[TRANS] Changmin Interview Nikkei Entertainment October Issue 2014 (Sep 4)

Changmin, we see him mostly in his music activities but he has made firm steps up/achievements constantly in his acting career. He started his acting career in the lead role in “ Paradise Ranch”, a TV drama series in Korea in 2011. In 2012, the next year, he succeeded to make his acting debut through a movie in Japan. In the film, “Fly with gold” directed by Kazuyuki Izutsu, Changmin was casted to play a very difficult role as the ex-spy from North Korea, and he received the Newcomer of the Year Award at the 36th Japanese Academy Awards together with Shouta Sometani and Masahiro Higashide. The brand new drama, “Mimi”, where he played the leading role was broadcasted in February and March this year in Korea, and it is a fantastic (excellent) love story. The DVD of this drama will be on sale on 9/26.

Completely different from (In contrast to) his stage work in music activities that are filled with energy, in this drama, you can find “another Changmin” to play the role of Minwoo who has been agonized to deal with the lost memories in his past, in a composed/quiet fashion. Changmin turned 26 years old this year in real life, but in the drama, everyone should pay attention to Changmin who was able to play the two completely different characters, i.e. the 18 years old Minwoo who was naïve and excited about/deeply affected by first love and the 28 years old Minwoo who shuts his mind from the rest of the world even though he has made his career as a Web cartoonist. The role of ‘Minwoo” is that only “the present/current” Changmin could play.

Thinking over the lost 10 years..
CM: In this drama, Minwoo in his high school era and Minwoo in his adulthood are two completely different characters. So in a sense, I could say that I played the two characters but not the same person. However, the story is still about just one person. In order to fill the gap between the two, I did my best to imagine/think over the 10 years of Minwoo that was not described in the script. - What did happen to Minwoo since the 18 years old Minwoo lost his memory of first love till he turned 28 years old? For example, Minwoo must have moved around… he might have worried because it was not easy for him to make friends… something along the line, I thought about his story in the 10 years.. and “Perhaps this might have happened, therefore he became an adult like that.” In my brain, I connected myself (self as Minwoo?) in youth and in adulthood. I paid attention to such details when I played/was Minwoo. Even though it was not described (in the script), I thought that I needed to reflect such background into the inner feelings/thoughts of Minwoo.

In the last half of the drama, the process of Minwoo started to restore his lost memories of first love one by one was expressed through the painting of “Minwoo –present stars at the 18 years old Minwoo from a distance”. Before meeting with Mimi (Moon Ga-Young) who is the first love of Minwoo, Minwoo was seriously trying to fix his bang. “Adult Self” Minwoo looked at the Minwoo in high school era and he also touched his bang unconsciously. This scene left me some deep impression. There was no dialog in the scene but the scene was overflown with freshness that reminds anyone who watched the scene, the memory of innocent first love.

CM: I think when Minwoo was in love with Mimi, it was the best time for Minwoo in his life. He was glowing the most. In order to make himself look cool to her, he tried his best for styling his hair while his heart was pounding. However, Minwoo in adulthood, he has long lost such pounding heart feelings. Even though the two Minwoo had the same gesture. “Whatever I do with my hair, nothing is going to be affected.. Why did I care so much for such small details back then?” Something like that.. Perhaps he envied the 18 year old self because he looked so very happy. Or perhaps he felt nostalgic about the old days. I think he had a lot of mixed feelings and unconsciously his hand moved like that.
A few years ago, I went to my elementary school. There was no particular reason but just that I just visited. It was the same place … but I felt that only myself has changed. I do not know how to explain but I felt really puzzled/confused. I felt not only nostalgic but also I felt somehow lonely while thinking back. I think, Minwoo in that scene must felt the same as I did.

Changmin was scouted at age 14 and within a blink of eye, he became a member of the top artists, TVXQ. Because of this, he does not have memories of school-age faint love.
CM: I am shy to begin with. I did not have a female friend at all. I regret that very much (laugh). But thanks to this drama, I was able to experience the first love while having the feelings of teenager.

Changmin looked very shy while his big eyes were shining. People around him said, “it suits him very well.” about Changmin in high school uniform. How did Changmin think of that?
I guess I wore school uniform for the first time in 10 years. I was not sure whether it would suit me. But it was not like “ No way!” and I did not feel uncomfortable about it (laugh). The hair/make-up artist said, “ You play a role of high school student but you enjoyed alcohol yesterday and drinking made your skin older/your skin was no longer that of a teenager. (laugh) Nonetheless, I had so much fun because I felt that I returned to my teenage era.

Changmin does not have many appearances in drama/movies since his debut in Paradise Ranch (2011). However, the actor Changmin does exist who has enriched his expression and the variety of roles that he plays. I can tell that his life experience has helped him to express (himself) in acting. I am sure that Changmin must feel assure about his progress as the same way as me, if he, himself saw Mimi. When I asked him about it, to my surprise, he gave me an immediate answer.

CM: Unlike my previous acting experiences, this time, while I acted, I realized that not only “memorizing dialogs, acting cool & sensible, and delivering the dialogs in accordance with circumstances” but also “convey the dialogs precisely to the others from the point view of the character that I play” are significantly important. Even though the dialog does not have deep meanings and not very important, I thought that “having conversation with someone” and “just speaking out the dialog” are completely different. As a result, the gap will make a huge difference.. I felt something like that.

Do you mean, you were able to feel that the other actors were able to absorb/understand your dialogs?
CM: Yes, Yes! That is it! “ Wow, finally now, instead of “acting” with the other actors, we are having “conversation” together as each other’s character. As a consequence, I could put my feelings into my dialogs. I realized that how important it was… Of course, the basics of pronunciation and vocalization are very important too. But if I cannot have conversations with the other actors, then am I doing a poor job in acting? I felt something like that a lot through this drama. And I think this experience would affect me in my daily life. Not limited to the job in acting, in my daily life, I had made a little goal such as “From now on, I should have more ‘conversation’ with others.”

The Korean media give harsh critiques on the acting ability of actors. Whether the actors can do well in pronunciation or vocalization, they will be put on the (cutting) board and receive harsh criticisms. Many of the actors had studied basics of acting in drama course in college. It is understandable that Changmin who has started his career as an artist is humble about his acting..”Oh, I am not there yet..” But I could capture a glimpse of his self-confidence in between the lines.

CM: When I sing a song, there is one theme and it contains the introduction, development, turn and conclusion in three to five minutes. I sing the song according to the flow. So when I finish singing the song, I feel “I finished!/completed! “ However, in terms of acting, I think that I need patience and time much more than that. Because I need to express a variety of feelings, instead of “making” the feeling, but in order to “become one to” the feeling, I need to be prepared for a longer time such that I can bring out my own experience or imagine by simulation. I think these are the differences between singing and acting.

My main job is to sing a song… so to compare with actors who have been thinking, researching and studying since they wake up in the morning and till they sleep at night (all day long), I am not anywhere close to them (I am not at their level/ I am deficient in many aspects). However, the job to sing a song is also a job to express one’s feelings. Because I have continued to work on singing, I think I must have gained some techniques and skills in expression.. so I wish to take advantage of them in acting. I am really enjoying.

The way Changmin talks where he speaks Japanese and he carefully choses his words one by one and connects them.. is the best described as “being thoughtful”. I totally admire him for his preciseness of his pronunciation but perhaps this is because of his good ears of musician but also his hard-working and competitive characters. The decision of casting for Fly with gold is made on his excellent ability in speaking Japanese. He learned Japanese in order to sing good songs. There is no such a thing as a waste. Everything he absorbed is used as his big weapon.

CM: Having said that.. its really hard. I always feel the limit of language barrier. Therefore, certainly, I am grateful to the audiences who come to our lives. The two of us, the foreigners, are trying our best while we speak funny Japanese (broken Japanese)… but they laugh and cheer/support us. Every year, my gratitude becomes stronger. This is not a lie. It's the truth from my heart. The more we continue to perform, the stronger my gratitude gets.


I thank my dear friend Numa-chan (@tatukuma910) for sharing the Japanese text of the interview.

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