Actor So Ji-sub wants to make people laugh and cry with 'Be With You'

SEOUL, March 8 (Yonhap) -- Heartthrob So Ji-sub is back on the big screen next week in the Korean remake of a highly successful 2004 Japanese romance about a mother who returns to her family a year after her death.

So describes the Korean version of "Be With You" as being more "exhilarating" than the original and says he hopes it will make people laugh and cry.

The actor said during an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Thursday that he hesitated a lot in accepting the role of the father because it was something he has never experienced in real life. The fame of the original novel and film also felt like a burden to him.

But he decided to be in the film because he wanted to tell a love story and just knew shooting it would make him happy.

"I pondered a lot over whether I would look natural as a father but thought I should not miss the chance," the 40-year-old said.

In "Be With You," So plays Woo-jin, a father who raises a boy alone after the death of his wife. So-jin is not good at cooking or housework.

"I began to feel comfortable with the role at some point because of the similarity between So-jin's personality and mine," the actor said, laughing.

While watching the completed version of the movie, So said he wept a lot, especially in the beginning, out of pity for the son who goes through hardship due to his father, who is clumsy in many ways.

However, the actor strived to control his emotions as much as possible while acting.

"My role is just like a player who runs hard and helps create goals in soccer. It's the mother and son who need to score a goal. I made almost no effort to stand out. So I restrained my emotions rather a lot."

The movie marks the first time So has worked with actress Son Ye-jin since they appeared together in a TV series 17 years ago.

Son, who played Woo-jin's wife, Su-ah, is such a perfectionist that she repeated her lines again and again till she was satisfied, he recalled.

"I could understand what was in her mind after watching the completed version," he said.

Although romantic movies are not popular in Korea these days, So said he thinks "Be With You" will resonate long in the mind of audiences.

Presented by Lotte Entertainment and directed by Lee Jang-hoon, the film is set to open in local theaters Wednesday.

sshim@yna.co.kr
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