Big Bang’s TOP Learned Stability From His Married Seniors

When Big Bang’s TOP announced that he would be appearing as a cold blooded killer in an upcoming drama, many were skeptical about his transition from an idol singer to a serious actor.

Newsen met with TOP on the 20th of May at a small cafe in Seoul. TOP expresses that he felt more satisfied with his work rather than anxious, “I gave [my performance] my all, losing myself in the character.”

TOP began his filming for ‘71-Into The Fire‘ the very next day after he finished filming for ‘Iris‘. TOP states:

“The minute I got the script I fell deeply into the character of Oh JangBum. Usually when I am doing a project I don’t usually think about anything else. I got the script first and later the confirmation that I was cast and I felt like I was getting sucked into the character of Oh JangBum. Even in the last scene for ‘Iris’ where BIG was dying, I think I incorporated the soft side of Oh JangBum without even realizing it.”

TOP first began his career as an underground rapper who had no intentions to act. But things have come a long way for the man who once called himself ‘Tempo’.

“Whenever I do anything new I’m not the type of person who starts it easily. I think hard about it first and then I try it. However, once I start I start it, I hate half-assing it. Once I started acting I had time for introspection and thought hard about making my own color. Musically, as a member of Big Bang, I had my own know-how of doing what I do as a singer but acting wise…Of course, it won’t be easy but I want to become an actor with a good reputation. I believe that if you don’t try, you become a lazy person and also before trying there needs to be a lot of thought behind it.”

Showing a never before seen side of him, TOP tells that he felt so ambitious that he even visited Lee ByungHun’s house to ask for acting advice. “Lee ByungHun would call me often. He would tell me to come over and when I went I would ask him serious questions time and time again. He would enjoy it. Those times were of great help to me.”

TOP also shared that he had a lot of help from experienced actors, Kim SeungWoo, Cha SeungWon, and Kwon SangWoo who all acted besides him in the film.

“SeungWoo-hyung would think back to when he was my age and tell me these great stories. When I was having troubles of being alone after filming in HapChun, SeungWon-hyung would look after me. One time he even drove me to the city of Daegu and took me to see the movie ‘Avatar’. I was really touched that he did that. Also, SangWoo hyung, who was always with me, watched over me and gave me a lot of advice. I was really thankful.”

Out of all the cast members, it was only TOP who was single. “I learned a lot about stability from the hyungs,” He shared.

“All the hyungs are married. While filming, we would frequently eat together and maybe grab a beer; I felt really comfortable in those moments. After filming this movie and hanging out with the hyungs, the thing people say the most about me is that I have become more stable. Thinking back about where I got that influence, it was definitely from the three hyungs. All the hyungs have a stable family and when they could consistently call home it looked great to me. On one hand, I’m still maturing. I felt troubled and my mind was perplexed, but being around them I felt like I was seeing fully grown complete men and without realizing it, I felt like I had to become one of them.”

It was during  filming that TOP’s personality matured, all that is left is for the public to judge his level of maturity. ‘71-Into The Fire’ deals with the real life battle at Pohang during the Korean War in August of 1950. Depicting the true story of 71 student soldiers and their unfortunate battle the movie will premier on June 16th.