(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Ji-sun = Veteran actor Nam Myung-ryeol (64), who had previously criticized actor Son Seok-koo’s (41) remarks about “fake acting” last year, recently stated in an interview with Yonhap News, “Media is media, and stage is stage; there is no better or worse,” explaining this perspective.
Son Seok-koo once recalled his theater days, saying, “I didn’t understand why they made us do fake acting, whispering ‘I love you’ on stage. They should provide a microphone.” He added, “So I shifted to film. I wanted to see if my acting style would work in theater,” which sparked controversy.
Nam Myung-ryeol posted an article about this incident on his Facebook, quoting a line from the play “Last Session,” in which he was starring at the time, to criticize, “Haha, just laughing. Such arrogance.”
Although Son Seok-koo apologized with a handwritten letter and Nam Myung-ryeol reciprocated, he expressed no regret over his straightforward comments.
Nam Myung-ryeol explained that working with young directors motivated his desire to have a lasting career, granting him both the tolerance and courage to speak his mind, knowing he could leave the stage at any time.
Nam Myung-ryeol views acting’s fundamental nature as ‘fake’ because it involves pretending to be someone else. However, he stresses the importance of mastering dialogue delivery that can whisper yet be heard clearly from the audience, regarding it as ‘acting technique.’
He also shared that while challenging himself with his first media acting role in the drama “Coffee Prince” in 2007, he learned from his junior actor, Gong Yoo. Nam recalled, “I was puzzled why he whispered to the point of being inaudible, but on TV, the dialogue was clear and the acting was excellent.” This experience taught him not to project his voice for another person when acting in front of the camera.
Through such varied delivery methods depending on the environment, Nam Myung-ryeol’s experience leads him to conclude that “actors telling a story” remains consistent, irrespective of the platform.
Among the theater’s greatest attractions is the “on-site nature,” where the performance relies purely on the actor’s portrayal and is edited through the audience’s eyes. Nam Myung-ryeol, who spent his 20s as an ordinary office worker at a pharmaceutical company after participating in a college theater club, only embarked on a full-time acting career in his mid-30s.
Even during his early unnamed days, he maintained pride as an actor by ensuring he presented himself neatly, stating, “There was no refrigerator at home, but I had an iron and a washing machine.”
Identifying himself as ‘non-mainstream,’ Nam Myung-ryeol advocates for the existence of people like himself to enrich society with diversity.
He expressed pride in “K-dramas and K-movies taking the world by storm,” attributing their success to “excellent supporting actors” who bolster the starring roles, noting that many honed their skills in theater.
Despite having received Korea’s prestigious “Lee Hae-rang Theater Award” in 2022 and being recognized for reaching the pinnacle of his acting career with significant theater performances like “The Two Popes,” Nam Myung-ryeol continues to work tirelessly.
Following recent productions like “Hamlet” and “Why Care About Popular Novels?!,” he is managing a packed schedule through the fall with works like “Trap” and “The Last Squad Leader.”
Having balanced theater, film, and drama for 30 years without rest, Nam Myung-ryeol humbly states that he wishes to be remembered simply as “a person who lived the given roles earnestly.”