Sandra Oh & Jung Ho-Yeon | Actors on Actors - Full Conversation

I never cares about people's opinions and like of my life and everything I even doesn't want to listen my mom's opinion That's different though Yeah There's the internet and then there's your mom When you were filming Did you basically film in order or how much was because it's almost like everything is almost in one Place mostly I think in order because of the set situation some scenes from the end Episode came front. Yeah, that was the time where I had so much pressure Yeah But especially the games. Yes, it was in order so we can have the sense of where we have to go And why we are shooting the director thought this line Should come from this character not to this character Then he moved around and then we all agree with that Like he always thinking of each character So we have to believe what he said So maybe we were like too much making joke about So we we didn't feel that intense we were more like joyful. Yes be intense I think Joyful to be intense It was it was just as an actor to have those kind of scene is I think exciting. Yeah, that's very excited. Yeah Maybe it's weird to say it but While I'm shooting my death scene, I was so happy. I was most comfortable since I ever had it's because I've been living with my character over like few months and then there is a time that I have to let her go and I kind of feel like I I can happily let her go because I can understand maybe not fully but I'm the one who can understands her most in this world So I know her like a stress and I know how her life was so Struggle and hard so I was like It wasn't that bad or sad that it was like happiness death It's weird to say it but I felt that so I feel I can relate because it's basically when you get to Really express the truth of a character Even when you're saying goodbye It's very satisfying Killing if you've been like filming over four years, right? Yeah. How was your experience? I would say for me killing eve was probably one of the hardest jobs i've ever had because I felt like So much of the entire show is so about the internal life at least of eve What does it matter if? If the cells keep dividing and it's endless if all we can do in life is Try to find some joy in the little things When you have a character that you get to play for like a long time And I think this is a really great thing about television. Is that you are you are Creating her you're creating them in real time So I really felt pleased that I saw an image Of myself as eve from the very first season And I saw an image of eve in the fourth season and I felt they looked like two different people. It's a lot of human Nature and human elements that really go into saying that this person has changed this character has changed So I felt ultimately emotionally For eve to start out as in I have a regular life I have a regular life. I'm kind i'm kind of basically happy but at the very end she's lost everything But is also in survival and has gained more of herself as a whole Woman because I just think this is true not that it always has to be this way, but it is when things are difficult That is a real opportunity to grow So you see eve go through difficult Difficult challenges difficult just like your character those are difficult challenges, right? And so even as your character said It starts very closed Right the way that she opens up a little bit Is authentic we see how she has because she's trusted this character because she knows you have this responsibility Um, but that's just not easy to do and I found it very challenging um But that joyful satisfying Because I felt like what I laid down was real at least I I kind of 100% agree with that and then it's just like so inspired me because I really wanted to while i'm like studying acting still Trying to figure it out the complexity of human beings It's not just like there is only one answer sometimes we are like simple like we just want to have soju So we are going for soju But like sometimes we cannot say this person is this you know, but like What I kind of admire about your acting was Every kind of scene your face has that complexity. You just don't feel just one thing But like human always when you face with this difficulty like difficult situation You kind of feel so many things like in your head in your mind You don't know what's like exactly happening to you what you feel right now But when the time passed by you realized maybe that was that building. Yeah Yeah, it's almost like you don't know what you're feeling But like as an actor we have to kind of yeah It's our job to be able to choose in this moment I'm going to choose to show that she doesn't know what she's feeling this way Because ultimately you have to build something right? So How do you want to tell the character's story? Before the end and how what do you want that ending and that death? To be and to me and you know myself as eve It's like when you have a character that I was able to develop for four seasons. I thought a lot Absolutely about what I want that end to me I think our acting complete when it's in we are doing interview Oh interesting so like When when we are shooting we trying to have plan But we couldn't know 100% Of this character or this situation I think but after the tv show came out We watched it and we got the reaction of people and we organized it maybe that was that and that was that and also there is my um, experience while filming or like having this reaction and also after like Saying in the interview, I think it's complete you're right. I like when When you start getting questions about what is this? What is that? I think that's honestly sometimes the first time I start thinking of What happened? What did I want to say? There's again? Yes There's so many things that it's not the planning is not the right word that what you're thinking about in the creation of it But you don't know ultimately what it's going to be, right? You are the same person you are exactly the same i'm not here to argue maybe i've changed have you thought of that Maybe I don't need any What are you doing praying for you? For killing eve. I think you Build up like the relationship of the other actor's character Like with the killing even also the chair With villanelle and the bill It's so complicated. So like how do you kind of communicate with the other co-actor like That's so interesting. You're choosing J duplass who played bill in the chair and jodie comer who played villanelle and in killing eve completely different. Oh, really? Yeah, completely different, right? So you're talking about let's say with villanelle with jodie jodie and I didn't really talk a lot Oh, no, we didn't really talk a lot because there was so much. Um magic That was going on that. We both knew we're not going to touch it. We're just not going to talk about it It's going to be very ambiguous and I think that's some of what it really works between the two characters You don't know what's happening between them. They don't really know what's happening between them, right? That's also the same feeling In like the kind of romance that jean is having with bill in the chair But they have a very long-standing relationship There's a lot of friendship that's going on there, but the difference is that I had four years with jodie I had Three months, let's say it's same like, you know with with j duplass who plays bill It's very interesting per show. You get a different actor. You get a certain type of openness um, there was a lot of Physicality that actually j duplass and I found um So in the chair my character june and bill were both professors and we're long-term friends But there is a romance happening We found that whenever we were in a scene We would somehow immediately get physically close Or we would fight over something or we would try to do something and always those those those physical moments always, um Basically mimicked having sex So we were like always like fighting but it looked like we were having sex or we're trying to get something But it looks like we're having sex. So it was actually hilarious how that just naturally developed because you have um, Storytelling physically, but it was because I would say j duplass It's great great actor and he's very open. Give me those keys Oh my stop give me the keys give me the keys you're not the chair anymore Oh my god Sorry No, we're just We were both willing and open. Also, it was very fast Killing eve was not necessarily fast in the kind of like we gotta madly create something But the chair was it was very very fast. So we were just like, okay wide open. Okay, let's get naked Okay, let's do this and we would touch each other a lot We would touch each other a lot because why we had to find a quick way Of becoming friends but having uh, the history of being friends for a long time So we would actually touch each other. So then when we would be in a scene there is a bond If we get together no one is gonna take me seriously, it'll be like You know, he only supports her ideas so he can get in her pants I genuinely support your ideas As a korean american to have this link with a native korean You know, I mean is is really important kind of monumental for me for me and I think this is a real change For us as korean americans and i've always been always interested in the native korean perspective Like how do you see us as? For me i've been thinking about a lot about that when I came to Us for campaigning for street game. I met a lot of asian american people and said to me that oh Thank you for representing us. We are so proud of you. So I was at the beginning. It was just happy but like I also kind of think about am I Available to get to know like asian american community that well because I came from korea I lived in korea almost my whole life. Am I allowed to represent them? and like I have kind of Extra responsibility of Kind of I should be well, you know, I thought a lot about that too for you and I just want to I want to take that off of you because It is a large responsibility that I it feels familiar to me That you have to pay attention to and also it cannot crush you. You know, so So while those questions are I think very important Because like like this so the other day I was driving on um, sunset boulevard so on sunset boulevard it's like you're driving down like american capitalism like and you see like what uh, what hollywood or north america Capitalism is showing what is what we should follow what we should buy. Oh, and you are on that You are like on the side of a building. So i'm driving. We're like, oh, there's my girl But then also I will say There was probably two more billboards where there uh is another asian model and another Model, I think maybe she's mixed race And I remember feeling like I don't know how many times I have driven on sunset boulevard like a billion And uh, I don't think I would have seen that four years ago You know, yeah, I don't think I would have seen that four years ago. No, I don't I mean i'm only talking four years ago Because i've had this question. I think my entire career which is How much do you think things have changed for asian americans blah blah blah and I will only say that it was for me Maybe 2019 that I feel for us as asian americans things have changed so I understand that question that you have And i'll also say not to put any kind of pressure on you But you are in the image making a very important part for I think asian americans In the way that I do think that the change and the opening and the growth is coming and in diversity Not only racially but in every other kind of way. So So while I want to thank you for that because I do I also want to relieve you of any kind of It's impossible to relieve you of pressure, but I feel like you You don't know how to be yourself. I'm trying i'm trying but it's just all I can do is just keep trying not to Overthink about this responsibility, but also cares about this responsibility Like trying to make the balance Because it was just my first project. I was like, okay I'm going to be an actor and then I did audition and then I got it I was so happy and then while i'm filming I was so happy and when the squid game came out It's just like going Like oh, yeah Certainly. Oh and you are yeah here an international Yeah superstar and then like people recognize me and even like you was For me I was like a little charred in korea and gray Anatomy was like a huge thing in korea because of you and then you're kind of icon of us And then when I met you at sag awards, you know me and that was like Wow, and then like there is a like a bunch of people that already know me. Yeah that feeling was like weird, but also And also like oh wow, it's maybe like good to have this like Accessible like to in this community and then it's very nice to feel this Accessible like feeling but also at the same time i'm getting scared like People are watching things that i'm saying or like going where i'm going. It's like people starting to Attention. Yeah, and I never cares about that many people's opinions and like of my life and everything I even doesn't want to listen my mom's opinion That's different Yeah, there's the internet and then there's your mom And but now I think I think i'm trying to get used to it and then trying to not go to extreme this side or to extreme that side Foreign The position that you are in right now as Amazing and fantastic and all the things that I think people imagine it to be It's very hard what you're doing. It's very difficult what you're doing and it's very um isolating Right, there's not many people at all understand your experience. So how have you felt so far that you are keeping healthy Keeping balance. I think I ask a lot of questions to people who better um more experience like director hwang speed game and executive producer or And Like the people around me And even they don't have like a proper answer on my question, it's just good to share about like doubts and like thoughts In me right now So it's helpful to just keep sharing not to be too much isolated With closest people I think but how about you? I just wanted to ask I always ask to jungjae And haesu sunbaenim and director hwang how you deal with like this crazy journey I feel like yours is like this. Yeah And that's that's just different I think that it's You know, I can talk about let's say the thing that I think that is the closest in relationship is when Grey's Anatomy came And I think that my life changed very much and it's tricky to kind of imagine because this is almost 20 years ago So the context is very different, but the stress Is the same? Or the confusion is the same And I think that's why my question to you is how are you taking care of yourself? Is is that I think? When people are in extremely amazing privileged heavy responsibility positions like this your personal health you know what I mean is uh I think I realized came first Because I feel like honestly I got sick I think my whole body got was very very sick Um, even though you keep on working it's like right but it's just like oh, I can't sleep, right? Oh, uh, you know, my back hurts. I don't know what's wrong with my skin You know, these are the things that that kind of come in and you that you realize that you learn that um you know to answer your question, it's like I feel like I I learned that I had to take care of my health first And but that's not only your body, right? That is your your soul That is definitely your mind, right? You know, so even those things I doubt Question because you can't ultimately depend on anyone else You have to no matter somehow find it within yourself You ask people's opinions, right? Yes, of course, but then ultimately you know, we are alone with each other with ourselves, right? I think for that finally like last Uh, not last two weeks ago. I I went back to korea And then I took just one week break And I didn't kind of answers Answered all that email about like schedules and like people's like like contact because I just kind of think that because before that Uh going back to korea Uh, I was in london and I was sick like Little so sick. Yeah, so sick my body because like I think my mental was kind of didn't realize that how much I Yeah run down Yeah But like when your body got sick and that moment that you realized oh, maybe this was too much So I realized that oh, maybe let's be healthy first and then do the job, but it's not gonna be easy and then I still gonna make mistakes and but Yeah, just trying I think i'm struggling But trying yeah the ability to be present is a big part of our job, right? So I have a question for you regarding modeling regarding modeling because I mean knowing you for the short time that I have you are Such a like a like this, right? This is how I do. Yeah, and then like your modeling persona is like someone else So it's like when I met you i'm like that is not what I expected Can you tell me a little bit because obviously you're very practiced you're very Experienced as as a model What is that creation of that persona? I think there is some different part of process Doing modeling and acting I think While I was kind of practicing to be a model. I was more about focusing Keep practicing and practicing practicing meaning walking meaning how you look how many like what what is that walking? I practiced a lot in korea. I think there's a lot of kinds of academies And there is model academy. Also. I went to model academy and learned how to walk and I read fashion magazines a lot and then I Like googled the models that I love and then follow their pose and they never smile. Yeah They never smile. I was like you were a smiley person. Yeah, and the model person never smiled No, but but go on I see so you have Influences right that you are following and you started developing your own style based on their style or yeah And then I think I I was more about I focused on more like muscle movements and the posing like angling like those kind of things and Like why I was getting Into like watching movie what i'm doing modeling. I kind of falling love it feeling you know and then at that at the same time I went to a lot of like a museum to like see the art and then I kind of realized the sense of how to feel of watching something at the time I think And then I started thinking about as an artist how you're gonna like how you feel and I think While i'm preparing and learning acting I try to combine two things like my muscle movements about angling and everything like But also more focused about how human feels like this like at this situation how Sandro feels about this plant and how I feel about this plant how People feel about yeah And yeah, I think so now i'm kind of trying to still keep thinking about having this Curiosity about human beings like what's human's thoughts and everything and but still while i'm shooting speed game, I Never thought about acting like in front of the camera There could be angle and there is things that you have to care about but I couldn't think about that First job. Yeah Just know your lines and just show up I just only kind of at the beginning it was worse I was I only thought about how to be present like as my character in this situation, but I Don't I couldn't think about there is a camera this side or this side or those kind of things But slowly I can learn because like the actors and the staff and the director of scripting They were so nice people. They just show me This is example. Yeah example. Yeah, and then speed game was unique because of like our situation of characters We are on the same situation Yeah, but different character has different reactions. So it was like total Acting academy to like watching someone's I see. Yeah. Yeah, we should do. Yeah Thank you so much to spend time with you