Kim Seon-ho On Playing The Most Challenging Role Of His Career

One feels an easy sense of familiarity meeting Kim Seon-ho, even if it is through the confined space of a Zoom window.

His famous dimpled smile, which has spawned multiple social media trends and challenges (most likely you have taken one as well), is open and reassuring, but the man behind it is unassuming and shy. Riding high on the success of his latest globe-trotting Netflix drama Can This Love Be Translated? where he plays a polyglot who is an ace at interpreting people’s emotions but unable to express his own, Kim’s boy-next-door charm and knack for playing characters grounded in reality — with deep emotional layers and their own inner conflicts — stand in sharp contrast to the heroic templates of masculinity popularised in pop culture narratives.

The 39-year-old’s arrival into the hallways of stardom has been much like his on-screen characters. A seasoned stage actor, he did not make his screen debut until his 30s. The 2020 drama Start-Up proved to be his breakout role — playing hedge fund manager Han Ji-pyeong, he not only emerged as the scene-stealer but also added momentum to the now-classic second lead syndrome in the drama-verse. He went on to lead the hit romantic seaside drama Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha in 2022, followed by a chilling turn as a violent mercenary in The Childe, showcasing his range and versatility.

We sat down with the actor to discuss everything from his famous “dimple flex” to fame, craft and more.

Your “dimple flex” has taken over social media. How do you feel about this kind of fan response?

For the dimple scene I have to thank my writers, the Hong sisters, for adding that into the script. As for these challenges on social media, I mean, as an actor, it’s not something that you can expect to happen. So they all feel like messages of really happy encouragement for me. I’m getting so many wonderful messages of support and congratulations from people, I am just very happy and grateful.

Many of your characters appear gentle or understated on the surface, but carry deep emotional conflict beneath.

I don’t actively look for characters like that, but I think listening to you ask me that question, I am now just getting to think maybe it is a little bit of my preference, though it has never been intentional. I hope that I can showcase a wider range of myself through very different characters going forward.

Has international popularity influenced the kind of stories or roles you choose?

I have never had that affect my decisions in choosing the next project until now, really. It was more about me falling in love with the character and wanting to take on a new challenge. I think that I receive enough love and support as is. I don’t know if I’m even deserving of the love that is coming to me from the fans. And so while, of course, it is important to really respond to that love, and that is an important aspect of the career that I have, I think it’s really more about bringing great stories, great characters, and really responding to that love through wonderful performances.

How would you define yourself as an actor, and what is the one habit you are currently trying to unlearn as an actor?

I like to think of myself as someone who is ever trying, and who wants to be better. My dream is to be a good actor, and so that’s what I try to do. As for something I want to unlearn, there are things that I wish I didn’t do on screen, but this is something that only I’m going to know, because the moment I say it out loud, including you all of the fans out there, that’s all that you will ever see. So I’m not going to say what that is (laughs). But I used to think that I didn’t project my voice very well, so that’s something that I actually worked a lot on, and I think I’ve definitely gotten better at it.

Which has been your toughest role to date?

There is one, and that is Ho Jin of Can This Love Be Translated?

I was very scared because I didn’t know if I would be able to play this role of a multilingual interpreter, but I’m very happy to have pulled it off. I’m very grateful to hear the response from the fans telling me, “Oh, you have a great accent. You did a good job with the pronunciation and with the diction.” I’m just very, very grateful for that. I’m doing the happy dance every day.

So what do you prefer — rehearsals or instinctive performance?

Rehearsals, because I get very nervous.

Silence or dialogue?

Dialogues.