[Interview] Son Ye-jin from 'No Other Choice' says, "If a character like Mansoo is a woman, I really want to do it"

I did not think of 〈No Other Choice〉 as a melodrama before my interview with Son Ye-jin. However, Son Ye-jin made it clear that what gives the film its persuasive power is the strong love between Mansoo (Lee Byung-hun) and Miri (Son Ye-jin).

The film 〈No Other Choice〉, which will be released on the 24th, tells the story of Mansoo, an office worker who felt that life was satisfying enough to say he had achieved everything, suddenly getting fired. To protect his wife Miri and their two children, he prepares for his own war towards re-employment, trying to keep the house he worked hard to acquire. In the film, Son Ye-jin layers the character of 'Miri' to strongly and tightly shape the motivation behind Mansoo's determination.

It is misleading to simply define Miri in 〈No Other Choice〉 as a victim or bystander. In the interview, Son Ye-jin defined Miri as "a wife and mother who can do more if she wants to." As Son Ye-jin said, Miri appears to be an ordinary wife and mother, but at the same time, she is a complex character who can make unexpected choices in extreme situations. How did Son Ye-jin approach her first collaboration with Director Park Chan-wook, and how did she prepare for the character of Miri? Here is the full interview with Son Ye-jin, the actress from 〈No Other Choice〉, which took place on the 23rd at a location in Jongno-gu.

Let's go back to the moment you first encountered the work. What were your thoughts when you first received the script for 〈No Other Choice〉? I imagine you also wondered why they suggested the role of Miri to you.

In the script, Miri initially had little presence. Her lines were few, and I heard that she was such a character in the original work. However, after reading the entire script, the narrative of the film itself was so intense. So I thought, no matter how little the role, I wanted to do it. Even if the role was small, I wanted to add some presence. In the completed film, the director developed Miri's character a lot, increased her lines, and created more narrative. When the director first met me, he said that the character of Miri had to be realistic and that it had to be Son Ye-jin.

In 〈No Other Choice〉, various faces of Son Ye-jin were shown. At moments, Son Ye-jin's thriller-like face was also briefly visible.

That's right. I created that. (Everyone laughs) From an actor's perspective, a character like Mansoo is very attractive. Mansoo has layers from 1 to 10, and because of the wide range, various variations are possible. So after reading the script, I thought that if such a character were a woman, I would really want to do it. That's why 〈No Other Choice〉 became even more appealing to me. In fact, in some ways, Miri might be more difficult than Mansoo. She is mostly in a limited space like home and does not express emotions dramatically compared to Mansoo. Miri actually has very few close-ups and bust shots. So to show this character richly, I tried to use my body a lot. I usually don't act with gestures, but when the camera pulled back, I tried shaking my body and my head. I chose to act like that. The deeper I went into Miri, the more difficult it became. On the contrary, when playing a more impactful and intense character, I could express more, but Miri is more restrained, making it more challenging.

You mentioned earlier that you chose this work because you really wanted to work with Director Park Chan-wook. What was your impression of working with Director Park Chan-wook for the first time in 〈No Other Choice〉?

I felt that Director Park Chan-wook is really calm. He always directs calmly and maintains his tone. It felt like a cold observer's perspective. It wasn't a feeling of being hot and looking at the characters of the film. The director once said in an interview that he is a pessimist, and we teased him by sending that interview video among ourselves. However, I think the cynical perspective he has as a pessimist is part of the charm of Director Park Chan-wook's works. Because the director is always calm, it is not easy to notice the emotions. I have never heard him say, "You did really well." (laughs) If a scene is not good, we just keep doing it until it is good. (laughs)

Then, which scene had the most takes?

It was during the first shoot. There is a short line, "I think you like me~ sending all this expensive eel," but he told me not to put too much emphasis on 'eel'. (laughs)

The tone of Miri's lines was also interesting. Lines like "Do you want to be behind?" and the words during the couple's quarrel were also interesting. I imagine those scenes went through a lot of detailed adjustments.

The director always goes off the predictions, so those parts actually went well. The couple's quarrel scene had a lot of takes. At first, I did it a bit more sharply, like I was rapping, towards Mansoo.

The couple's quarrel scene between Mansoo and Miri is a scene that many people love, to the extent that Director Park Chan-wook himself considers it his favorite scene.

It is indeed a funny scene. But the two are very serious. It can't get any more childish than this. However, the reason many people find that scene funny and relatable is that while we pretend to be adults and act mature, don't we become the most childish when we fight with someone? And when we hate someone, there are times when we feel that we are more childish than a child. I think that is one aspect of life.

Another scene that many people find funny is the one at the police station with Wonno (Kim Hyung-mook). Miri sexually appeals to Wonno to cover up her son's mistake. Why did Miri make that choice?

In fact, as a mother, Miri should scold her child for doing something unethical and immoral. However, when I think about why Miri made that choice, she had completely figured out Wonno. When Wonno made a disgusting expression in bed, everyone must have felt that way. If Si-won (Kim Woo-seung) and Ri-won (Choi So-yul) were in some situation, I wouldn't want to say this because I want to be good, (laughs) but I thought Miri could do even worse things to cover for her child.

In that scene, the chemistry with actor Lee Byung-hun was also impressive.

In that scene, actually, I and Byung-hun sunbae matched so well, like a couple in a scam. (laughs) The director also said it was really amazing, and we just clicked. The expression of Miri saying "Kill him" in the trailer also came out with a nuance similar to Mansoo's expression, even though I didn't intend it. It was really exquisite.

I was also curious about Miri's backstory. She married Mansoo while being a single mom with a son and mentioned that she used to earn more than Mansoo before their marriage.

Miri was originally not a single mom. Becoming a single mom added more narrative and layers to the character. The more past a character has, the more people can imagine the character. So I think it could also reveal Mansoo's steadfastness in proposing to a single mom in the past. Originally, Miri was set to be the daughter of a rich family, but I told the director that I couldn't accept that at all. If she were the daughter of a rich family, she could ask her parents for help. But it seems that not only I but also others had that opinion. So it was changed to not being the daughter of a rich family. In the conversations between Mansoo and Miri, their past relationships and Miri's past gradually came out, which I think added layers to the character.

I am also curious about the relationship between Miri and Oh Jin-ho (Yoo Yeon-seok). Their relationship is depicted ambiguously throughout the film. What was the relationship between Oh Jin-ho and Miri really like?

The two are definitely not having an affair, but originally there were more scenes with Jin-ho played by Yeon-seok, which were deleted. There was a device to keep giving a suspicious feeling like Ara (Yeom Hye-ran). 〈No Other Choice〉 follows the story through Mansoo's eyes, so when the actor Yoo Yeon-seok appears, it makes you think he might take away Mansoo's wife. Mansoo feels a sense of inferiority towards Jin-ho.

※ Below contains spoilers including the ending of 〈No Other Choice〉.

After killing all the competitors, Mansoo starts working at a new job. Even though Miri seems to be living well, she knows all the secrets. But what happened to Miri and Mansoo's family after the ending? Could they live normally and well?

There were various opinions about the ending. While reading the script, I thought, 'Despite everything,' they would turn back to their place and continue to live. I think the director also wondered if they could be happy knowing all that. Personally, I found the couple's appearance in the latter part very sad. When Mansoo goes to kill Sijo (Cha Seung-won), he talks about his daughter. In fact, that story is what Miri usually says. Miri says that to ensure their child lives well, to somehow nurture Ri-won's talent, we must raise this child to be independent, even if we have to push ourselves hard, and I think Mansoo was greatly influenced by those words. So Mansoo became twisted while thinking he had to protect the house and the children. Not everyone makes decisions like Mansoo just because they are unemployed. However, I received a letter from a Japanese fan yesterday, and it said that a similar incident happened in Japan. Someone had poisoned their superiors to kill them, and when I read that letter this morning, I thought, 'Reality is more like a movie than a movie.' Even though the movie is absurd, it is also something that happens.

When Ri-won finally plays the cello, Miri's expression while listening to that performance in front of Ri-won's room is quite peculiar. What was your feeling while acting in the last scene, and could you share your personal interpretation of that last scene?

Originally, the script said that after listening to the cello performance, "Miri cannot open the door." It didn't detail Miri's emotions, and while filming, I thought Miri must have gone through a whirlwind of emotions, thinking, 'Did we come this far just to hear this cello performance?' Since this child is playing the cello that she had never heard before at the point when Mansoo is going back to work. However, the director approached it as the child celebrating a ceremony.

〈No Other Choice〉 is a film that feels like autumn, when leaves fall. It seems like actress Son Ye-jin's life is also heading towards this autumn. What are your thoughts on entering the autumn of life?

I feel that it is a time of change, both in my acting life and in getting married and having a child. Since I am in a situation where I need to be active in my work, I feel like I need to run hard.