Kim Soo Hyun Was Painfully Shy as a Child

With just two episodes aired, lead actor Kim Soo Hyun‘s scenes in Netflix romcom Queen of Tears <淚之女王> has already been evoking buzz! The heartthrob spills more on his unexpected foray into showbiz, and the pressures he faced at the height of fame.

Accidental Foray into Acting

Returning to the small screen after an absence of three years, the 36-year-old actor, who is quite the introvert, was asked how he started his career in showbiz. He confessed, “Until now I’ve yet to overcome 100%”. The heartthrob recounted that his mother had been so concerned about his introvert personality, that she suggested he attend acting school. Going ahead with her proposal, Kim Soo Hyun started putting up mini stage performances while attending classes, and found that he loved the heartwarming thrill of being applauded by family and friends at the end of every performance.

As for his transformation into a top Hallyu star, Kim Soo Hyun recalled going for a drama audition where the producer director had simply said, “I like your hair, and hope you can take on this role,” Thus his acting journey started with Will It Snow for Christmas, Dream High, The Moon Embracing the Sun and the film The Thieves, before 2013’s mega hit My Love From the Stars pushed him up the heights of fame.

Struggled with Perfection & Fear of Losing His Sense of Authenticity

Humbly expressing how the drama’s popularity was “beyond his imagination”, Kim Soo Hyun later won top acting accolades with his role in workplace drama The Producers, becoming the youngest award recipient ever. However, he did not take well to the twin pressures of Hallyu stardom and clinching coveted acting accolades. Instead of fully immersing in the applause and admiration, the actor thought that bringing people joy through acting is a great thing, but wondered if the world still needed the real “Kim Soo Hyun”. He started feeling that he should make efforts to conceal his private persona, while worried that he might eventually lose his sense of self.

Whenever his projects were approaching closure, Kim Soo Hyun would be overcome by a sense of defeat that he had not fully processed the nuances of his character, and felt that he had to attain perfection and not allow any hiccups along the way. His pressures only faded when he enlisted after being cleared for combat at the age of over 30, which turned out to be a good opportunity for him to reboot, and strengthen himself both physically and psychologically to better prepare him for the next challenge.

Watch Kim Soo Hyun in “Queen of Tears”:

Source: KoreaStarDaily