Actress Jeong Ji-so (26) showcased a depth of acting that belied her age in the drama 'My New Sassy Girl.' In this work, she made a bold transformation with a curly hairstyle fitting the grandmother image, impressing viewers with her voice tone, speech, gait, and expressions that all resonated with the emotions of a 70-year-old.
Recently, Jeong Ji-so met with Maeil Business Newspaper's Star Today at a café in Daechi-dong, Gangnam, Seoul, and shared, "I rarely cry while watching the final episode of a drama, but I found myself in tears while watching the last episode. It was sad, but since I poured a lot of affection into this work, I think I cried a lot as if I had broken up with a lover."
The KBS2 Wednesday-Thursday drama 'My New Sassy Girl' (written by Heo Seung-min, directed by Park Yong-soon), which concluded on the 23rd, is a romantic musical growth drama about a 70-year-old grandmother, Oh Mal-soon (played by Kim Hae-sook), who suddenly transforms into a 20-year-old Oh Doo-ri (played by Jeong Ji-so) and enjoys a shining peak of her life. Jeong Ji-so played the role of the 20-year-old version of Oh Mal-soon, Oh Doo-ri.
Regarding her participation in 'My New Sassy Girl,' Jeong Ji-so said, "This was the first project I was offered after Netflix's 'The Glory,' so quite a bit of time has passed since filming. I heard the writer wanted me to do it. At that time, I was just grateful that I received the script, so I said I would definitely do it," she smiled.
The drama is a remake of the 2014 film 'My New Sassy Girl,' which attracted 8.66 million viewers and received a warm reception. Given that Shim Eun-kyung, who played Oh Doo-ri in the original film, received praise for her performance, did Jeong Ji-so feel any pressure taking on the same role?
Jeong Ji-so responded, "Shim Eun-kyung has always been a respected senior to me, and I still admire her. Just being compared to her is already an honor, so I didn't feel any pressure." However, she added, "I watched the original film at the beginning of filming, but since the drama and the movie are so different, I thought, 'I shouldn't watch this.' I was worried I might unconsciously imitate Shim Eun-kyung."
As Jeong Ji-so mentioned, the drama and the movie differ significantly aside from the character names. In the original film, Oh Mal-soon's son and daughter-in-law appear, while in the drama, her daughter and son-in-law are featured. Additionally, Jeong Ji-so plays both Oh Doo-ri and Emily, an ace trainee at Eunice Entertainment, which was not a setting in the original.
“This time, I had to act as an idol. I have a body type that gains weight easily, so it was tough to control my eating. Since I had to wear stage costumes, I would look at my body in the morning and decide, 'I should eat lunch today' or 'I shouldn't eat.' During filming, I really wanted ice cream. As soon as it was over, I ate a lot and ended up with a stomachache the next day (laughs).”
Another twist different from the original is the ending. In the original, Oh Mal-soon chooses to return to her 70s, but in the drama, she remains in her 20s and debuts as an idol singer.
When asked if she liked the ending, Jeong Ji-so said, "I heard the writer struggled a lot while writing that ending." She continued, "I think Oh Mal-soon chose youth because she didn't want to burden her daughter with her dementia and wanted to help her friends debut. I think that was the charm of the drama, different from the movie."
She couldn't leave out talking about the actors she worked with in the project. Jeong Ji-so first mentioned Kim Hae-sook, sharing that she felt nervous and scared about having to act alongside such a senior figure.
She said, "Kim Hae-sook is such a senior to me that I felt a lot of pressure, but she somehow sensed that and reached out to me first, even giving me her contact information. She also asked me about my concerns during a gathering. My biggest concern while working on this project was 'confidence,' and Kim Hae-sook watched my acting closely and gave me the assurance that I was doing well, which was a great help."
She also mentioned that she received a lot of positive influence from Jin-young (Daniel Han), with whom she had a romantic storyline. Jeong Ji-so said, "Jin-young acts, composes, and does music, so he has a perspective of 'What will the viewers feel when they see this?' So, especially regarding music, I asked him a lot and received feedback."
Regarding the romance, she shared, "There was a kissing scene with Jin-young, and there was a lot of discussion about whether it should be a peck or a kiss. Although Oh Doo-ri's body became young, she is still technically a grandmother. So we thought, 'Let's shoot both scenes,' and we filmed both. They say that when romance comes out in a work, the actors get sweet, but we were really just focused on how this scene would be portrayed."
Jeong Ji-so, who opened the door to 2025 with 'My New Sassy Girl,' responded to a question about her plans for this year, saying, "I want to have many experiences that are suitable for my age, like traveling, and I definitely want to film a sweet romance."
She concluded the interview with a determination, saying, "I've been living alone for seven years, but I'm really bad at housework. During the cooking scene this time, the stunt teacher asked me, 'Have you never held a knife before?' and I felt a reality check. So this New Year, I decided to learn cooking and cleaning to change things up."
[Lee Da-kyum, Star Today Reporter]
