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| Actor Kim Young-dae played the role of global star Gong Tae-sung in tvN's rom-com series, "Shooting Stars." Courtesy of tvN |
Kim takes first lead role in rom-com series
By Lee Gyu-lee
Rising star Kim Young-dae's acting career took off fairly quickly since debuting with a supporting role in a web series just months after stumbling across the entertainment industry through his current agency, Outer Korea.
Making himself known through the rom-com series, "Extraordinary You" (2019), Kim made a strong impression on viewers throughout all seasons of the hit series, "The Penthouse: War in Life," last year, finally landing his first lead role in tvN's rom-com series, "Shooting Stars," which wrapped up last week.
"'Shooting Star' is the best gift that came to me at the most appropriate time (of my career)," the actor said during a recent interview with The Korea Times. "As this was the first work I got to lead as the main character, I felt very anxious and was under great pressure, but there was a lot that I've learned from this series. I felt great energy from this set and regret nothing."
The 16-part rom-com series revolved around globally famous actor Gong Tae-sung (Kim) and the PR manager at his entertainment agency, Oh Han-byul (Lee Sung-kyung).
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| Actor Kim Young-dae / Courtesy of Outer Korea |
As a PR agent, Han-byul's job is to make the agency's stars shine, especially its top-tier client, Tae-sung, who is presented as a perfect star despite his hot temper. The two friends from college develop their bickering relationship as co-workers to cross the boundaries of business and romance.
It was directed by Lee Soo-hyun, who led the romance series, "Find Me in Your Memory" (2020), and scripted by newcomer Choi Yeon-soo, who wrote the story based on her real experiences working at an entertainment company.
The actor said that he could relate to the series' story, which follows the life of the stars and the people at the agencies that represent those stars.
"I could relate to the story because it was so closely related to the world that I'm in. In fact, I actually learned a lot from it, learning the things that I didn't know, like how I should express appreciation to the people I'm thankful to," he said.
He said that playing the character of a sought-after A-lister was still difficult.
"Since I'm not a top star in real life, it was difficult to get into the character … I'm usually shy so I was worried if I could fit into the character of a brazen star actor," he said, adding that he took reference from series like "My Love From The Star" (2013) and "Entourage" (2016). "The director told me to think like I'm the best. I couldn't get the gist of it at first but as I got used to the set and the crew, it became more comfortable (portraying the character)."
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| Kim Young-dae says playing an A-list actor was difficult. Courtesy of tvN |
Although it took him some time to get used to playing a famous star, Kim said that he still had a lot in common with the character, which helped him take a step forward in acting.
"I've learned a lot and developed in terms of acting. Until now, I would feel anxious if the character doesn't fit me. But this was the first character that I felt like suited me," he said, adding that the character's clumsiness, relationship with the agency's CEO, and how he is around his close people resembles who he is.
The actor, who doesn't have much experience in the romantic comedy genre, shared that his chemistry with his co-star Lee was great, resulting in lovely scenes of the on-screen couple.
"I tried to like Han-byul as a character. So (the romance) came out naturally … Our chemistry was great," he said. "(Lee) helped me and gave me advice on the romance scenes. Because it's my first time doing a rom-com, it was difficult to grasp and she guided me through it. She gave me comments on what would work in making up certain scenes."
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| "Shooting Stars" streams to over 160 countries through various platforms, including VIKI. Courtesy of tvN |
The series saw a rather disappointing viewership rating, ending at a 1.6 percent rating with its last episode.
However, despite its local rating, the series garnered popularity overseas, streaming in about 160 countries through different platforms. It topped the streaming chart of the Japanese streaming service, U-Next, and of the global platform, VIKI, in North America, Europe and the Oceania region.
Kim shared that he got a sense of the series' popularity abroad when he visited Thailand for a photo shoot recently.
"There were so many people at the airport who came out to greet me. I even almost thought the outlet (for the photo shoot) had staged it and hired actors," he said. "Then I realized that viewership rating isn't everything. Foreign fans would greet me and it was so amazing. They had signs that read 'Shooting Star' and 'Kim Young-dae' and I felt so grateful."
When asked what kind of actor he hopes to be, he said he wants to take one step at a time, rather than setting a grand ultimate goal for now.
"I'm going to continue to do this job. So rather than having a huge, ambitious goal right now, I just hope my next work can draw a positive response from viewers like, 'Oh, that guy is good,'" he said. "I'm just trying to take one step forward at a time from where I stand."
