‘Elegant Empire’ Sikang Lee, “It was a pressure-filled substitute, but looking back, it was a valuable learning experience.” [TEN Interview]

[Ten Asia = Reporter Ha-neul Lee]

It is truly ‘a burdensome task’ to act as a replacement for an actor who was previously acting. Not only is it “at best a loss,”but it is even more difficult to express the image that viewers have already become accustomed to in one’s own colors. What if it was a daily drama rather than a mini-series? Wouldn’t it be almost like ‘Mission Impossible’ to find one’s center in an urgent filming location?

This was the case for actor Lee Sikang of the KBS2 daily drama ‘Elegant Empire’. He took over the role of Ki-yoon Jang from episode 33 in place of Jin-woo Kim, who suddenly left the show, and successfully concluded episode 105. Lee Si-gang, whom I met through an interview, had the impression of an upright bamboo, and I could vaguely sense how well he protected his territory even though he was substituted. I am rooting for Lee Si-gang’s past and future steps as he says, “I am determined to work hard in acting without wasting a single word, and when I look at it after it’s over, I feel like it was a really valuable study.”

Regarding his feelings about the end of the 105-episode daily drama ‘Elegant Empire’, Lee Sikang said, “This is my first time watching a drama of this type. Didn’t it come in while being replaced? Because the situation and atmosphere are a bit bad. I felt a strong sense of responsibility and pressure to finish this work responsibly. Because no one was hurt. “I think I finished it on a healthy note because I had a lot of friends that I knew inadvertently,” he said.

The role of Jang Ki-yoon was suddenly replaced by actor Kim Jin-woo with Lee Sikang. The exact reason for the replacement was not revealed, but it was said to be due to Kim Jin-woo’s personal circumstances. Regarding the emergency process for episode 33, Lee Si-gang said, “After finishing ‘My Life’, I will take a break while doing a musical.”Suddenly, I received a phone call from the writer. We did a drama together called ‘Happy Sisters’ It was a situation where someone had to intervene urgently. I was worried. Maybe it wouldn’t just go to me. When asked what part he was most worried about when he was brought in as a replacement, Lee Sikang said, “From an actor’s perspective, there are things you have to do.”In some ways, I had a strong feeling that ‘at best I got even.’ He also felt pressure as an actor. Aren’t Jinwoo’s and my image very different? Looking back now, the acting part was important, but I think I needed someone who could handle this situation mentally and lead me through it. I have confidence in my acting, but I’m not the type to be swayed by people, and I’m not very focused or sensitive. He came from an athlete background, “he explained.

Lee Sikang explained the reason why he decided to take on the challenge as follows. He “I had confidence that I would do well. He seemed to have been thinking about it for about a day. The situation seemed really bad, and we only had three days to deploy. I was assigned from episode 33, and I had to prepare by comparing the video my brother filmed with the script I was going to read. After making my choice, I didn’t even think about it. I had a meeting with the director, and he said he made a suggestion because he watched “The Secret Man” so well.”

The character of Jang Ki-yoon has already been fleshed out to some extent. Regarding how he tried to express it, Lee Sikang said, “Isn’t the way each actor expresses it different? I think I studied the character of Ki-yoon from the costumes and acting expressions that Jin-woo hyung prepared. He believes that there are no bad villains in the world. I wanted to show why Kiyoon became like this. He said, “I felt the character of Jang Ki-yoon well and tried to play it.” When asked if he had been in private contact with actor Kim Jin-woo, who left the show, about her character, he said, “Wouldn’t it have been difficult for him too?””It was ambiguous for me to even contact you,” he carefully mentioned.

When asked if it was physically and mentally difficult, Lee Sikang said, “It was really difficult towards the end. There was nothing mentally difficult. In reality, he has a very calm and light personality. Jang Ki-yoon is the complete opposite of me. Because he doesn’t have much time to act. He started yelling like crazy at himself without any time to warm up. He suffered from bruises all the time. I think she nearly fainted three or four times. He revealed the episode by saying, “I am grateful for the work that is done to the limit.”

At the 2023 KBS Drama Awards, he won the Excellence Award for Male in the Daily Drama category through ‘Elegant Empire’ 15 years after his debut. Lee Si-gang said, “Didn’t you continue to do it in parallel with theater? Rather than wanting to be an actor, he wanted to be an entertainer. He wanted to become someone he was fascinated by and wanted to express well while acting. (When I received the award) I was more nervous than I expected. First of all, as soon as I came down, I called the director and writer. I didn’t talk about them. The teleprompter said to hurry up. I was blinking, but I didn’t seem to have the presence of mind to speak. He expressed his regret by saying, “I’m sorry.”

Although it was eventful and there were many twists and turns, Lee Sikang said that he gained a lot from joining ‘Elegant Empire’ and said, “It was a difficult and difficult task, but I was able to successfully complete the drama at first. The idea was to finish it. I had accumulated a lot of determination to work hard in my acting without wasting a single word, and after it was over, I felt like it was a really valuable study. It’s a role that requires a lot of criticism from viewers, but there were a lot of good things said about it. He showed a humble attitude, saying, “I think they appreciated my acting in a way that I have never shown before.”

As an actor, the experience of being replaced is something you experience at least once in your life. It is also work. Looking back in 2023, when asked what kind of work “Elegant Empire” will be remembered in his filmography, he said, “The more difficult the memories, the longer they last.” He was grateful for the award, but he was also grateful that he had maintained his mental strength. I think it will be remembered as a work that gave me an opportunity to grow further while expressing this kind of character. He went into it with a sense of responsibility to finish it well, and emphasized, “I think it was a work that taught me and my life.”

Lee Sikang, who began his acting career in the 2006 MBC sitcom ‘Unstoppable High Kick’, cited his preparation process and charm as the driving force behind his continued acting. Lee Sikang said, “Acting is so much fun. As she memorizes her lines, she thinks more about the situation and thinks clearly about why she is telling this story. But doesn’t it always change when you go to the site? “It’s fun to match the cards I prepared with the cards of the actors I prepared,” he said with a smile.

When asked if he had any mindset or goals as he welcomed the new year, Lee Sikang said, “I want to never tire of the acting I love and be with good people for a long time.”In the meantime, I thought about what I should learn to become an actor, and that’s how I lived my life. I always spent my time off. I’ve always looked at this and ran with it, so I want to become an actor people want to work with and do many projects. “I have a strong desire to act in good works with good people until I die,” he said, expressing his ambition.

Lee Haneul, Ten Asia Reporter greenworld@tenasia.co.kr