[INTERVIEW] Actress Hwang Woo Seul-hye

Interview with actress Hwang Woo Seul-hye

My name is Hwang Woo Seul-hye. My real name is Hwang Jin-hee but when I became an actress, my mom went to the naming center and came up with this name. There were other names I could choose from but I liked the vibe 'Seul-hye' gave off.
I was born on August 10, 1979 and my hometown is Seoul.
I don't know about other things but I have perseverance. I'm the type that works really hard on the things I enjoy like I did with jazz dance and yoga. The biggest advantage of yoga is that it helps relieve stress and stabilizes the mind and soul. When I dance to loud music for jazz dancing, it helps get rid of my gloominess.
I began acting after watching how powerful an actor was during a play. I stayed home for about two to three months thinking hard about what I should do and I just went to the workshop but of course they didn't take me in right away. I started by sticking up posters and I think instead of learning about technique I learned what it is to work yourself up from the bottom.
I met with my co-star Kim Nam-gil in "Last Night" to shoot the movie before he started playing his character Bidam in “Queen Seon-duk.” At first he seemed like a man of few words and all we did was greet each other but as time went by I found out he was considerate and a jokester. He would be joking one minute but when filming began he would return to his sad acting and I felt that good things will happen for him.
Because the setting for the film was the ocean, there were several scenes we had to shoot at an indoor pool to shoot the underwater scenes but once I opened my eyes and saw myself lying in the hospital. I had collapsed from hypothermia because we had been shooting for a long time. When I went back to resume filming I cried a lot because I had a sudden fear of the water. However, I stuck with it to the end because it was my job.
I still can't watch "that scene" from the movie "Crush and Blush" that everyone seems to remember. (laugh) After it was over, I thought to myself "How could I have done something like that?" I think I did it because I was assigned to it. I will put off everything that has not been assigned to me.
My actual voice is originally low but while filming "Searching for the Elephant" I spoke in an even lower tone. The director asked me to copy the speech like announcer Kim Ju-ha, so I watched the news and practiced. I spoke in a higher tone in "Crush and Blush," in "Speedy Scandal" I raised my tone and thinned the speech and in "Last Night" I spoke in a completely different tone from my previous works.
In "We Got Married," I tried to show a more spirited image than my usual self. I am actually very timid and cry easily but we are the type that try to put on a tough front in front of others. I should have been more sly but instead I talked about pig skin when we went to go eat meat. (laugh)
While shooting "Married," I remember revealing my bankbooks. Actors usually don't have a fixed salary so I began a savings in plans for the future. I don't usually spend a lot of money but I am a girl and I like to buy clothes, cosmetics and food.
I like healthy food. I don't like fast food and healthy food actually tastes good after a while. For instance, I eat multigrain rice, fish and duck. Oh, I haven't had duck in a while!
I am the happiest when I'm eating and watching a movie. I usually watch movies alone but I now enjoy watching them with others. However, with movies that I think others might feel are boring or they will hate me for asking them to watch, I'll watch alone.
The most recent film I watched was "Un Prophete." I watched it on White Day but I was relieved to see that there was a guy who was watching the film alone as well and next to him were two girl friends.
I enrolled into the Konkuk University College of Art and Design as a film major. Many people asked me why I'm going to school but I wanted to study hard and I thought I could learn a lot from the young freshmen. It is in preparation for my future plans 10 years from now. What is it? It's a secret. (laugh)

Reporter : Choi Ji-Eun five@10asia.co.kr
Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@10asia.co.kr
Editor : Lee Ji-Hye seven@10asia.co.kr, Lucia Hong luciahong@asiae.co.kr