For actor Son Ye-jin, her latest project “No Other Choice” marks the beginning of a new chapter in both her personal life and acting career. It is her first project since taking a three-year hiatus to get married and become a mother, and her first return to the big screen in seven years.

“In many ways, it felt like a chapter of my life and career had closed, and I was starting a second chapter,” said Son during a roundtable interview at a cafe in central Seoul on Tuesday, adding she got to work with Park Chan-wook, someone every actor dreams of collaborating with, and attend her first-ever Venice International Film Festival.


“I got to start that new chapter with Director Park, and it was such a great experience that sparked my passion for acting again. Also, while working with Park, I also felt that I needed to look at acting from a slightly different perspective.”

An adaptation of U.S. writer Donald E. Westlake’s 1997 novel "The Ax," the film follows Man-su, portrayed by Lee Byung-hun, a middle-aged man who is abruptly laid off from his company and resorts to extreme measures in his desperate search for new employment. Son plays Mi-ri, Man-su’s wife, who was a full-time housewife but starts working again after Man-su’s layoff.

Coming back to the film industry after nearly a decade, Son said she noticed a gloomy change in the overall industry atmosphere, which also gave her anxiety.

“I especially feel it now,” she said. “When you think about it, there are so few films [showing in theaters] these days. The fact that things have changed so much in just a few years, and that I myself have returned to film after seven years, really hits me. It also leaves me with this anxiety that I might not be able to make as many films as before.”

The film recently opened this year’s Busan International Film Festival, which ended on Friday. At the festival’s Actors' House event, a talk session with the audience, Son shared that “No Other Choice” was the first script she had shared with her husband, Hyun Bin, noting that she usually does not discuss work with him.

She revealed why during the interview, saying, “When I finished reading the script, the narrative was so intense.”

“The film’s kind of contradictory and ironic at times, with a touch of black comedy,” she added. “Even though the story is tragic, the comedic elements made it strangely interesting. That’s why I told Hyun Bin to check it out.”

Son also noted that the 139-minute film’s final version differed from the original scenario. Her character, Mi-ri, was more developed and gained additional screen time compared to the initial script.

Director Park is known for meticulous attention to detail, even down to the differences in vowel length and pitch within words. Son, working with him for the first time, said she initially felt overwhelmed.

“The film’s first scene was my first shot,” she said. “In one line, I say ‘expensive eel,’ which I thought was important, so I emphasized it. But Director Park told me not to put too much emphasis on the word.”

"As we did take after take, I was sweating because it was hot, but also it was cold sweat. I started thinking, ‘Oh no, what am I going to do?’ Because in the scenes ahead, there will be certain tones and words that I might unconsciously emphasize. And seeing how detailed the director was, I thought to myself, ‘I’m doomed now.’"

However, as she got used to his directions, she came to enjoy the process, noting that the director’s attention to detail ultimately created strong acting moments.

Now a mother, she said that the way she looks at the world has changed and that it even helped her while shooting the film, especially in the scenes where Mi-ri talks with her children.

"As a mother now, I can really understand that look a parent gives to reassure their child, making sure they don’t have nightmares or bad thoughts," Son said, referring to a scene where she comforts her son, Si-won. "I wonder if I would have been able to empathize with that so deeply if I hadn’t had my own child and raised him."

This new perspective has also shaped her future interests. "Since becoming a parent, I’ve become very interested in stories about motherhood," she said.

Son additionally addressed whether fans might get to see her and her husband together on screen again. The pair previously starred together in the film “The Negotiation” (2018) and the tvN series “Crash Landing on You” (2019-20).

“Well, I’m open to the idea,” she said. “But I’m not sure whether he is. I’ve never asked.”

“We received so much love from ‘Crash Landing on You.’ It was such a fun romance, with lots of sweet, lighthearted moments and plenty of comedy,” she added. “So I think doing another romance would be difficult, but it could be interesting to work together in a comedy or action project. I’m not sure if that opportunity will come, though.”

Released on Sept. 24, “No Other Choice” is now in theaters.


BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]