Actor Byeon Woo-seok enthralled audiences with his portrayal of Ryu Sun-jae in “Lovely Runner,” a character intentionally crafted by writer Lee Si-eun to embody the pure, unrequited love typically seen in supporting male leads.
This choice reflects her long-standing preference for such characters, as she said, “I’ve always been a fan of the supporting male characters.”
Directors Yoon Jong-ho and Kim Tae-yeop, along with Lee, the writer, recently sat down for an interview at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, to discuss the tvN drama “Lovely Runner.”
The story revolves around an ardent fan, Im Sol, played by Kim Hye-yoon, who travels back to 2008 to save her favorite artist, Sun-jae.
The two actors’ performances in “Lovely Runner” have received widespread praise, with the writer expressing that they brought more depth to the script than she had imagined.
She even admitted to shedding tears while watching Byeon’s performance.
Regarding Kim, Lee highlighted a hospital scene: “It was a scene where she lay in bed listening to the radio. She had to convey 토토 explosive emotions without makeup or styled hair. It was one of the early shoots. I was amazed at how she brought the emotions of a girl with a disability to life, even better than I had written. Watching these actors express 120 to 150 percent of what I had written, I gained a lot of confidence.”
Lee also said that she had never encountered love as profound as that shared between Sun-jae and Sol.
What sources did she draw from when writing the script? “I thought about a baby. I’ve never been a fan of someone, but the feeling of wanting to give everything to your baby without expecting anything in return — that’s the emotion I wanted to capture,” she said.
Discussing the character development of Sun-jae, Lee said, “Sun-jae isn’t the type of character we used to idolize. In the past, rebellious figures were more popular. Characters like Sun-jae, who are devoted to one woman, were usually in supporting roles. But I’ve always been drawn to these supporting characters. This time, I wanted to bring that narrative to the forefront.