- From a supporting role in a weekend drama to a daily drama, sageuk and even a mini-series; it seems like you slowly made your way up.
“Honestly speaking, I didn’t have such intentions in the beginning. Who would think of doing a lead role or the likes of a mini series since debut? I had the exact same thoughts. Thinking back, I thought slowly making my way up like that was my path. I am proud of the path that I’ve walked on.”
- Did you have slumps too?
“It was quite tiring while filming ‘Smile Donghae’. The drama was doing very well, but I was not satisfied with my acting. I had a lot of thoughts like ‘Do I have talent? Shouldn’t I be quitting?’ and it made me really uneasy. Then, Director Kim Yoo Suk told me, ‘Changwook-ah, There are no actors who have natural talent. Everything will be fine if you work hard.’ When I heard that, it helped settle me down. There are no actors who are born as actors. It all depends on how each person displays his own charms and how he expresses himself based on how much he has studied.”
- If you couldn’t be an actor, what would you have done?
“I’ll probably be an ordinary office worker. When I was schooling, I was also a very ordinary student. I studied because students have to study in school, I did not cause any big trouble and I was obedient; I was that kind of ordinary kid.”
- Then how did an ordinary student become an actor?
“When I got to my third year of high school, I started to wonder ‘Am I really studying because I’m happy? Until when can I keep on doing this? What exactly do I like?’ In the midst of that, the people who acted on TV seemed very interesting. I just thought I should act so I enrolled at the theatre and film course at Dankook University. Even when I think now, my entry to university was amazing. But because I went there on an impulse, I was also wandering a lot during my university days. Looking at my peers, they all had ambitions for acting, they were knowledgeable, and also had a clear dream. They really seemed like artists. But I was totally not like that. I often thought ‘Why am I here?’ and I was confused. So I hardly went to school in my first year. My grades were also horrible; they were either Ds or Fs.”