How three-year acting break changed Kim Soo-Hyun

After a three-year acting break, South Korean star Kim Soo-Hyun said he’s “extremely nervous” over his onscreen comeback via the K-drama It’s Okay To Not Be Okay.

The 32-year-old actor, touted rom-com king for such successful series as My Love From The Star (2014) and The Producers (2015), had been away from the spotlight to fulfill his mandatory military service. He only did cameos in Hotel Del Luna (2019) and Crash Landing On You (2020).

Nevertheless, the off-screen life made him “thirst” for more acting work, he told news media from different parts of Asia, including The STAR, during a virtual press junket recently.

In It’s Okay To Not Be Okay, Soo-Hyun stars as the psychiatric ward aide Gang-Tae who, after the death of both his parents, has taken upon himself to take care of his older brother Sang-Tae (Oh Jung-Se) who has autism. He eventually meets a popular children’s book author Mun-yeong (Seo Ye-Ji) who has an antisocial personality disorder. How they all find and deal with each other will bring them hope, healing and love.

The series has been described as an offbeat love story, and according to the Korean press, it premiered last weekend as the highest-rated cable drama. In the Philippines, it also emerged as the most-watched Netflix content on the weekend of its debut on the streaming service.

Before its debut as the newest K-drama on Netflix, Soo-Hyun talked more about his thoughts and feelings about his acting return, much-anticipated by fans because it’s his first TV drama in five years (since The Producers; his last film was Real in 2017) after all.

Here are excerpts:

On what he thinks of his character, Gang-Tae:

“I am portraying a constantly weary character who appears stronger than anyone else when he’s with other people, but becomes weaker than others when he’s alone.

“When he is with his brother, Gang-Tae becomes the older brother. He has to become an adult in front of his brother. He would have to swallow his pride. He would have to just give in to things.

“However, when he meets Mun-yeong, that is when he begins to sort of let his guard down. He is able to complain about things and he becomes like a child in front of this character. So, I think, meeting Mun-yeong is like a transitional point to contest life in that sense.”

On preparation for his character as a psychiatric ward caretaker:

“A little before I started filming, I met an actual caregiver at a ward. His body was very sturdy and you could see traces of experiences left on him. I observed these kinds of things and thought I needed to make an effort to express these things since I don’t have these traits. Something I felt after observing him was that he always looked exhausted, kind of like how The Hulk always looks angry.”

On his most unforgettable scene from the series:

“There’s a scene where I teach the Butterfly Hug Method to Mun-yeong. It was the first scene where we have to be extremely close to one another. I was shaking and nervous. I think you’ll be able to see it in the broadcast.”

On his acting comeback after military service:

“This is my first piece of work after finishing the military service and because of that, I have been extremely nervous. I think I still am. While serving in the military, I really had this thirst to be onscreen again and to act. And I’m really grateful that It’s Okay To Not Be Okay has become my first one. And as thirsty as I have been for acting, I will do my very best to make sure that this is worth all of that.”

On how the hiatus has changed him as an actor:

“To talk about some of the things that I lacked or I didn’t have prior to a few years ago, I would say that first of all, after my military service, I have become stronger in terms of my physicality. I’ve become physically stronger.

“And I think I’ve been given or I’ve created a little more space (room to improve?), if you will, and by that I mean I think I have become a little bit more experienced... I have a little bit more space in my attitude toward acting. My attitude has shone through acting I would say. So, I think, for anyone who has seen my acting prior to (It’s Okay To Not Be Okay), I think you’ll be able to notice that once you see our show.”

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay drops two new episodes every Saturday and Sunday on Netflix.