Heo Nam Jun Talks About Playing Kim Da Mi And Shin Ye Eun's First Love In "A Hundred Memories"
Heo Nam Jun has dished on his role in JTBC’s upcoming drama “A Hundred Memories”!
Set in the 1980s, “A Hundred Memories” is a nostalgic coming-of-age romance drama about the friendship between two young bus attendants, Go Young Rye (Kim Da Mi) and Seo Jong Hee (Shin Ye Eun), and their shared first love Han Jae Pil (Heo Nam Jun).
Heo Nam Jun, who is taking on his first leading role in the drama, expressed deep gratitude to both of his co-stars. “I’m someone who is very blessed to have met such great people,” said the actor. “I was grateful to both actresses.”
When asked how it felt playing his first lead, Heo Nam Jun replied, “Not that much changed. I thought that I needed to work hard, just as I always have, and do a good job so that I wasn’t lacking.”
Han Jae Pil, who winds up becoming the first love of both Go Young Rye and Seo Jong Hee, is the wealthy and privileged heir to a department store. However, his father’s remarriage wounded him deeply, leaving him with a rebellious streak that hides a profound loneliness and unexpected innocence.
Describing his first impression of “A Hundred Memories,” Heo Nam Jun recalled, “The script was so entertaining that the entire time I was reading it, I really wanted to play this character no matter what.”
“Even though [Han Jae Pil] may seem prickly on the outside, he’s soft on the inside, like a cactus,” said the actor. In terms of how he approached the character’s duality, Heo Nam Jun shared, “I generally behaved in a more childlike way, and when filming started, I focused on my instinct of trying to hide that innocence.”
As “first love” is a keyword that defines Han Jae Pil in the story, Heo Nam Jun took a candid look back at his own first love.
“It was an uncomfortable emotion that I’d never felt before,” recalled the actor. “I felt shy, but I kept thinking about and paying attention [to that person], and it felt awkward to have one person taking up my whole mind.”
Heo Nam Jun continued, “The more I focused on my character, who was inexperienced and lacking because it was his first time [feeling these emotions], the more I felt a surge of passion.”
Heo Nam Jun also spoke enthusiastically about his experience working with Kim Da Mi and Shin Ye Eun, revealing, “I got along well with both actresses. We communicated well and shared a similar sense of humor, so the filming set was a lot of fun. Both actresses are intelligent and clever, so I relied on them a lot, and when I looked them in the eye, I felt reassured.”
“Every time I leaned on them for support, they comforted me and cheered me on,” he continued. “I was truly thankful.”
“A Hundred Memories” premieres on September 13 at 10:40 p.m. KST and will be available on Viki.
In the meantime, you can watch teasers for the drama with English subtitles below!
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