EXCLUSIVE: Lee Sung-kyung and Kim Young-dae Interview

Did you catch the premiere of Shooting Stars starring Lee Sung-kyung and Kim Young-Dae last weekend? We did and we are so happy we have another K-drama to look forward to every Saturday and Sunday!

Shooting Stars is a new Korean drama that is set within the exciting and fast-paced entertainment world, where an entire team work for a roster of stars and celebrities, making sure they book all the right projects and avoid scandal and career-jeopardizing moves along the way. It centers on Oh Han-byeol (Lee Sung-kyung), the PR team leader of management company. She has come a long way spending years in the industry working with top celebrities and has excellent skills in speech and crisis management.

On the other hand is Gong Tae-sung (Kim Young-dae), a top actor managed by Han-byeol's management company. Due to his image of being a kind and warm-hearted person, Tae-sung is loved by many and is very popular. However, Gong Tae-sung also has a different side which not many see: extremely competitive, temperamental, and has an ability to hold a grudge for a long time. Needless to say, Han-byeol and Tae-sung clash often, bickering over anything, but hold affection for each other somehow. As the drama's first few episodes suggest, their relationship will develop romantically—in the most funny and entertaining way that viewers will love to witness.

In this exclusive interview, the lead actors of Shooting Stars talk about let us know how it has been like shooting the K-drama, how they prepared for their respective, and what they would wish for if they saw a shooting star in the sky.

This drama is about stories happening behind the stars working in the entertainment industry. Many people are working hard with different roles behind the scenes, like the people working around you in real life. You must have discovered new emotions relating to their stories. Do you feel anything different towards staffs around you after this drama?

Kim Young-dae: Maybe it was because I started to film this drama. "What is that person sitting there doing?", "What is that person's role?". I didn't know about them previously. I learnt a lot through this opportunity. To our PR team sitting with us here today, I’m also starting to feel very thankful. This drama had instilled a lot of such emotions in me. Not just the PR team but...

Lee Sung-kyung: Your manager is going to cry!

Kim Young-dae: He is always like that. Managers, and all the staffs who work hard around us, I started to feel how thankful I am towards them.

Lee Sung-kyung: I have worked for a long time with the people around me, some of them are still working, some have already left. We would talk to each other on any difficulties since we became closer than just work relationships, staying beside each other when we face difficulties. A lot of such scenes flashed back in my mind; I have also taken them as references while acting. I didn't experience personally but indirectly beside them; I could relate to them. I'm glad that I could express them through my acting, not just for this occupation, I believe a lot of others could resonate too. This is possible to achieve too. I really like this part.

If you see a shooting star in the sky, what will you wish for?

Kim Young-dae: Shooting Stars will be a hit. It's my personal wish. If I could wish for something else, I hope COVID-19 could end soon, I hope the world could be peaceful, I hope everyone could be happy. That's all from me.

Lee Sung-kyung: Me too. I hope COVID-19 could come to an end, I hope the world could be peaceful. I hope everyone who watches our drama Shooting Stars could be healthy and happy. Everyone please be healthy and happy, and watch our [drama] Shooting Stars.

Kim Young-dae: That is our point!

For Young-dae. You played the role of a flawless top star, have you done any special preparation for this role? Did you refer to any people in real life or other actors during the process?

Kim Young-dae: Actually, I have learnt a lot from my seniors at the filming site. They all have their own comfortable pace of acting. Since I'm not actually a top star in real life, I was a little unsure of what to do at the start, actually Han-byul helped me a lot. She told me a lot of stories which I can refer to, that helped me a lot. You could even tell the difference in the front part of the drama versus the back part, I have progressed while filming the drama. Apart from this, you mentioned that this is a flawless character just now, actually he has a lot of flaws. I have also worked on how to play out those flaws in an interesting way. It was easy, because I actually have a lot of flaws too. It was like expressing my original self in an interesting way.

Previously, has introduced you to a lot of audience, this time you are playing the lead role. Do you feel a great sense of responsibility that followed? How do you feel?

Kim Young-dae: I was very nervous and insecure. To be honest, I felt a lot of responsibility and stress. But I saw it as a process that I must go through with my first lead role, so I accepted it as it was. It will become memories when I look back in future.

The next question is for Sung-kyung. Your role Oh Han-byul has extraordinary eloquence and crisis management ability. Have you done any special preparation for this character? Did you encounter any difficulty?

Lee Sung-kyung: There were a lot of existing references for Han-byul's character based on my experience so I didn't have to seek for extra advice, I already had a lot of materials to refer to. There are a lot of people at my company whom I have worked with and got close to. I have heard a lot of stories from the senior female staffs and their worries, although I didn't experience what they went through personally, I could resonate with them a lot. And I incorporated what I resonated with into my acting. It was fun, like my own story and experience. Playing this character brought me such a fresh experience.

Does actor Lee Sung-kyung and the head of PR team in the drama have any similarity?

Lee Sung-kyung: I like to resolve issues quickly and I feel the importance of it. From Han-byul's point of view, PR and crisis management need to be quick, I also think it's important to respond to issues quickly. I've always been doing so, I think the direction we work towards is similar.

Lastly, would you like to greet your fans?

Kim Young-dae: Dear audience of tvN Asia, thank you very much. I hope you would really love our Shooting Stars!

Lee Sung-kyung: Shooting Stars will bring you lots of interesting and touching stories, I hope you would feel lots of joy after watching it! Stay healthy, too. Thank you.

Shooting Stars is currently airing Every Saturday and Sunday 9.15pm on tvN (Smart GigaPlay app).