The chameleon carries on: Kim Go-eun's versatility continues in 'Price of Confession'

Even the most versatile actors, being human, inevitably develop an image over time, whether as a lead in lighthearted rom-coms or as the hardened detective in a crime thriller.

Performers who move fluidly across genres are few and far between, but Kim Go-eun is one of them.

From playing a bright, innocent high schooler in “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God,” to embodying a charismatic, cold shaman in “Exhuma,” and portraying a hard-drinking, sexually open young woman in “Love in the Big City,” Kim has become one of Korean cinema's most trusted character actors.

Kim now takes on yet another guise in Netflix's “The Price of Confession,” portraying Mo Eun, a seemingly emotionless killer who strikes a deal with fellow inmate Yoon-su (Jeon Do-yeon).

Through the series, Mo promises to confess to the murder Yoon-su is charged with, in exchange for asking Yoon-su to kill someone for her once she is released.

Sporting her shortest haircut to date and erasing emotion as she commands Yoon-su, Kim says embodying Mo was a challenging feat, as despite Mo’s unfeeling exterior, Kim viewed her as far more layered than a flat, emotionless villain.

In person, Kim has a sunny, easygoing presence. So how does she manage the switch to Mo’s icy demeanor?

“As I started preparing for the role, there were a few things that kept weighing on my mind. I began noticing parts where the character’s logic didn’t quite line up. For example, the audience believes (and characters believe) Mo's a psychopath ... but if the character actually isn’t one, I had lots of questions — such as how should I portray Mo when she's alone?" said Kim during a press interview held on Friday.

“That’s where my first big dilemma came from, which how to satisfy the setup while still maintaining internal logic. Eventually, I suggested that instead of the character pretending to be a psychopath, it might be more compelling if Mo simply exists as herself while others around her misunderstand her. So rather than acting like a psychopath, (I thought) she's just Mo — but people perceive her as strange," said Kim.

“The direction I envisioned for Mo was someone whose emotions have completely broken down. Since the upcoming storyline would clearly explain why she ended up that way, I felt that as long as the narrative showed that convincingly, it wouldn’t feel far-fetched. So that’s how I approached the character," she added.

For Kim, shaping Mo became an unexpectedly enjoyable creative exercise — one that made her realize how her expanding body of work has deepened her joy in acting.

“I do feel that the range of roles has broadened a bit. ... When one project does well, you tend to receive similar roles for a while — roles that follow the same tone or grain as that character. That image keeps coming in. But you can’t just sit around waiting for the next opportunity, and at the same time, you can’t insist, ‘I want to do this one,’ when it’s not being offered," said Kim.

“As I went through that period, projects like 'Exhuma,' for instance, arrived in a way that felt completely unexpected. And that made it even more exciting. ... That’s something that brings me a lot of joy as an actor," she said, adding, “And now, since the roles coming my way have definitely become more diverse in tone, I feel that things have improved a lot for me as an actor.”

Looking ahead, Kim says she hopes to keep pushing into new territory, not through strict strategizing, but through flexibility, intuition and timing.

“I think you need some level of planning when choosing projects so that your next steps connect naturally. For example, after finishing a previous project, I naturally look for something that doesn’t overlap too much in tone," said Kim.

"But it’s hard to make a concrete plan like, ‘My next project will be this genre,’ ... So rather than planning, I’ve been choosing based on the flow of what comes in. But this time was interesting because I happened to receive projects that matched my personal circumstances almost perfectly. That felt quite surprising," she added.