All Kim Tae-ri wanted after a year of shooting “Mr. Sunshine” was to gather everyone who was part of the series for a group photo, the actress revealed in an exclusive e-mail interview with Super K! She played the lead role of Ae-sin on the Netflix Original series.
“We spent close to a year shooting the show. So we went through all four seasons. Focusing on something for a very long time can be emotionally and physically tiring. But the upside was that I got to visit so many beautiful places in Korea. An-dong, in particular, was so beautiful. We were shooting through winter and spring there and it was beautiful to see the changes in seasons in water freezing and then thawing,” said Tae-ri.
The drama was written by Kim Eun-sook and directed by Lee Eung-bok. This was the third collaboration between the two after the hits “Descendants of the Sun” and “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God,” also known as “Goblin.”
“Mr. Sunshine” set a record with 18-percent viewership on its final episode. Its consistent 13.059-percent average in viewership made it the most watched cable drama of all time, beating “Goblin’s” average record of 12.924 percent.
The actress only has praises for the writer Eun-sook who, with this drama, established herself as a bankable star writer. Tae-ri said that the writer paced the drama slower than her previous works, but she did a thorough research on historical facts.
Tae-ri looked back on her character and revealed that she found it tougher to play a woman in love than someone who had to hold a gun.
“I wasn’t quite in sync with the character in terms of how fast the feelings developed. I was often confused because I felt that the romantic feelings were developing too fast. But it all made a lot more sense after I watched the episodes. I feel like I could have been bolder and more expressive in portraying the feelings,” she said.
Souvenir
She added that she hopes viewers would walk away from the show feeling that they could relate to the joys and sorrows of the characters. She revealed what she took home from the show as a souvenir.
“I brought the coins that Ae-sin gave to Dong-mae from our last shoot. That was the last scene I shot. I kept two and gave one to Yoo Yeon-seok (Dong-mae),” she said.
Yoon-seok, on the other hand, brought home Dong-mae’s hair band and sword.
“I figured that the fans would like the hair band. I want to give it away during a future fan meet. I asked the costume team for the hair band. And I brought the sword back because I feel quite attached to it now,” said Yoon-seok.
The actor had to learn wielding the katana to play the role of the mercenary Dong-mae. He said he might be able to use this knowledge again in a future role. He said that he first studied how to use a sword for his previous drama “Gu Family Book.”
The lead of the show, Kim Byung-hun (Eugene Choi), said that he hopes that the show will be remembered for the Righteous Army, whose nameless members made so much sacrifice.
“Mr. Sunshine” is available for streaming on Netflix.