[IMPORTANT] HELP BRING SUPER JUNIOR TO CANADA. SIGN THIS
“Because of me, Idols’ Musical Acting was noticed again.”
Super Junior’s Kyuhyun has debuted on the musical stage for already 4 years. But he has never acted in a creatively produced musical before. To Kyuhyun, who has acted in “The Three Musketeeers” and “Catch Me If You Can” (Broadway/licensed musicals), “Moon Embraces The Sun” is his first produced musical.
Furthermore, in this production, Kyuhyun has to shed his previously bright and cheerful image, and take on the challenge of one that is tragic and serious, and sometimes being the bad guy in front of his love; the role of Lee Hwon. What are Super Junior’s fans’ reactions to Kyuhyun’s acting skills? We met Kyuhyun, who plays Lee Hwon, on 7th of February at the Seoul Arts Centre.“Singing with emotion helped me act in musicals”
- There’s an English phrase, “ten to ten” which is used in musicals, it means to practise from 10 in the morning to 10 in the night. When Kyuyun was acting in his debut production “The Three Musketeers”, this “ten to ten” was very significant.
“I’ve acted in “The Three Musketeers” for 4 years. I put in much more effort because it was my first time standing on the musical stage. When the other members of Super Junior were busy with their own solo activities, I could immerse myself in musical practice. In 2010, the practice studio for my first musical was near my home. As I was afraid of being recognised, I wore a cap and shades, and took the subway to practice.”
- Kyuhyun had always acted in licensed musicals (with a fixed format), this is his first time taking on the challenge of a creatively produced musical. What is the biggest difference?
“I didn’t know that there was that much of a difference between the two kinds of productions at first. When the musical producers talked about the importance and difficulties of producing, I still wasn’t sure as to what the difficult parts were. It was only after “Moon Embraces the Sun” that I understood exactly how difficult a creatively produced musical is. In a licensed production, there are fixed expectations of the actors. But in a produced musical, the role and story changes according to how the actor plays his role. Fortunately, I received a lot of help for the seniors for my first performance. ”
- Like the musical “Song-Through” which was performed entirely with no words and just music, “Moon Embraces The Sun” also has many musical components, it seems as if it was to bring out the talents of singers-turned-musical-actors.
“I still don’t think I could do it if you asked me to act in a drama. But luckily, this is a musical. During the first “The Three Musketeers” performance, I think that my acting then to unbearable to watch. During my usual practice, I practiced a lot on how to insert emotion into my singing. This was very useful to me. I can now sing more confidently like the other musical actors. The more emotion you can convey through the song, the better it’ll be. During the usual musical practice, I treat Eom Kijoon hyung as my role model, and have found many good examples/benchmarks on him. And I made my mind up to not lose to him, at least in terms of singing.”
“No pressure being compared to Kim Soohyun who acts well”
- Having only acted as Frank from “Catch Me If You Can” and D’artagnan in “The Three Musketeers” so far, you would have become familiar with the character transformations. The new character Lee Hwon has presented a new challenge on musical acting.
“The characters I had acted before were more innocent/naïve and playful, with a hint of depth. But as Lee Hwon, the “depth” portion became more significant. My original image is one that is cheerful and innocent/naïve. And I am indeed still more used to that image. Acting sombre and pained is not easy. When I’m in a good mood, I had lots of trouble thinking of how to present a heavy-hearted emotion. Acting in the emotively tragic scenes was a huge test of my acting skills.”
- Out of the musicals that Kyuhyun has acted in, the character of Lee Hwon is one that has received the most comparisons. It had to be the Lee Hwon that Kim Soohyun acted as in the drama. It seems like you had put in a lot of effort to not pale in comparison to the role Kim Soohyun acted as.
“Kim Soohyun is of the same age as me, I know that he has had very good acting skills since he was young. ‘Kyuhyun’s acting isn’t bad. But looking at Kim Soohyun’s acting, and then looking again at Kyuhyun’s acting, there seems to be something slightly lacking.’ I’ve read that kind of comments too. I wasn’t stressed out reading those comments, instead, I was proud to be able to be compared to someone of the same age, and with such strong acting skills such as Kim Soohyun. When I watched Kim Soohyun acting, I was very amazed. And started thinking about “Why did he make such an expression?” or “Why did he emote such a feeling?” and gained some tips in diligently doing so. Even though I say that, I also don’t want to be imitating Kim Soohyun in my acting.”
- After acting in a few musicals, I seem to have developed the ability to choose the roles suitable for myself, and how to get those roles.
“(Kim) Dahyun-ie hyung and (Jeon) Dongsuk-ie’s versions of Lee Hwon are slightly different. Lee Hwon was one who received much pampering from the first king of Joseon, he had no fears in the world, and grow up cheerfully. When the King passed on, Lee Hwon was around 22 to 23 years of age. Even though he was still young, he had to uphold his dignity in order not be looked down upon by his subordinates. Even though he had an open heart, he was a lonely character with no one he could trust by his side. Lee Hwon was a person who was forced to look strong.”
- Lee Hwon had to pretend to be a bad guy in front of the woman he loves.
“As compared to the kind love that Yang Myung had, Lee Hwon’s was a ruthless one. Yeon Woo was a lady who made all the men fall in love with her. And Lee Hwon wanted to make Yeon Woo, a person like that, into a love that belonged only to him. Lee Hwon is a man who wants to have it all. There is a drama “Lovers in Paris” which Lee Dong Gun and Park Shin Yang acted in. In that drama, Park Shin Yang coveted the ownership of the company, but also wanted Kim Jung Eun’s love. While Lee Dong Gun only wanted a blissful love together with Kim Jung Eun. “Moon Embraces The Same” and “Lovers in Paris” are similar in that aspect.”
“In the kiss scene with Seohyun, it looked like I was throwing myself on her”
- As an oppa from the same company, I feel proud for Seohyun’s debut as a musical actor.
“It was originally planned for Seohyun to debut into the musical world through “The Three Musketeers”, but I remember at that time when I was acting in “The Three Musketeers”, I was joking with the hyungs from “The Three Musketeers” and “Jack the Ripper”; Ahn Jaewook hyung, Eom Kijoon-ie hyung and Shin Seungwoo hyung that “SNSD are people that have to be protected on a national level.” There are kiss scenes in the musical, and scenes were we need to adapt quickly and continue with the fast changing stage. There will be such a joke in the hearts of the uncle fans who want to protect Seohyun. But Seohyun still wanted to make her musical debut. SNSD already had a few members who had acted in musicals. I have sang duets with Seohyun before, and have acted as a couple with her in a music video too. I am proud that Seohyun made her musical debut.”
- How was your kiss scene with Seohyun?
“It wasn’t only I that had practised the kiss scene. Seohyun had also practised with Dahyun-ie hyung, and Dongsuk-ie. Seohyun was worried about “just kissing like that.” And had also that “all the kiss scenes with oppa would become issues”. This isn’t like other musicals where the kiss scene requires a long time. It’s only a one-second kiss on the lips and then shyly running away from the scene. I think that a scene like that that passes in an instant is okay. However, in my kiss scene with Seohyun, if you don’t watch the promotional video, but only look at the pictures, it looks like I wanted to throw myself onto Seohyun after I kiss her. What is seen from the photos is the complete opposite from what we originally wanted to portray.”
- Comparing Seohyun’s stage performance to Kyuhyun’s debut performance 4 years ago.
“My debut musical performance and Seohyun’s performance cannot be compared to each other. She acted really well. At that time, Wang Yong Bum director really gave me very intense training. From how I stood, walked, to how I spoke et cetera, he taught me everything personally, one by one. I was the first idol singer who had worked with Director Wang. And it was because of me that idol singers (who became musical actors) received positive attention. However, as compared to me, Seohyun has ever acted in a drama, so it wasn’t her first time taking on the challenge of acting. The other actors of “Moon Embraces the Sun” have not passed any critical comments. Looking at it like that, Seohyun also received many praises. From an acting perspective, there are no flaws. That’s why I said that my performance from 4 years ago cannot be compared to Seohyun’s performance. Seohyun really did very well.”
- Have you ever guided Seohyun on her acting?
“I was very nervous about the acting part in this “Moon Embraces the Sun”, and had been troubled a lot by it myself. In the schedule, I don’t have many collaborations with Seohyun, but more with the other female actors. So the time I spent practicing with the other female actors was also longer. Dahyun-ie hyung and Dongsuk-ie helped Seohyun out a lot. I only gave her some tips on how to quickly adapt as a first-time musical actor.”
“After acting in a musical for 4 years… Nothing is impossible”
- Like how the position of the King is a very solemn one for Lee Hwon in “Moon Embraces the Sun”, the burdens of being an idol is also heavy to Kyuhyun, as compared to other people of the same age.
“Actually, aside from not being able to go out freely, I don’t feel that the burden of being an idol is heavy. Because I debuted at about 20 years old, I still keep in contact with my middle school and high school friends. I’m not like the seniors Seo Taiji and HOT who took the secretive route. I’ve been out with my friends to restaurants for meals, so I cannot be compared to Lee Hwon.”
- As an idol steps onto the musical stage, his stage presence is also evaluated. As compared to “The Three Musketeers” 4 years ago, how would you rate your own stage presence?
“When I first debuted, I wouldn’t have been able to make it without the help of the seniors. Conversely, in “Moon Embraces the Sun, there is little help that can be given to the roles. If I had debuted through “”Moon Embraces the Sun”, I would probably have failed. Even though I’m not doing an amazing job now, I’ve improved a lot as compared to 4 years ago.”
- What do Super Junior and Kyuhyun’s overseas fans’ feedback after watching “Moon Embraces the Sun”?
“There are many overseas fans who came to watch the musical. But “Moon Embraces the Sun” is not a modern musical but period one. Honestly, some of the period dialogue is difficult to understand even for native Koreans. Even though the overseas fans may have studied Korean, there should still be many parts that they are regretfully unable to understand. It is regretful that there aren’t any subtitles, and I also feel sorry towards them.
When the overseas fans leave comments after watching me act, many of them say that I seem to suit the clothes. And many have also said that I look cute and handsome at the same time. Up to now, many people have expressed that they like my acting. Some fans who hadn’t seen the drama have said that the story is hard to follow, but could more easily understand the musical’s content after reading the prologue. There are also some who have seen the musical a few times and like it because they see the effort I put it.”- Doing activities with Super Junior, while going on with doing Hallyu musicals. Kyuhyun, were you able to foresee your current position 4 years ago?
“Musicals have received much more attention. There are now many more idol singers on the musical stage. When I debuted then, there weren’t many idol singers acting in musicals. At that time, there was only (Ok) Ju-hyun noona who acted in musicals. I have also thought about ‘How should I act in musicals?’ Thoughts that standing on a musical stage is not easy have also crossed my mind.
I never thought that I would to be in a musical, that dream-like stage, so many times like this. I want to do well on the musical stage. Seeing the other members on the musical stage, I thought in my hearts that ‘I’ll be able to do very well too. ‘ I immediately wanted to take on the challenge of a musical, thinking that there isn’t anything that is impossible. And I kept being given opportunities. I feel very fortunate to be able to do “Moon Embraces the Sun” this time.”
Source: OhmyStar
Translated by: kikiikyu
Shared by: greeniebeaniebeanie @ www.thesuperjuniorhandbook.wordpress.com
INCLUDE SOURCE WHEN TAKING OUT. THANKS.
