Jeon Do-yeon opens up about initial hesitation on ‘Revolver’ project

Actress Jeon Do-yeon on Monday reflected on her initial reluctance to accept a role in the action thriller "Revolver," which came after a four-year wait for the film's script to be completed. "To be frank, I was reluctant to take on the project when I finally received the script," Jeon said during a media interview in Seoul. She said the director and scriptwriter Oh Seung-uk had taken an unexpectedly long time to deliver his promised screenplay, and she had already completed several other projects in the interim. "When the script finally arrived, I was feeling quite drained from my consecutive roles in 'Kill Boksoon' and 'Crash Course in Romance,'" she said, referencing her work in the Netflix Korean original film and the tvN romantic series, both of which were released last year. "I also felt pressured about how to differentiate this character from my role in 'The Shameless,'" her previous collaboration with the director from 2015. In the neo-noir crime drama film, she played a woman who develops feelin gs for an undercover detective working at the bar where she is employed. The film debuted globally in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. "I found myself questioning how I could bring something valuable to 'Revolver,'" Jeon reflected. The director initially wrote the "Revolver" script with Jeon in mind as the lead, following her encouragement to collaborate again. Despite her initial reservations about the film's seemingly similar tone to "The Shameless," Jeon ultimately joined the project to honor her commitment to the director. In the upcoming film, Jeon plays Ha Soo-young, a former police officer who becomes embroiled in a corruption scheme. She serves two years in prison for a crime she didn't commit, expecting substantial compensation in return. Upon her release, Soo-young discovers she was deceived by Andy (Ji Chang-wook), who had promised her the compensation. As she pursues Andy and his accomplices, Soo-young finds herself confronting even more dangerous forces along th e way. Jeon delivers a compelling performance as the protagonist, portraying a character filled with simmering rage through what the director described as her "never-seen-before" stoic and icy demeanor. In her attempt to create a distinctly different atmosphere from "The Shameless," Jeon deliberately minimized her emotional expressions. This approach effectively depicts a desperate woman who has nothing left to lose. "I often asked the director, 'Don't you get bored?' because I felt like we were doing the same thing over and over again." However, she noted that her initial misgivings about potential repetitiveness dissipated as she grew to appreciate the film's distinctive approach to character development. "As Soo-young went around meeting various people, their colors seemed to blend into her, making the character somewhat new," she said. "It occurred to me that this might be a new way of expressing a character." Since her 1992 debut, Jeon has established herself as one of Korea's indispensable actress es, tackling diverse roles across television, film and theater. Her global breakthrough came in 2007 with Lee Chang-dong's melodrama "Secret Sunshine," co-starring "Parasite" lead Song Kang-ho. Jeon's performance earned her the Best Actress award at the 60th Cannes Film Festival, making her the first Korean to receive an acting accolade from the prestigious event. However, this triumph was followed by an unexpected lull in her career. "I was perceived as 'a difficult actress,'" Jeon said. "I wondered if shedding the 'Queen of Cannes' title might have made me more approachable to the public." Now, Jeon feels more at ease, having learned to "accept" rather than "escape" from the pressure. "Someone will eventually succeed me, but the fact that I'm still working on numerous projects suggests I'm holding my ground, doesn't it?" Source: Yonhap News Agency