The potential weakness of Netflix’s Lady Dua, which could have been consumed as a conventional deception narrative, was fully neutralized by Shin Hye-sun’s hard-won acting stamina. Her commanding performance, breathing authentic life into a fabricated existence, once again affirmed her irreplaceable value in an increasingly competitive content landscape.
On February 20, Shin Hye-sun met for an interview in Jongno-gu, Seoul to discuss her role in the Netflix original series Lady Dua.
Lady Dua is an eight-episode thriller that follows the relentless ambition of Sara Kim, a woman determined to become the embodiment of ultimate luxury, and the mystery concealed behind her constructed identity. Shin Hye-sun portrays Sara Kim, the Asia regional director of the high-end luxury brand Boudoir, a mysterious figure who destabilizes the boundary between truth and illusion while shifting through multiple personas.
◇ An Unplanned Approach, Wearing Sara Kim Through Instinct
Sara Kim, as realized by Shin Hye-sun, is an incarnation of longing and lack, a figure attempting to fill an empty inner core with carefully constructed illusion. For this role, she deliberately abandoned the rigid emotional preparation that had previously defined her process.
“In the past, I focused on refining and completing emotions beforehand,” she said. “But this time, I tried to leave them open, without closing them off completely, and express them in ambiguity.” Her approach centered on inhabiting the character’s emotional breath rather than executing predetermined psychological structure.
This instinctive method allowed her to bridge Sara Kim with Mok Ga-hee, whose warped sense of superiority revealed its own psychological fractures. Reflecting on Mok Ga-hee’s discomfort when receiving money from colleagues, Shin Hye-sun delivered an interpretation stripped of sympathy or sentimentality. Her chilling expression in the elevator scene near the end of the series emerged not from deliberate calculation, but from emotion manifesting organically through her physical presence.
◇ Psychological Tension Built Through Intuition with Lee Jun-hyuk
The drama’s tightly sustained tension reaches its peak through Sara Kim’s psychological confrontation with detective Park Moo-kyung, portrayed by Lee Jun-hyuk. Shin Hye-sun explained that scenes requiring intense emotional opposition, such as interrogation sequences, could not be prepared in isolation.
“It wasn’t something I could prepare on my own,” she said. “I had to rely on instinct in the moment.”
Rather than artificially controlling tone, she exchanged emotional energy with her co-actor in real time, constructing a shared psychological labyrinth that heightened the tension between their characters.
This approach led to a seamless creative alignment with Lee Jun-hyuk. Reflecting on their reunion since Stranger, she said, “It was remarkable — everything just clicked in a way I hadn’t expected. His portrayal of Moo-kyung grounded the character so firmly that Sara Kim could fully emerge. It wouldn’t have been possible without him.”
◇ Acting as Release, the Tangible Reality of Creative Desire
When asked about her reaction to the completed series, Shin Hye-sun expressed genuine satisfaction.
“I was truly happy seeing elements like the music and direction that I hadn’t fully known during filming,” she said. At the same time, she admitted to a lingering sense of emptiness. “It felt strangely bittersweet to realize Boudoir continued functioning perfectly even without Sara Kim,” she said, revealing the depth of her immersion in the character.
Despite portraying a powerful luxury executive onscreen, she revealed her personal preference for practicality, admitting that she favors comfortable bags over luxury ones. The contrast underscores the distance between the performer and the persona she brought to life.
Describing herself as “someone filled with the desire to be the protagonist,” Shin Hye-sun said acting remains the most powerful emotional release in her life.
“I enjoy acting far more than ordinary life,” she said. “I believe that energy is directly conveyed to the audience.”
Having delivered a performance defined by emotional precision and psychological depth, Shin Hye-sun has already moved on to filming her next project, continuing her uninterrupted creative momentum and connection with audiences.
Reported by News Culture M.J._mj94070777@nc.press
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