[Interview] Kim Heewon "Can't Live Without Smartphone... Like an Avatar"

'Just Dropped My Smartphone' Detective Role
Fourth Collaboration with Im Si-wan... Direct Offer to Appear
"Happiest When Acting, Hopes for Classic Melodrama"

If he had not asked to let a female student who was late for the academic qualification exam enter the exam hall and then left, or if he had not seen the extremist group's announcement in the newspaper he read on the subway he boarded right after, Kim Hee-won (52) would not exist today. Becoming an actor as if by fate, he had to live as an unknown for a long time. Ironically, the ups and downs at that time became the driving force for his relentless work now. His schedule is packed without a single day off, yet he said he still feels anxious and thirsty for more.

Kim Hee-won, whom I recently met at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, said, "Acting is fun. Sometimes it gets frustrating and painful, but if I didn't have acting, my life wouldn't be happy." He added, "I have severe trauma from when I was an unknown actor. If I don't have a project lined up, I can't rest comfortably. It's like an obsession of a freelancer. I'm grateful whenever someone seeks me out."

16 Years on the Acting Path... "I Want to Act for a Long Time"

Actor Kim Heewon [Photo by Netflix]

Kim Hee-won is diligently running forward. Debuting with the film Miracle on 1st Street (2007) and leaving a strong impression as the bulletproof glass uncle in The Man from Nowhere (2010), he has appeared in various works such as Mr. Go (2013), The Outlaws (2017), Secret Zoo (2019), Pawn (2020), Voice (2021), and dramas like Gu Family Book (2013), My Love from the Star (2014), Awl (2015), Be Melodramatic (2019), and Genre Romance Only (2021).

The word that came up most often from 16-year veteran actor Kim Hee-won was "sense of crisis." It was unexpected. Recently, he gained popularity for his candid and straightforward appearance on the variety show House on Wheels, and challenged romance acting in the comedy Genre Romance Only (2021). Despite his hectic schedule, he opened up honestly.

"As I get older, I wonder how long I can keep acting. I tell myself, 'I should do more while I'm still young.' I want to act like seniors Shin Goo and Lee Soon-jae, but I wonder if my stamina will keep up. There will definitely come a day when I have no work. Some say, 'At 90, you can play 90-year-old roles,' but that's absolutely not true. I feel a sense of crisis. Acting is a profession where someone has to seek you out, but someday they might not look for me anymore. Many actors who used to boast 'I'm a star' are nowhere to be seen now. I always try to be grateful and work hard."

Despite his complaints, Kim Hee-won is busy. He has several completed works. This year, he is set to meet audiences and viewers through films and dramas such as High Five, Silence, Moving, Han River, and Hip Hage. He said, "Why would I rest when I have nothing to do?" while sipping coffee. Then he added with a smile, "I really want to try a classic melodrama, but no matter how much I say it, no projects come my way."

"Please Write a Script Where I Am a Sworn Brother with Im Si-wan"

Actor Kim Heewon [Photo by Netflix]

Kim Hee-won delivered an impressive performance as Detective Ji-man, who suspects his son as a suspect and chases him, in the Netflix original film Secret Zoo (Director Kim Tae-joon), released on the 17th of last month. He said, "In typical thriller films, the detective chases and catches the criminal, but in this film, the process of the detective misunderstanding his son as the culprit and chasing him was attractive."

He added, "I liked how the detective, who is also a rigid and authoritarian father, was portrayed in a multi-dimensional way. Watching the victims, he also blames himself, thinking 'I have to scold my son.' I interpreted it as acting with a feeling of anger toward himself," highlighting his focus.

Secret Zoo started from Kim Hee-won's impression of the scenario and his image of Im Si-wan as Jun-young, who commits crimes using a smartphone he picked up. The two first met in the drama Misaeng (2014), continued their connection through the film The Outlaws, and the variety show House on Wheels.

"I often call Im Si-wan in daily life. I feel comfortable when I'm with him. We are like friends. So when acting together, our chemistry is good even without much talking. I thought he was a good junior who acts diligently and sincerely. In the film, Jun-young implants a crime program on someone else's smartphone and is good with computers, so I felt smart Si-wan would do well. Still, giving a script from one actor to another is difficult. It has to go through the company, but I used my connections. (laughs) On the day we met to recommend the project, I couldn't say anything until the end, but before parting, I said, 'I brought something, read it,' and handed it over casually. But I didn't want to force him as a senior. I just told him to read it comfortably and left. Luckily, our schedules matched."

Kim Hee-won and Im Si-wan have ironically always met in roles where they are at odds. Kim said, "In Misaeng, I played a role that bullied Im Si-wan, and in The Outlaws, I disliked him. In this film, we met again in a chasing role, but in the future, I want to meet in friendly roles. I hope someone writes a work where Im Si-wan and I appear as sworn brothers," he laughed.

People Trapped in the Smartphone World

[Photo by Netflix]

He cited realism as the virtue of the film. Kim Hee-won said, "What happens on smartphones felt realistic. The setting is that the phone is used to control the other person, and the way that person becomes controlled was chilling."

He continued, "If someone found out my phone password and opened it, how would I feel? Wouldn't everyone say 'Absolutely not'? Smartphones are like avatars that know me better than I know myself. I feel like people are trapped in the smartphone world. Now, it's a mood where you can't tell someone not to look at their phone during a conversation," he said. He added, "Now I can't live without my smartphone."

In reality, Kim Hee-won said he is not very good at using smartphones smartly. He explained that it is because he doesn't trust the smartphone world. "I hardly use smartphone applications. Just KakaoTalk, YouTube, and internet searches? I don't use social networking services (SNS). I keep forgetting my password whenever I change it, so I was worried every time I changed my phone, but recently, if I put phones next to each other, the information transfers. I don't do online shopping either. I find entering card information and signing up on sites bothersome and unpleasant, so I don't do it."