Kim Dae-myung: "Actors Don't Just Lose Weight, They Wear Characters"

Kim Dae-myung "Actors Don't Just Lose Weight, They Wear Characters"

On the 21st, Kim Dae-myung's transformation during his appearance on JTBC's 'Chef & My Fridge' became a hot topic. His image, familiar to the public, was one of comfort and human warmth. A face that was somewhat clumsy yet warm, and therefore more memorable—like Assistant Manager Kim Dong-sik in the drama 'Incomplete Life' or Yang Seok-hyeong in 'Hospital Playlist.' Suddenly, he appeared in a completely different form.

However, this change is not a simple 'diet success story.' For an actor, weight change is not about appearance management, but a language used to create a persona. What Kim Dae-myung demonstrated was not a star's image transformation, but a proof of how an actor uses their own body as a tool for acting.

Kim Dae-myung appeared noticeably thinner, drawing astonishment from the cast. His brief remark, "I gain or lose weight depending on the role," was an answer that accurately showed the essence of the acting profession. To an actor, the body is not just a physical entity. It is another narrative that contains the time, environment, and psychological state in which a character lives.

For instance, even when delivering the same lines, the emotions conveyed by a body that has gained 10kg versus a sharply thin face are different. Fatigue, anxiety, desire, and desperation manifest in the face and body before the lines are even spoken. A good actor utilizes their own body as an acting space. This is precisely why Kim Dae-myung is special.

Rather than a flashy star image, he was an actor who disappeared within his works. Yang Seok-hyeong in 'Hospital Playlist' was a character lacking social skills but possessing deeper humanity than anyone else, and Kim Dae-myung moved viewers' hearts through that character's awkward smile, slow speech, and rounded atmosphere.

However, this change is a choice to boldly shed that familiar image. The moment an actor does not settle for one successful character and chooses an unfamiliar face again, they gain another possibility for acting. In particular, the scene where Kim Dae-myung joked, "Because I was paid," created laughter, but it also contained the realistic attitude of an actor. Ultimately, changing for a work means taking responsibility for the role entrusted to them by someone.

When Ahn Jung-hwan joked, "Do you set a price per kg?" and Kim Dae-myung quipped back, "It's market price," he showed his sense as an entertainer, but more important than that is Kim Dae-myung's philosophy as an actor. To him, change is not image-making for buzz; it is a process to meet a character.

Modern actors often gain public attention through external changes, but true change comes from a change in the way one exists, not just appearance. Kim Dae-myung set aside his familiar face and emptied himself again to accept a new persona.

Perhaps acting is a profession of constantly discarding oneself. Erasing who you were yesterday to become someone else today. Kim Dae-myung's changed face is not just news that he "lost weight." It is a signal that an actor is preparing for another life. Erasing the face the audience loved to be reborn for a character yet to be met—that is the most powerful strength held by actor Kim Dae-myung.