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Choi Gang-hee said that she choked upon seeing how your eyes looked soft when shooting the ending scene to "Protect the Boss." What were you thinking then?
Ji Sung: I had been thinking, 'Today will be the last day,' two days before we shot the ending scene. And as we walked down the stairs that we had kissed each other, I said to Choi that we got to shoot a melodrama at this age, at this point in our lives, right here and that we should remember that location for a long time because we have many good memories there. And then I welled up while shooting the last scene because we'd really be done when we walk towards the camera and it reminded me of all the times I had spent with Noh Eun-seol. This project in particular was one that weighed heavily upon me.

Was there a particular reason for it?
Ji Sung: I think the show healed me, like how Cha was cured of his panic disorder and then matured after meeting Noh Eun-seol. I both have and haven't been able to live my life the way I've wanted to but it all became enjoyable because of "Protect the Boss." It's hard to get such a feeling when you're worn out but I shot the show feeling each and every trivial emotion that I could. That's why rather than feeling sad for having to let go of Cha Ji-heon, I felt a happiness which weighed heavily upon me.

Cha Ji-heon acted like an 'elementary school kid' who drove Noh Eun-seol crazy yet was also always cute and loveable. Eun-sung from MBC's "New Heart" gave off the same loveable vibe as well so I'm wondering how it was that you were able to portray such a character so naturally. Is that a side that exists to you?
Ji Sung: I just expressed whatever came out from within me rather than it being who I am. There was a scene where Cha Ji-heon put a straw in his mouth and twirled it around because he didn't want to hear what Seo Na-yoon (Wang Ji-hye) was saying. And I wasn't trying to make people laugh there -- it's a reaction that came out because that really was a dull and boring situation. What I considered most important to playing Cha Ji-heon was that I shouldn't act in an affected way, nor try to be funny, cute or even cool. And that just naturally made me let go of myself. I'd spread my legs, narrow my eyes when I don't like what I see and stare into space all the time. (laugh) I used to strategize such behavior in the past but I now just go with what my heart tells me.

I heard that when you're studying your character, you write down everything about him on a blackboard. Is that what you did this time as well?
Ji Sung: I wrote in a pretty notebook this time instead of a blackboard. I opened up the first page and wrote, Cha Ji-heon, his age, and his job as being the heir to a conglomerate. Then I wrote: If he suffers from panic disorder, why? And how serious is it? How high is the fence around him? What can he do within those boundaries? What are his dissatisfactions regarding society? And this is how I expanded on my understanding of him. I went into shoot after familiarizing myself with these circumstances so that I'd naturally be able to show him honestly.

Is that how you came up with Cha Ji-heon's unique hairstyle and form of speech?
Ji Sung: I immediately came up with an image of Cha Ji-heon while writing about him in the notebook. With his hair, I didn't set it as the hairstyle of a character from comic "Slam Dunk" from the beginning but thought of how he is someone who cannot express himself well through words. And heirs to conglomerates usually have assistants who take care of their belongings but I felt that Cha Ji-heon would take care of his own so I thought that he should have a big bag and that it would be nice if it was one that fit snug onto his body. That's how I thought of the backpack. And then with the fashion, dress shoes with a nice suit? Nah, I didn't think Cha Ji-heon would. So I decided that he'd go casual but need to be well-mannered so maybe a jacket on top. With shoes, just comfortable sneakers.

The romance between Cha Ji-heon and Noh Eun-seol got great response from the very beginning of the show and therefore, having good chemistry with Choi Gang-hee must've been very important. How was it working with her?
Ji Sung: There's nothing I felt uncomfortable about in terms of working with her from the very first shoot. Choi Gang-hee became Noh Eun-seol the moment she arrived on set. She'd sit with her head down when she gets on set and when I asked her what she's doing, she'd just sort of say, "Oh, nothing..." and stay like that. I sat like that too once I immersed myself into my character. And we'd feel so awkward when our eyes meet. (laugh)

How was it working with Kim Jae-joong who doesn't have a lot of acting experience?
Ji Sung: You can't teach someone to act and there's a limit to how much you can advise someone on it so I just kept telling him about my experiences and how I'd like Cha Ji-won and Cha Mu-won to interact. Jae-joong is more than capable of becoming an actor. And I believe he got the results he got because he focused on his character with a humble mind. We benefitted from it as well. The story would've become shaky if even a single person failed to pull off their roles so I'm very thankful to him in that sense.

It was nice to see how the four of you become good friends for each other. But I'm sure you must've needed time to become close on a personal level to show that naturally.
Ji Sung: It's weird to sit down with people you're meeting with for the first time for script reading sessions. And our drama was a cheerful one so I proposed that we all go on an outing together before we go into shoot. I thought that it would be nice to talk over a campfire and a drink. And at the outing, this is what we asked each other. What sort of person are you, Ji Sung? What sort of person are you Jae-joong? What sort of person are you Gang-hee? What kind of things do you like? As if we were playing truth. They may seem like they're out of the blue but we needed to get to know each other.

Aren't there times you have to pretend to be a certain way as well, regardless of whether you want to or not, because you're actors who get shown to the public?
Ji Sung: We'll pretend to be very tough and charismatic but we're actually delicate people. We have to open up ourselves in many ways in the projects we take on. We need to really cry in the crying scenes and really show pain in the scenes we have to express pain so our emotions weaken and waver easily. You may think we're not lonely because we always have a lot of people around us but we actually get lonely very easily.

That's why it's important to hold your ground but there must be a lot of factors, outside your acting, that will make you waver.
Ji Sung: I once heard this from an acquaintance. "You must feel so at ease and happy for having a fun job. You guys may come on television and say you went through hard times but is there anyone in this world who hasn't been through that much suffering?" And it felt a bit uncomfortable to hear that. No matter how much I may love what I do, it's separate from how hard it is to get my job done. Someone said to me that he feels the happiest when he's listening to music in the car on his way to a second round of drinks after a first round of drinks which I completely agreed to because you're happy no matter what you do since you're slightly buzzed and you're looking forward to going to a new location. Actors are people that have to keep feeling that sense of joy. It may not seem that special but it's not easy to do.

I guess actors need assistants like Noh Eun-seol as well. (laugh)
Ji Sung: I admit to it. (laugh) I wish I had an assistant who like a mentor, could keep a close eye on me and direct me in the right way. The reason Cha Ji-heon was able to feel the trivial joys to life was because of Noh Eun-seol as well.

But you've been the main character in all your works since SBS' "Splendid Days" and your acting career hasn't been on that many ups and downs ever since which proves how trusted you are as an actor. How do you think you came to gain that image?
Ji Sung: I think I gave myself quite a bit of time to do it. And I'm not an actor who is as good-looking as Song Seung-heon so I told myself that I'd try to create an image that is unique of me. I was raised under educators so a part of me used to think in a way that was a bit stifling. So to free myself from it, I decided to play various characters. That's how I came to do SBS' "All In," then historical drama "Woman of the King" and then a difficult movie. After those, I finally started to think that I've come to know what acting is about but then I heard that I'm two percent short from being great. And that was when I got drafted to the military so it really drove me crazy but I feel more comfortable after completing my duties.

Is it a change that military life brought about?
Ji Sung: I came to put my mind at ease after realizing what I'd been frustrated about and deciding the direction I would take when in the military. And I started all over again, with MBC's "New Heart," after I got discharged. I could've reached my goal quicker if I had dashed straight forward but I've always gone the long way around. But I have no regrets about it. I've never wanted to shoot to stardom. I just worked hard at what I do because I like it.

Does it mean you don't care about how fast you get there?
Ji Sung: I don't dwell on it. I just want to last a long time. I want to become an actor that people always want to talk to and feel like they could have fun with, regardless of age.

In that sense then, I think you must've felt a lot from working with actor Park Young-gyu who played your father in the drama. He's a senior to you who has been in the business for a long time after going through much ups and downs.
Ji Sung: It was great that he worked with us younger actors despite his age. What's important was that he worked with us instead of leaving everything up to everyone else after he got done with his parts. And that's what I'm going to do when I'm old as well. I don't think actors should act when they can't do that anymore.

Did you talk with him a lot on set? About things outside of work?
Ji Sung: I actually couldn't have personal conversations with him too early on because his son passed away a few years ago. I felt bad even trying to behave like his kid. And I choked up sometimes because through the way he treated me in the show, I could feel that he wanted to do certain things for his son as well. I could feel it just from looking at his eyes.

Then maybe that was why but the scene at the end where you hugged him when he allowed Cha Ji-heon to date Noh Eun-seol was very moving.
Ji Sung: I felt the emotions surge the moment we went into rehearsals. I was sitting in the yard, then looked at him while standing up and wow, I couldn't bear it. I wasn't even supposed to cry loudly. I was just supposed to be moved to tears but after hugging him... I was very sad. Looking at him, I came to think that life is not easy and that he must've been through a lot of hardships.

You met good people and got time to think about your life through "Protect the Boss." What's your biggest gain as an actor?
Ji Sung:: It gave me courage. I've come to gain the confidence to talk about my life and human beings with certainty. I'll probably take on a movie next since I haven't done one for a long time but I'm hoping I'll get to play a character that'll bring out my strengths. I hope that it makes both myself and people happy.


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