출처. 럭키몬스터 엔터테인먼트
캔버스에 자유롭게 그림을 그리는 것처럼 인물을 표현하는 배우가 있다.
ENA 드라마 '행복배틀'에서 우정원(39)은 어디에나 있을법한 평범한 얼굴을 한 워킹맘 황지예라는 인물로
의문투성이의 사망사건 스릴러의 한 축을 담당한다.
극중 럭셔리한 다른 엄마들과는 차별된 분위기를 가진 황지예란 배역에 우정원은 어느덧 그대로 빠져든 듯 했다.
출처. ENA
# '행복배틀' 평범하지만 단단한 에너지
우정원은 첫 주연작 '행복배틀'에서 표정과 자세, 말투 등 아주 사소한 것들로서 황지예를 표현하고 있다.
한 인물에 대한 치열하고 단단한 노력은 이엘, 진서연, 차예련, 박효주 등 비슷한 또래의 강렬한 개성을 가진 배우들 사이에서도,
전혀 밀리지 않고 자신이 가진 에너지를 충분히 뿜어낸다.
요즘은 "어딜가나 범인이 누구인가."를 묻는 질문을 듣는다는 우정원은 황지예라는 캐릭터에 대해서
"의도한 대로 표현과 전달이 되고 있는 듯 하다."고 만족감을 내비쳤다.
황지예는 극중 유일한 워킹맘으로 다른 엄마들과 달리 무리해서 하이프레스티지 아파트 단지로 입성한 인물이다.
우정원은 "메이크업과 자세, 몸과 마음의 태도, 눈빛, 말투 등을 고민했었다."고 설명했다.
'행복배틀'은 제목만큼이나 또래 배우들 간의 팽팽한 분위기가 예상됐지만 실제는 정반대라고 우정원은 강조했다.
그는 "공연을 오래 하다가 매체로 넘어와서 한분 한분 다 신기했다.
모두 편안한 마음으로 대해주셔서 촬영이 겹칠 땐 같이 소박하게 호프집에서 오븐 통닭구이를 먹을 정도로
사적으로도 친분이 두터워졌다."며 화기애애한 위기를 전했다.
출처. '동백꽃 필 무렵' 캡쳐장면
# 완벽을 위한 노력 '동백꽃 필 무렵'·'슈룹'
'행복배틀' 이전에는 tvN '슈룹'에서 극성스러운 모성애로 임화령(김혜수 분)과 팽팽한 기싸움을 보여줬고,
'동백꽃 필 무렵'에서는 곽덕순(고두심 분)의 젊은 시절을 입체적으로 담아내 짧은 장면에서도 큰 울림을 준 바 있다.
" '슈룹'에서 김혜수 선배님을 만나기 전에 이미지 트레이닝을 많이 했어요. 김혜수 선배님의 연기를 맞받아치는 걸
준비해갔는데 막상 들어갔을 때 흔들리지 않아서 놀랐어요. 혜수 선배님은 '이 부분 정말 좋다', '잘하고 있다', '표정이 좋았다'
라면서 아주 상세하게 계속 칭찬을 해주셨어요.
본인이 가진 영향력이 얼마나 큰지 어떻게 체감하시는지는 잘 모르겠지만 그런 걸 좋은 방향으로 잘 쓰시는 선배님이란 생각이 들었고,
더욱 존경스러웠어요."
출처. '슈룹' 캡쳐장면
철저한 준비성이라면 둘째 가라면 서러울 우정원의 '동백꽃 필 무렵'의 오디션과 관련한 일화는 놀라웠다.
" '동백꽃 필 무렵' 오디션을 가던 길이 기억이 많이 나요. 고두심 선배님의 젊은 시절의 배역이었는데,
만삭의 몸으로 거칠고 억척스럽게 살아가는 모습을 표현하려면, 있는 대로 하면 안될 것 같았어요.
그래서 집에서 보자기에 옷을 싸고, 슬리퍼도 짝짝이로 신고 머리도 헝클어뜨리고, 비닐봉지에 소지품을 넘어서
파란색 버스를 타고 오디션장까지 갔어요. 그 모습을 보고 감독님이 '여기까지 이렇게 왔나'라고 물으며 고맙다고 하셨어요.
오디션에서 '고맙단' 말을 들은 건 저도 처음이었어요"
# 故임홍석 선배님과 '조씨고아, 복수의 씨앗'
연기 내공에 비해서 우정원이 매체 연기를 한 경력은 생각보다 길지 않다.
2014년 KBS 드라마 '빅맨'이 우정원의 첫 매체 연기의 도전이었다.
우정원은 2015년부터 3년 간 국립극단 단원이었고, 그 전에는 2007년부터 경기도문화의전당 경기도립극단에서 차석단원을 맡는 등
무대 연기로서는 이미 이름 값이 높은 배우였다.
"제 인생의 작품을 꼽자면 '조씨고아, 복수의 씨앗'이에요. 인생에서 가장 중요한 작품이라고 할 수 있죠.
2015년 초연을 할 때였는데, 함께 무대에 섰던 임홍석 선배님이 연기를 마치고 분장실로 내려오시면서 돌아가셨어요.
배우들이 울면서 무대를 마쳤어요. 당시 함께 했던 배우들이 선배님의 마지막을 목도했던 그 순간은 배우로서 절대 잊을 수 없는 기억이에요.
그 작품은 국립극단의 레파토리 공연이 됐고, 고선웅 연출님이 상금을 기부하셔서 '임홍석 배우상'을 만드셔서 기념하고 있어요."
출처. 럭키몬스터 엔터테인먼트
# 치열한 표현력, 그 뒤의 꾸준함
우정원은 타고난 끼와 재능이 남다른 배우일 거라는 예측에 손사레를 쳤다.
대학교에서 미술을 전공한 우정원은 신입생 시절 치어리딩 연습을 하다가 우연히 무대에 주목받는 카타르시스를
경험했을 뿐, 그 전까지는 내성적인 성향이 강했다고 설명했다.
그렇게 조금씩 가까이 하기 시작한 연기의 매력에 푹 빠졌다는 것. "이 직업을 해보지 않으면 평생 후회할 것 같다"
는 생각으로 평생의 직업으로 생각했던 미술 대신 연기로 인생의 큰 방향을 틀었다.
"무대에 서면 조명 때문에 객석이 보이지 않아요. 그럼 저 자신에게 집중하게 되는데, 그럴 때 집중력이 좋다고 느껴요.
몰입력이 좋다고 해야 할까요. 주변에 뭐가 있는지 잊어버릴 정도로 평소에 표현하지 못했던 것 같던 많이 표출하고 표현하게 돼요.
그러면서 스스로를 치유하고, 성장했다고 생각해요."
우정원은 천부적인 끼보다는 철저한 준비와 꾸준한 관리가 더 좋은 배우가 되는 길이라는 믿음을 가지고 있었다.
그는 "반복적인 훈련을 통해 운동선수처럼 관리를 하고, 거기에 자기성찰이 더해진다면 스스로 더 발전할 것이라고 믿는다.
그래서 운동을 꾸준히 하고, 팟캐스트도 듣고 책을 많이 읽고 편지도 자주 쓰는 루틴을 놓지 않고 있다."고 강조했다.
"연기를 하면서 카타르시스를 느끼는 순간이요? 잘 알려지지 않은 배우니까 감독님께서 제가 어떻게 인물을 연습하고 연구했는지
잘 모르실 텐데 막상 연기를 하면서, 감독님이 믿음을 보여주신다고 느껴질 때 기분이 참 좋아요. 어디까지 올라가고 싶다,
혹은 유명하고 싶다는 큰 목표는 없어요. 주어진 것에 있어서 제 자신에게 부끄럽지 않고 싶은 마음, 그게 다예요."
[SBS 연예뉴스 ㅣ 강경윤 기자] https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010273426&plink=ORI&cooper=NAVER
There is an actor who expresses characters as if painting freely on a canvas. In the ENA drama <Battle for Happiness>, Woo Jeong-won (39) plays Hwang Ji-ye, a working mom with an ordinary face who could be anywhere, and takes on a central role in a thriller about a mysterious death. In the drama, Woo Jeong-won seemed to have completely immersed herself in the role of Hwang Ji-ye, who has a distinctly different atmosphere from the other luxurious mothers.
# 'Battle for Happiness' - Ordinary but Solid Energy
In her first leading role in <Battle for Happiness>, Woo Jeong-won expresses Hwang Ji-ye through very subtle things like her facial expressions, posture, and way of speaking. Her fierce and solid effort for the character allows her to fully exude her own energy, holding her ground even among co-stars with intense personalities like Lee El, Jin Seo-yeon, Cha Ye-ryun, and Park Hyo-joo.
Woo Jeong-won said she often gets asked "Who is the culprit?" these days, and she expressed satisfaction with the Hwang Ji-ye character, saying, "The expression and delivery seem to be working as I intended." Hwang Ji-ye is the only working mother in the drama and is a character who moved into the high-prestige apartment complex by overextending herself, unlike the other mothers. Woo Jeong-won explained, "I thought a lot about her makeup, posture, physical and mental attitude, gaze, and way of speaking."
Although a tense atmosphere between the cast members was expected due to the title <Battle for Happiness>, Woo Jeong-won emphasized that the reality was the exact opposite. She said, "I have done theater for a long time and just moved into on-screen acting, so I found every single person to be amazing. Everyone was so welcoming that when our filming schedules overlapped, we would even go to a pub to eat oven-roasted chicken together. We became very close on a personal level."
# Efforts for Perfection: 'When the Camellia Blooms'·'Under the Queen's Umbrella'
Before <Battle for Happiness>, she showed a fierce battle of wits with Im Hwa-ryeong (played by Kim Hye-soo) as an over-the-top maternal figure in tvN's <Under the Queen's Umbrella>. In <When the Camellia Blooms>, she gave a powerful performance as the younger version of Kwak Deok-soon (played by Go Doo-shim), leaving a strong impression in a short scene.
"Before I met senior Kim Hye-soo on <Under the Queen's Umbrella>, I did a lot of image training. I had prepared how to counter her acting, but when I actually got on set, I was surprised that I didn't waver. Senior Kim Hye-soo kept giving me very detailed compliments, saying things like, 'This part is really good,' 'You're doing great,' and 'Your expression was great.' I'm not sure if she knows how big her influence is, but I felt she was a senior who uses that influence in a positive way, which made me respect her even more."
An anecdote about Woo Jeong-won's audition for <When the Camellia Blooms>, showing her meticulous preparation, was surprising. "I remember the way I went to the <When the Camellia Blooms> audition. The role was for the younger version of senior Go Doo-shim's character, and to express the rugged and tough life of a pregnant woman, I felt I couldn't just go as I was. So, I wrapped my clothes in a cloth bundle at home, wore mismatched slippers, messed up my hair, and even put my belongings in a plastic bag before taking the blue bus to the audition venue. Seeing me, the director asked, 'Did you really come here like this?' and thanked me. It was the first time I had ever heard a director say 'thank you' at an audition."
# The late senior actor Lim Hong-seok and 'The Orphan of Zhao, The Seed of Vengeance'
Compared to her acting skills, Woo Jeong-won's career in on-screen acting is not very long. The KBS drama <Big Man> in 2014 was her first venture into on-screen acting. Woo Jeong-won was a member of the National Theater Company of Korea for three years starting in 2015, and before that, she served as a deputy member of the Gyeonggi Province Theater Company at the Gyeonggi Arts Center from 2007, already making a name for herself as a highly-regarded stage actor.
"If I had to pick one work in my life, it would be <The Orphan of Zhao, The Seed of Vengeance>. You could say it's the most important work of my life. It was during the premiere in 2015 when my senior actor Lim Hong-seok, who was on stage with me, passed away after coming down to the dressing room after the performance. The actors finished the stage in tears. The moment we, who were there, witnessed our senior's final moments is an unforgettable memory as an actor. The play became a repertoire for the National Theater Company, and the director Ko Seon-woong donated his prize money to create the 'Lim Hong-seok Actor Award' to commemorate him."
# Fierce Expression and the Consistency Behind It
Woo Jeong-won waved her hand at the suggestion that she is an actor with extraordinary innate talent and flair. She, who majored in fine arts in college, explained that she only had a cathartic moment of being noticed on stage by chance during cheerleading practice in her freshman year, and before that, she had a very introverted personality.
She says she fell deeply in love with the charm of acting after slowly getting closer to it. With the thought that "I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't try this job," she made a major life change, choosing acting over art, which she had thought would be her lifelong career.
"When I'm on stage, I can't see the audience because of the lights. That makes me focus on myself, and I feel that my concentration is great at those moments. It's a kind of strong immersion, I guess. I start to express and show things that I couldn't in my daily life to the point where I forget what's around me. And I think I've healed and grown through that."
Instead of believing in innate talent, Woo Jeong-won believes that thorough preparation and consistent management are the path to becoming a better actor. She emphasized, "I believe that if you manage yourself like an athlete through repetitive training and add self-reflection to that, you will continue to grow. That's why I consistently work out, listen to podcasts, read a lot of books, and write letters frequently."
"The moment I feel catharsis while acting? Since I'm not a well-known actor, directors probably don't know how I practice and study a character, but I feel really good when I'm acting and I can feel that the director has faith in me. I don't have a big goal like wanting to reach a certain level or become famous. My only wish is to not feel ashamed of myself for what I'm given."
[Source: SBS Entertainment News | Reporter Kang Kyeong-yoon] https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010273426&plink=ORI&cooper=NAVER
[Source: Lucky Monster Entertainment]
[Source: ENA]
[Source: 'When the Camellia Blooms' capture]
[Source: 'Under the Queen's Umbrella' capture]
출처. 럭키몬스터 엔터테인먼트
# 치열한 표현력, 그 뒤의 꾸준함
우정원은 타고난 끼와 재능이 남다른 배우일 거라는 예측에 손사레를 쳤다.
대학교에서 미술을 전공한 우정원은 신입생 시절 치어리딩 연습을 하다가 우연히 무대에 주목받는 카타르시스를
경험했을 뿐, 그 전까지는 내성적인 성향이 강했다고 설명했다.
그렇게 조금씩 가까이 하기 시작한 연기의 매력에 푹 빠졌다는 것. "이 직업을 해보지 않으면 평생 후회할 것 같다"
는 생각으로 평생의 직업으로 생각했던 미술 대신 연기로 인생의 큰 방향을 틀었다.
"무대에 서면 조명 때문에 객석이 보이지 않아요. 그럼 저 자신에게 집중하게 되는데, 그럴 때 집중력이 좋다고 느껴요.
몰입력이 좋다고 해야 할까요. 주변에 뭐가 있는지 잊어버릴 정도로 평소에 표현하지 못했던 것 같던 많이 표출하고 표현하게 돼요.
그러면서 스스로를 치유하고, 성장했다고 생각해요."
우정원은 천부적인 끼보다는 철저한 준비와 꾸준한 관리가 더 좋은 배우가 되는 길이라는 믿음을 가지고 있었다.
그는 "반복적인 훈련을 통해 운동선수처럼 관리를 하고, 거기에 자기성찰이 더해진다면 스스로 더 발전할 것이라고 믿는다.
그래서 운동을 꾸준히 하고, 팟캐스트도 듣고 책을 많이 읽고 편지도 자주 쓰는 루틴을 놓지 않고 있다."고 강조했다.
"연기를 하면서 카타르시스를 느끼는 순간이요? 잘 알려지지 않은 배우니까 감독님께서 제가 어떻게 인물을 연습하고 연구했는지
잘 모르실 텐데 막상 연기를 하면서, 감독님이 믿음을 보여주신다고 느껴질 때 기분이 참 좋아요. 어디까지 올라가고 싶다,
혹은 유명하고 싶다는 큰 목표는 없어요. 주어진 것에 있어서 제 자신에게 부끄럽지 않고 싶은 마음, 그게 다예요."
[SBS 연예뉴스 ㅣ 강경윤 기자] https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010273426&plink=ORI&cooper=NAVER
There is an actor who expresses characters as if painting freely on a canvas. In the ENA drama <Battle for Happiness>, Woo Jeong-won (39) plays Hwang Ji-ye, a working mom with an ordinary face who could be anywhere, and takes on a central role in a thriller about a mysterious death. In the drama, Woo Jeong-won seemed to have completely immersed herself in the role of Hwang Ji-ye, who has a distinctly different atmosphere from the other luxurious mothers.
# 'Battle for Happiness' - Ordinary but Solid Energy
In her first leading role in <Battle for Happiness>, Woo Jeong-won expresses Hwang Ji-ye through very subtle things like her facial expressions, posture, and way of speaking. Her fierce and solid effort for the character allows her to fully exude her own energy, holding her ground even among co-stars with intense personalities like Lee El, Jin Seo-yeon, Cha Ye-ryun, and Park Hyo-joo.
Woo Jeong-won said she often gets asked "Who is the culprit?" these days, and she expressed satisfaction with the Hwang Ji-ye character, saying, "The expression and delivery seem to be working as I intended." Hwang Ji-ye is the only working mother in the drama and is a character who moved into the high-prestige apartment complex by overextending herself, unlike the other mothers. Woo Jeong-won explained, "I thought a lot about her makeup, posture, physical and mental attitude, gaze, and way of speaking."
Although a tense atmosphere between the cast members was expected due to the title <Battle for Happiness>, Woo Jeong-won emphasized that the reality was the exact opposite. She said, "I have done theater for a long time and just moved into on-screen acting, so I found every single person to be amazing. Everyone was so welcoming that when our filming schedules overlapped, we would even go to a pub to eat oven-roasted chicken together. We became very close on a personal level."
# Efforts for Perfection: 'When the Camellia Blooms'·'Under the Queen's Umbrella'
Before <Battle for Happiness>, she showed a fierce battle of wits with Im Hwa-ryeong (played by Kim Hye-soo) as an over-the-top maternal figure in tvN's <Under the Queen's Umbrella>. In <When the Camellia Blooms>, she gave a powerful performance as the younger version of Kwak Deok-soon (played by Go Doo-shim), leaving a strong impression in a short scene.
"Before I met senior Kim Hye-soo on <Under the Queen's Umbrella>, I did a lot of image training. I had prepared how to counter her acting, but when I actually got on set, I was surprised that I didn't waver. Senior Kim Hye-soo kept giving me very detailed compliments, saying things like, 'This part is really good,' 'You're doing great,' and 'Your expression was great.' I'm not sure if she knows how big her influence is, but I felt she was a senior who uses that influence in a positive way, which made me respect her even more."
An anecdote about Woo Jeong-won's audition for <When the Camellia Blooms>, showing her meticulous preparation, was surprising. "I remember the way I went to the <When the Camellia Blooms> audition. The role was for the younger version of senior Go Doo-shim's character, and to express the rugged and tough life of a pregnant woman, I felt I couldn't just go as I was. So, I wrapped my clothes in a cloth bundle at home, wore mismatched slippers, messed up my hair, and even put my belongings in a plastic bag before taking the blue bus to the audition venue. Seeing me, the director asked, 'Did you really come here like this?' and thanked me. It was the first time I had ever heard a director say 'thank you' at an audition."
# The late senior actor Lim Hong-seok and 'The Orphan of Zhao, The Seed of Vengeance'
Compared to her acting skills, Woo Jeong-won's career in on-screen acting is not very long. The KBS drama <Big Man> in 2014 was her first venture into on-screen acting. Woo Jeong-won was a member of the National Theater Company of Korea for three years starting in 2015, and before that, she served as a deputy member of the Gyeonggi Province Theater Company at the Gyeonggi Arts Center from 2007, already making a name for herself as a highly-regarded stage actor.
"If I had to pick one work in my life, it would be <The Orphan of Zhao, The Seed of Vengeance>. You could say it's the most important work of my life. It was during the premiere in 2015 when my senior actor Lim Hong-seok, who was on stage with me, passed away after coming down to the dressing room after the performance. The actors finished the stage in tears. The moment we, who were there, witnessed our senior's final moments is an unforgettable memory as an actor. The play became a repertoire for the National Theater Company, and the director Ko Seon-woong donated his prize money to create the 'Lim Hong-seok Actor Award' to commemorate him."
# Fierce Expression and the Consistency Behind It
Woo Jeong-won waved her hand at the suggestion that she is an actor with extraordinary innate talent and flair. She, who majored in fine arts in college, explained that she only had a cathartic moment of being noticed on stage by chance during cheerleading practice in her freshman year, and before that, she had a very introverted personality.
She says she fell deeply in love with the charm of acting after slowly getting closer to it. With the thought that "I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't try this job," she made a major life change, choosing acting over art, which she had thought would be her lifelong career.
"When I'm on stage, I can't see the audience because of the lights. That makes me focus on myself, and I feel that my concentration is great at those moments. It's a kind of strong immersion, I guess. I start to express and show things that I couldn't in my daily life to the point where I forget what's around me. And I think I've healed and grown through that."
Instead of believing in innate talent, Woo Jeong-won believes that thorough preparation and consistent management are the path to becoming a better actor. She emphasized, "I believe that if you manage yourself like an athlete through repetitive training and add self-reflection to that, you will continue to grow. That's why I consistently work out, listen to podcasts, read a lot of books, and write letters frequently."
"The moment I feel catharsis while acting? Since I'm not a well-known actor, directors probably don't know how I practice and study a character, but I feel really good when I'm acting and I can feel that the director has faith in me. I don't have a big goal like wanting to reach a certain level or become famous. My only wish is to not feel ashamed of myself for what I'm given."
[Source: SBS Entertainment News | Reporter Kang Kyeong-yoon] https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010273426&plink=ORI&cooper=NAVER
[Source: Lucky Monster Entertainment]
[Source: ENA]
[Source: 'When the Camellia Blooms' capture]
[Source: 'Under the Queen's Umbrella' capture]