Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
INTERVIEW Song Joong-ki says filming 'Space Sweepers' was learning experience
Actor Song Joong-ki / Courtesy of Netflix
By Kwak Yeon-soo
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Song Joong-ki said he is blessed to have worked with the most warm-hearted, kind and supportive actors in the hit movie “Space Sweepers,” adding that he always loves working with director Jo Sung-hee.
“I have so many wonderful memories. It's a really special movie for me because I filmed it during a dark period of my life. It's not something that I could get over with on my own, but I tried to accept distressing emotions as a natural part of life and brought all energy to my character,” he said during an interview with The Korea Times via Zoom, Tuesday.
The actor didn't specify what triggered this dark period but his remarks appear to be associated with his divorce from actress Song Hye-kyo.
“I'm really drawn to movies that encompass extended-family dynamics, and I think family is the most important value in our life. Whenever I have needed a reference for an emotional performance, I watched 'Legends of the Fall,' starring Brad Pitt, to understand the family code. I think I've watched it more than 50 times,” he said.
Because the sci-fi film is set in outer space, Song had to push himself to overcome the challenges of acting without complete scenery.
“I had to portray audacity on screen without having a clear idea about the background information such as what nano-bots are and what they look like. Because they were created through visual effects during the post-production stage, Jo had to give us directions based on his extensive research and storyboards. I felt relieved that the other actors also had only the faintest of ideas,” he explained.
A scene from “Space Sweepers” / Courtesy of Netflix
Set around a fictional barely habitable Earth in 2092, “Space Sweepers” follows the story of a spaceship crew who collect and sell space junk for a living. During one of their “sweeps” for space debris, they discover a mysterious humanoid robot Dorothy that is in fact a dangerous weapon of mass destruction.
Later on, when the crew learn her true identity and what she is capable of, they decide to strike a money-making deal with the UTS Space Guards, who are searching for Dorothy.
Song plays Kim Tae-ho the pilot of the spaceship Victory, who is able to think on his feet and come up with useful strategies. Though Tae-ho is a shameless opportunist who is predominantly focused on money, he is holding onto the pain of tragically losing his adopted daughter.
“I'm not as shameless as Tae-ho. People often tell me that I'm 'tsundere' (Japanese term for cold outside and warm inside personality). I'm definitely not the kind of person who says sweet things very often,” he said.
On playing a father's role for the first time, the actor said he was a bit worried about how the public would perceive it.
“Personally, I felt no burden playing a father. What I focused on was expressing Tae-ho's agony over losing his daughter in order to express a contrast between being a friendly father to his adopted daughter and apathetic to the humanoid robot,” he said.
Actor Song Joong-ki / Courtesy of Netflix
The actor also thanked the global audience for showing their interest in the new film. “Space Sweepers” has become the most watched Netflix movie in 28 countries, just two days after its release.
“It's hard to believe because I don't know how the ranking system works exactly. But I've been getting a lot of text messages from my friends abroad, sending me pictures of them watching the film. It's so overwhelming,” he said.
Song revealed that he is currently filming tvN's new drama series “Vincenzo,” a black comedy about a Korean-Italian man named Vincenzo Cassano, a lawyer and mafia consigliere who returns to Korea due to a conflict within his organization.
“As of now, I'm busy filming Vincenzo. We'll be shooting during the Lunar New Year holiday because we have less than two weeks until its premiere,” he said.
“I have a heavy burden on my shoulders. Releasing two projects ― a film and a drama series ― around the same time is more than twice the burden for me. I have high aspirations because I'm emotionally attached to both projects.”
Song will next be seen in the action film “Bogota,” whose filming is on hold due to COVID-19 restrictions. The upcoming movie revolves around a Korean man who moved to Colombia in the late 1990s in search of a better life.
The actor is well known for his roles in the TV series “Innocent Man” (2012) “Descendants of the Sun” (2016) and “Arthdal Chronicles” (2019) as well as films “A Werewolf Boy” (2012) and “The Battleship Island.” (2017).
“Space Sweepers” is now available on Netflix.