[INTERVIEW] Shin Si-a makes debut with major role in 'The Witch: Part 2'

Shin Si-a makes her acting debut with the lead role in the sci-fi action film "The Witch: Part 2. The Other One," which hit local theaters Wednesday. Courtesy of NEW

Rookie actress leads sequel to 2018 hit blockbuster

By Lee Gyu-lee

About four years after the action blockbuster "The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion" propelled rookie actress Kim Da-mi to stardom, the film's sequel has discovered another newcomer Shin Si-a, who bagged the lead role through a competitive audition process.

Actress Shin Si-a / Courtesy of NEW

Directed by Park Hoon-jung, whose previous work includes the 2010 gory thriller film "I Saw the Devil," "The Witch: Part 2. The Other One," which premiered Wednesday, picks up on the plot from the first series of a top-secret project that engineers human to have superpowers.

A girl (Shin), who wakes up in the project's laboratory, goes out into the world after becoming the lone survivor. While she tries to adapt to her new environment with the help of Kyung-hee (Park Eun-bin), different forces go after her, each with different motives.

The 24-year-old rookie actress expressed that she felt a great responsibility regarding her debuting role in the upcoming film, especially trying to carry on the success of the first film.

"There was more of a sense of responsibility than overwhelming feeling. I tried to make sure I didn't ruin the good work from the first series," Shin said during an interview with The Korea Times, Monday, at a cafe in Jongno District, downtown Seoul.

"(Because it was my first film,) what worried me the most before filming was that I don't have much understanding of the set and how things work, like if I can do well in such a new environment or if I would make any mistakes … I was really nervous at first but as everyone around me gave me so much encouragement and help, I could work through it well."

A scene from the film "The Witch: Part 2. The Other One" / Courtesy of NEW

Shin's character, who has spent her life in seclusion in the secret facility, meets a whole new world, grasping the nature of interacting with other human beings to get what she needs like food.

The actress said that she tried to empty her feelings to portray the character.

"I tried to have the mindset of a little bird that just hatched from an egg to portray the character of the girl," she said. "The biggest difference between the character and me is that she is not used to expressing her feelings but I'm pretty good at showing them. So as I was acting, I focused on emptying myself to start from zero for the character."

Recalling the scene where her character set foot in the snow, in the outside world for the first time, she said that moment helped her fully get into character.

"We had such a hard time (filming in Jeju) because of the weather. And that scene originally wasn't supposed to have snow, but we switched it because of the weather conditions. It actually was my first time walking in the snow with bare feet, just like it was the girl's first time. So I was able to resonate with the character deeper," she said.

"As I was acting, I felt like I became more like the character. And not just with the character, but also I was getting more into the story and with other characters, which felt so gratifying."

"The Witch: Part 2. The Other One" involves dynamic action scenes. Courtesy of NEW

The sci-fi action film fills the story with high-octane action sequences featuring the girl and the characters going after her, involving a lot of computer graphics. Shin added that she took references from Marvel Studio's films for action sequences that involved CGI, expressing that she was astounded to see the final product.

"I was really curious how (the scenes) would come out. Because I couldn't see the computer graphics (during filming), I had to fill in the scenes with my imagination. But when I saw the movie, the scenes came out much more dynamic and cooler than I'd imagined. So I was very thankful to people who worked on CGI and the director for making it so good," she said.

Shin, who is currently studying theater at the undergraduate level, said she gained valuable and real acting experience on the set and communicated as a team throughout production with her co-stars, including the previous series' lead, Kim.

"(Kim) gave a lot of advice. Among those, the most memorable is when she told me 'you are doing well.' It felt so comforting to hear that from someone who has done such a great job in the first film," she said. "The fact that she said that to me became a source to work up my courage and encouraged me to carry on the role well."

A poster of "The Witch: Part 2. The Other One" / Courtesy of NEW

The actress shared that she started dreaming of becoming an actor after stumbling across the musical "Carmen" during her high school days. She would go see musicals and plays about four times a week.

"(Theatrical plays and musicals) have been a huge part of my high school years. I made a portfolio of the productions that I saw in my junior year and showed it to my parents to tell them that I want to study acting," she said.

When asked about the film's much-anticipated premiere, she said it still feels surreal but she is excited to see the audiences' response to her work.

"I'm nervous but also excited as I wait for its premiere. But at the same time, I'm trying to keep my mind under control to not lose myself," she said. "As this is just the start for me, I want to show different sides of me (through characters) … I hope to become an actor with a broad spectrum."

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