Singer Kangta Makes Acting Debut (Korea Times)

Origin : The Korea Times
            2005.04.24 20:01

Singer Kangta Makes Acting Debut

Audiences have a little more than week left until they see Kangta return to the small screen. However it won't be through a K-pop countdown program that the singer will be greeting fans, but in his acting debut.

The popular singer is cast in the lead role of upcoming KBS miniseries ``Loveholic.'' He plays Soh Kang-wook, a high-school student who falls for his high school teacher. Opposite Kangta, Kim Min-sun is cast as teacher Lee Yul-joo.

``I don't expect as much as good reviews, I would be happy if people just saw Kangta as the character Kang-wook,'' Kangta said in a group interview following a press conference held in Seoul last week.

As an actor he has decided go by his given name Ahn Chil-hyun.

``I think that using my real name will help me take on acting more seriously,'' the 25-year-old singer said.

Kangta debuted as the lead vocal of boy band H.O.T in the mid 1990s. Since the disbanding of the group in 2001, he has flown solo as a R&B singer, releasing three albums to date.

In regards to the growing number of pop artists of crossing over to acting, Kangta said that he himself had insisted on sticking to singing.

``I was told I was being stubborn. The music industry is in a slump. I came to the conclusion that it would be a shame to see talent go to waste, which is why I decided to go for it,’’ he said.

Kangta went on to talk of how much he hesitated before accepting the offer to star in ``Loveholic.’’ But the hesitation and tension didn’t end there. ``Then came the jitters and prior to my first shoot I fell sick by catching a cold and laryngitis.

``Now I feel a little more at ease. I spend a lot of time studying the script and my character,’’ he said.

Kangta also expressed his interest in acting in movies and composing film scores in the future.

``Who would understand the character's state of mind better than the actor himself?'' he said. ``I hope to become the music director in the films I appear in.’’

``Loveholic'' will air Mondays and Tuesdays at 9:50 p.m. on KBS2 starting May 2.

Han Eun-jung ejh09@koreatimes.co.kr
Staff Reporter