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'은교’ 김고은, 2년 만에 ‘몬스터’로 돌아오다

By KH디지털2

Published : March 18, 2014 - 18:04

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(연합)
지난 2012년, ‘은교’로 큰 사랑을 받았던 배우 김고은이 2년 만에 영화 ‘몬스터’로 돌아왔다. 이번 영화에서 김고은은 지적 장애를 앓으면서도 억척스럽게 야채 노점상을 꾸려나가는 ‘복순’ 역할을 맡았다. 영화 ‘몬스터’는 누구보다도 사랑하는 동생이 태수(이민기)에게 잔인하게 살해되자 복순이 이성을 잃고 복수를 다짐하면서 펼쳐지는 이야기이다.

“처음에 대본을 읽고 복순의 단순하고 약간 모자란 캐릭터가 귀엽다고 생각했어요. 또 그런복순이 끔찍이 사랑하는 동생을 잃자 복수의 칼을 품고 어떻게 변하는지를 보여줄 수 있다는 점이 흥미로웠죠. 여자가 살인자를 상대로 싸운다는 설정에도 매력을 느꼈어요” 라고 김고은은 말했다.

영화 스틸컷
이렇게 연기 열정이 많은 그녀가 새로운 영화로 복귀하는데 2년이나 걸린 이유는 무엇일까? 70대 노인과 17세 여고생의 사랑을 그린 파격적인 영화 ‘은교’ 이후 김고은은 청룡영화상, 대종상영화제 등 9여 개의 영화 시상식의 신인상 휩쓸며 2012년 최고의 신인으로 부상했다. 그러나 곧바로 차기작에 출연할 것이라는 예상과는 달리, 그녀는 한국예술종합학교에 복학을 결정했다. 

“이제 막 사랑을 받을 때라 작품 활동을 계속해야 하나 고민도 했어요. 하지만 결국은 학교로 돌아갔죠. 연기에 열정이 있는 친구들과 연극 공연과 단편 영화를 찍으면서 많이 배웠어요. 돌이켜보면 후회하지 않는 것 같아요.”

김고은은 중 고등학교 때 연극에 참여한 계기로 배우에 대한 꿈을 꾸게 되었다고 회상한다. 비록 대사도 짧고 비중도 적었지만, 관객과의 소통의 즐거움을 처음 배울 수 있었다고 한다. 또한 그녀는 청소년기에 댄스 수업을 받아  ‘몸을 이용하여 감정을 표현하는 것’에 매우 익숙하다고 전했다.

“춤을 출 때에는 ‘이 정도면 충분하겠지?’ 라는 마음가짐도 있었어요. 그렇지만 연기할 때는 아무리 고되고 힘들어도 즐거워요. 격투신을 찍을 때면 죽을 꺼 같다는 생각도 하지만, 끝나면 힘들었던 기억들을 다 잊곤 해요,“ 라고 김고은은 밝혔다.

현재 그녀는 2014년도 하반기 개봉예정인 박흥식 감독의 무협영화 ‘협녀’ 촬영에도 참여하고 있다. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)


<관련 영문기사>

Eun-gyo returns as a ‘Monster’

Actress Kim Go-eun made an impressive breakthrough film debut back in 2012, with filmmaker Jung Ji-woo’s critically acclaimed sensual drama “Eungyo (A Muse).” The 22-year-old is best known by the name of her first-ever film character, Eungyo, a lively teenager who becomes the object of desire for a renowned elderly poet.

Many expected her to continue her professional career after finishing “Eungyo” ― which received much attention for its subject matter and sexually explicit scenes ― and nabbing nine new actress awards for the role, including Blue Dragon and Grand Bell awards. Instead, she took a break and went back to Korea National University of Arts to finish her acting degree. After an almost two-year hiatus, Kim is returning to the big screen as a disabled woman who goes mad in the vicious thriller “Monster.”

“I was thinking, ‘Should I just do another film when I am receiving the most attention?’” said Kim in an interview with a small group of reporters on Friday. “And my conclusion was that I just couldn’t do it. So I just went back to school and participated in a play and made a short film. It was really great to work with my colleagues who are all so passionate about acting and cinema. I had a great six months, and I think I made the right decision.”

Dressed in a simple, striped sweater and blue jeans, the actress was noticeably wobbly on her high heels, saying she “doesn’t normally” wear them. She did not hide her impish, curious nature, randomly commenting on an iPad keyboard and recording device while talking about her movies.

“Does this recorder work as a radio, too?” she asked out of the blue in the middle of the interview.

In her latest film ― her second ― Kim stars as Bok-soon, a young woman whose younger sibling was murdered by a ruthless killer named Tae-soo (Lee Min-ki). The grieving woman has a developmental disability, and almost becomes psychotic when she learns that her sister is dead. With uncontrollable anger, madness and in spite of her mental disability, she plans her revenge.

“I thought Bok-soon was sort of, I don’t know, cute when I first read the script,” Kim said, when asked what drew her to “Monster” and her character. “She was like some cartoon character. She has this developmental disability, but she’s simple and kind, loves her sister and is almost uncannily responsible. She’s spent her entire life selling vegetables in a market, so she’s very tough, and determined too. I thought it was interesting how such a character becomes this monster as she goes through a series of unfortunate events. I also liked the idea of a female character fighting against a serial killer.”

Aside from “Monster,” Kim also starred in director Park Heung-sik’s martial arts film “Hyeopnyeo” ― which is scheduled to be released in the second half of this year. Both of the films were very physically demanding, with rigorous training and intense fight scenes. But Kim is no stranger to physicality. She took dance lessons when she was a teenager, which helped her understand “what it means to express (oneself) using one’s body.”

“But I don’t think I enjoyed dancing,” Kim said. “Dancing requires tremendous dedication and it can be quite painful. I think those who dance in spite of all that do it because it somehow makes them happy. But it didn’t make me happy. Even when I was told that I was good at it, I just thought, ‘Okay, since I’m good at it, shouldn’t I be allowed to go home now?’ But with acting, no matter how hard it is, it makes me happy. It was really hard pulling off these fight scenes. At some point, I thought I was going to die because I was so exhausted. But once the shooting is done, all of that doesn’t really matter. I want to continue doing this.”

Filmmaker Jung Ji-woo, who discovered Kim for his film “Eungyo,” told The Korea Herald in 2012 that Kim is “naturally curious and brave,” and that he thinks it has to do with her upbringing. “She spent 10 years of childhood in China and did not experience the fierce competition of the Korean education system. She’s strong in the sense that she isn’t influenced easily. She doesn’t do things just because everyone else does it.”

Kim said she was shocked to find out that in Korean schools, students take physical education classes indoors, when she first moved back to Korea from China as a middle school girl.

“I was even more shocked to learn that there was a textbook for physical education classes that you had to read,” she said. “My life in China was eventful. My family lived in the outskirts of Beijing, where you wouldn’t run into a lot of Koreans. I guess my way of thinking can be seen as somewhat peculiar, and maybe it has to do with my upbringing. I’m not sure. Whenever reporters said, ‘You must be feeling a lot of pressure as an emerging actress,’ I told them, ‘Not really. I get nothing good out of it.’ That was an honest answer and they were surprised. And now I feel like I should say I feel pressure not to look too weird.”

Kim decided to become an actress after participating in a small play while attending high school. It was a small role, without many lines, but playing the character enabled her to get a response from a live audience for the first time. “I am happy because I get to do what I love to do, what I always wanted to do,” she said. “But being an actress isn’t just about acting. You have to meet people, talk to people, and a lot of the times, it’s about being a team member. And I don’t think I necessarily knew about that. So I’ve been getting used to the non-acting work that I have to do (as an actress).”

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)