T.O.P Says His Reasons for Pursuing Acting Don't Include Money or Fame

Big Bang member turned actor T.O.P recently sat down for an interview with Yonhap News and talked about his journey as a rising new actor.

Although he first rose to prominence as a Big Bang member, Choi Seung Hyun aka T.O.P has proven he has serious acting chops. The talented entertainer first made his acting debut in the film, “Into the Fire,” which earned him the coveted Baeksang Arts Award for Best New Actor, Max Movie Award for Best New Actor and Blue Dragon Film Award for Best New Actor. Not to mention several popularity awards for the same film!

Now, after three years, T.O.P finally returns to the big screen with the film, “The Alumni” which will be shown in theaters starting November 6.

In his interview, T.O.P firmly stated that he has no interest in pursuing romance dramas, which usually feature idol-turned-actors. He said specifically, “When an idol acts, there could profit in it for them. There are a few idols out there who act for the sake of fame. But I don’t want to [act] for either of those reasons. There’s the argument that it would be far more profitable to shoot as many dramas as possible, but I have no desire to do that. I didn’t want to become lumped with everyone else that was doing melodramas, so I avoided any projects containing that sort of subject matter. I just don’t want to do what everyone else around my age is doing, especially if there’s not really any depth to it.”

He also went on to express his intent to pursue acting seriously, despite only ever dreaming about a career in music since he was a child. “I have always liked movies a lot, but since music was all I had ever known, I never dreamt about becoming an actor. I had such a great time filming, ‘Iris’ and ‘Into the Fire.’ But when I received several awards for ‘Into the Fire,’ I felt the need to be more responsible. I thought to myself – if I was going to act, I wanted to do it right.”

Which would explain why T.O.P took such great pains in making sure he selected the right project and role for himself. At first, T.O.P mistakenly assumed that “The Alumni” was going to be another high school melodrama, but he said that he soon discovered the film to offer more in terms of substance. “I wanted to do a serious film. I’ve been waiting for a film like this, a film that would require me to be a serious actor. A lot of people have asked me about the number of viewers, but I hope the movie will instead receive applause from viewers as opposed to racking up a high number of viewers.” 

Check out the trailer for “Alumni” below!

Check out the trailer for “Into the Fire” if you haven’t seen it yet!