirty Carnival, opportunities to see him in theatres have been scarce since his work in the Chinese film Lost in the Moonlight (2015) and his short film directorial debut Light My Fire (2016). Moreover, even in 2024, amid changing media trends and series viewing environments, NamKoong Min’s filmography still lacks any OTT series. Currently focusing on developing scripts, NamKoong Min dreams of becoming a writer, producer, and actor. It was essential to ask this remarkable actor with a keen eye for good stories about his current storytelling interests.
I am still writing with creators. After finishing the filming of My Dearest, I took a break from acting. I haven’t taken a break from acting for more than six months, so even during this break, I felt I had to do something and continued writing. I am learning about the hardships of writers. I have given up several times and tried again. Even after acting for over 20 years, it still feels unfamiliar. It’s unrealistic to expect that writing for six months would produce a perfect script. I’m trying to endure more trial and error and not give up.
I heard you caught up on all the dramas and movies you missed during your break. What did you feel while watching these works?
There are definitely trends. While a story must not lag behind the sensibilities required by the current era, I also felt it’s not enough to follow popular formulas dictated by market logic. The core is emotion. There’s a saying among drama enthusiasts that you never know until you watch a drama. Stories are created through the emotional collaboration that goes beyond logic and formulas. I believe a unique energy is only born when writers who strive for a good script, directors who bring out the best on set, passionate actors, and diligent staff come together with their enthusiasm and warmth. Whenever junior actors voice their concerns about acting, I always say, “Acting is inherently difficult.” When acting doesn’t come easily, acknowledging that acting is supposed to be hard makes the current struggles feel natural. If you keep challenging something assumed to be difficult, you won’t get easily exhausted because you understand that achieving your goal is not easy.
Will there be a day when we will see NamKoong Min on the big screen or in an OTT series?
There was a time when I meticulously planned for the future, but I often felt like I was missing out on a lot whenever things didn’t go as planned. Since then, I’ve continued my acting career with the mindset of meeting works as they come. I’ve had several film offers and would love to do a movie anytime. I’m also waiting to come across an OTT series naturally. Whether it’s a movie or an OTT series, I expect to show a different expression that I can’t in TV dramas. I think living as an actor is a battle against boredom. If a familiar actor doesn’t surpass their previous strengths, they can quickly become tiresome. I constantly strive not to be familiar and try to survive for a long time. It would be great to show a new and unfamiliar side when encountering different genres.
Insights from Colleagues about NamKoong Min
Actress Lee Chung-Ah (Awaken, One Dollar Lawyer, My Dearest)
“He’s always full of passion on set and continually researches to capture the details of his acting. He’s a beautiful and wonderful senior actor. If given the chance, I would love to act with him again. When we first worked together on Awaken, after watching the edited version, NamKoong Min praised our synergy and shared various thoughts about the outcome. He loves discussing the work and makes an effort to communicate, even when it’s difficult. That’s really admirable. NamKoong Min often gives juniors sincere advice on viewing a project holistically rather than focusing on a single scene. Working with him makes acting fun and helps actors experience moments of growth. He has a deep affection for diligent juniors and offers them passionate support.”
Actor On Ju-Wan (Beautiful Gong
Shim)
“If ‘meticulous’ were a person, it would be NamKoong Min. He’s an actor who approaches character creation and development like a craftsman. When you stand in the same frame with a senior who acts with such confidence and assurance, you trust and follow not just the person NamKoong Min but the character he portrays. Off-set, he’s always cheerful and a gentleman who discusses the future with his juniors. There’s so much to learn from him that I definitely want to work with him again.”
Actor Kim Yoon-Woo (My Dearest)
“NamKoong Min is always full of passion on set. He continually thinks and researches to capture the details of his acting. That in itself makes him a beautiful and wonderful senior actor. If given the chance, I would love to meet him on set again.”
Thank you for the translation, im crying reading his journey. Oppa suffered so much. The fact his fav lines in my dearest also my favorite. Im in love. I never know the glass jar scene in 1 dollar lawyer cuz of gim. I love tjem detailsss
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