[Herald Interview] Shin Hae-sun’s first thriller leading role is ‘ordinary’

Shin Hae-sun (IOK Company)

According to Shin Hae-sun, the heroine of the 2020 hit drama “Mr. Queen” and the 2023 drama series “See You in My 19th Life,” her first-ever mystery thriller leading role in “Don’t Buy the Seller” was the most “ordinary” role she has ever played.

“Soo-hyun is a character without any superpowers, a character that is colorless and odorless compared to the characters I played previously,” Shin told the Korea Herald in an interview in Seoul on Tuesday.

Most recently, she played a young woman who has been repeating her life through reincarnation for nearly a thousand years, with an ability to perfectly remember all her past lives in “See You in My 19th Life.” Before that she was Queen Cheorin from the Joseon era in “Mr. Queen,” whose body is swapped with the master chef of the royal family.

But as people often say that playing an ordinary person is the most difficult mission for actors, Shin said playing Soo-hyun in “Don’t Buy the Seller” was not an easy project.

“The reason I thought I should play Soo-hyun was that over the past years of experience in this field, I played so many roles that have special traits. There were no special traits or past with Soo-hyun, so it was difficult for me to create this character from scratch,” Shin said, adding that she focused on conveying the buildup of anger and fear as the story unfolds.

“There are projects where the story is inside the character, or the other way around. But this film was not about the character leading the storyline, but rather based on the story which leads the character throughout the running time,” she added.

As a timid person, Shin said she is often afraid of her front bell ringing, although she lives with her extended family, including her 7-year-old nephew. Shin also keeps a sticker blocking her front-facing camera lens to avoid any phone hacking. When she’s out of town for shooting, she turns on music 24-7 in her room to avoid the feeling of being alone.

“I’m not really good at watching thriller films, but I’ve always wanted to feature in one because I can get vicarious satisfaction. Maybe I should star as a ghost next time,” Shin said jokingly.