Actress Song Hye-kyo said she thoroughly enjoyed filming alongside actor Song Joong-ki and called him the “perfect male lead.”

“When I read the script for ‘Descendants,’ I thought that the male lead would have to do a really good job for the drama to succeed,” said the actress, who recently starred as the vivacious Dr. Kang Mo-yeon in the smash-hit TV drama “Descendants of the Sun,” at a press conference Wednesday.

“Song Joong-ki did such a good job at achieving that difficult task, and made (the character Yoo Shi-jin) charming. I would sometimes get jittery acting alongside him.

“I’ve been in the industry for quite a while now, and I see a lot of junior actors who aren’t like him. (Song) works hard at whatever he does, even with all his fame. ... He did everything a male lead should do perfectly. He is a great guy,” she told reporters at the Four Seasons Hotel in northern Seoul.

It has been almost 20 years since Song Hye-kyo debuted on the small screen. She has been lauded not only for her delicate features and petite frame, but also her detailed emotional portrayal; acting, however, is still a “stressful” and “difficult” process for her.

“When I was younger, I used to think that if I got a lot of experience and entered my 30s, acting would become easier,” she said. “But it hasn’t been like that at all. Acting is still so hard and I think it will continue to be so. Even now, I get nervous every time I start a new series.”

Viewers have praised, often enviously, the 34-year-old actress for sparking excellent chemistry with her fellow actors. She’s starred alongside a heart-throbbing roster of Korea’s most coveted male actors, including Song Seung-heon, Won Bin, Rain, Hyun Bin and most recently, Song Joong-ki.

“I try to focus on the person I’m acting with and immerse myself in the scene in order to portray the emotions,” she said. “I think I was able to have good chemistry with male leads because the rhythm between the actors and me fell into place, and because the directors and staff did a good job at capturing that rhythm.”

By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)