'I wanted my action scenes to look brutal and cold-blooded': Kim So-hyun on latest drama River Where The Moon Rises

Love Alarm actress Kim So-hyun continues her ascent to fame as the female lead in her newest — but controversial — drama River Where The Moon Rises.

The actress had to shed her pure girl-next-door image and put on a vicious front at the beginning of the drama, where she plays assassin Yeom Ga-jin and has no memory that she is actually Princess Pyeonggang.

In an interview transcript provided to AsiaOne, the 22-year-old actress said: "I wanted my action scenes to look brutal and cold-blooded. I thought about how I could look cool and cold-hearted (in them)."

She added filming those scenes were memorable for her. "It was my first time doing proper action scenes so I made a lot of mistakes. At first, I felt awkward in these scenes, so I was a bit hesitant. I remember that. But it was fun."

In River Where The Moon Rises, young Pyeonggang tours the kingdom with her mother the Empress, but the latter and General On Hyeop (Kang Ha-neul) are assassinated. Pyeonggang is whisked off to safety and raised as assassin Ga-jin, and she later dreams of becoming Goguryeo's first queen.

When asked about the similarities between her and her role, So-hyun said, "I'm brave and can be objective at times like my character. That's similar to how I am in real life but I am not as aggressive as her at taking the initiative."

The historical drama gained popularity after its release in February but things went south after her co-star and the drama's male lead Ji Soo, 27, was accused of bullying and sexual assault when he was in school.

Ji Soo was dropped from the show, and actor Na In-woo, 26, took over his role as Pyeonggang's love interest On Dal from episode seven.

Word has it that In-woo would be refilming the first six episodes after the drama officially ends. Despite the hiccup, the drama continues to be popular with viewers.

When asked how she wants viewers to remember the drama, So-hyun said: "I'd say this drama is a fairytale for adults. Although it felt like a story for children, our drama is a story that can comfort adults, too."

River Where The Moon Rises is available on Viu.

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mardhiahhaslan@asiaone.com