'The Glory' actress Lim Ji-yeon admits she wanted everyone to hate Park Yeon-jin as her first villain role
The Glory star Lim Ji-yeon, who portrayed the main bully Park Yeon-jin as an adult, said she wanted everyone to hate her character in the hit series.
In an end-of-show interview on March 17, the K-drama actress recalled how she wanted to embody the evil that is Yeon-jin from head to toe.
"I prepared the character hoping the world would turn its back on Yeon-jin. I thought it would be easier to get hated than loved by everyone. I wanted everyone to hate Yeon-jin. When we were reading our scripts, writer Kim Eun-sook commented that I had a face of an angel but a heart of a devil. I guess she saw that side of me when I was reading," Ji-yeon said.
Since it was her first attempt at playing a villain, she prepared for months as soon as she got the script.
"After reading the script, I asked around for advice and tried to best prepare for the character so I was actually busier before we started filming," Ji-yeon revealed.
Similar to fellow actress Shin Ye-eun, who played the teenage version of Yeon-jin, Ji-yeon experienced attachment issues to the role after filming the show due to the character's dark nature.
"I had a hard time filming the last jail scene for Yeon-jin. I realized how much I was attached to the character. Something dropped inside of me, but it was a different feeling than what I felt while portraying evil acts," the actress said.
The Glory revolves around a woman who suffered childhood violence and now dedicates her life to executing a series of vengeful acts against her bullies and their accomplices. Part 1 of the show was released on Dec. 30 last year, while Part 2 was made available on March 10 on Netflix.
Ji-yeon is an APAN Star Award winner and Baeksang Arts Awards nominee. She is known for starring in the erotic thriller Obsessed and the series High Society and Welcome 2 Life.