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Bae Doo Na sits for an interview for her latest K-drama Family Matters.
Family Matters tells the story of a group of people with special abilities who disguise themselves as family members in order to survive and use unique methods to defeat the vicious criminals who threaten them.
Bae Doo Na plays Han Yeong Su, a loving mother to her children and the leader of the family planning field unit. Trained as a member of the family planning team in the special forces from a young age, she is naturally skilled in brain hacking, a type of hypnosis technique.
Bae Doo Na, having frequently received offers for heavy and dark scripts in the past, found the black comedy K-drama Family Matters especially appealing. "Honestly, I laughed a lot while reading the script. I chose it because it was so fun," she said, adding, "Family Matters was probably the most sensational script I've ever come across. I wanted to work on something exhilarating, and I loved that it was a black comedy."
She further explained, "The idea that ordinary people — not superheroes — fight villains, not out of a sense of justice but simply to protect their family, was intriguing. It's not for some grand cause, but for personal reasons that they do that, and that was fun to explore." Playing Han Yeong Su, a character who suppresses emotions rather than expressing them, came with unique challenges. Bae Doona shared, "In some ways, it's an easy character to play because you don't have to show much emotion. But for me, since I haven't done much of that kind of acting, it wasn't as simple as it might seem." "The same goes for the scene where I cry while doing brain hacking. Actually, tear sticks (tools used to induce tears) don't work well for me. I wear contact lenses, so my corneas don't get irritated. I couldn't even rely on props for that," she added with a laugh.
She continued, "There was a lot of blood, and even though I knew it wasn't real, it was still tough to handle. Honestly, I almost threw up a little," she admitted. "I thought it would be fun, but there was just so much blood (laughs). Next time, I'd like to work on something more serene, like a story about fishing on a peaceful lake."
Bae Doo Na, who usually doesn't wear heavy makeup, revealed that Yeong Su, surprisingly, is the character that required the most effort in makeup. "I don't usually wear much makeup, so there are times when my makeup takes less time than that of the male actors [I'm working with]."
She continued, "The costume team wanted to make me look like an exemplary mother, something a textbook mom might wear, and I was fine with that. But the makeup team wanted to put on freckles. I spent an hour every morning on makeup, but ironically, it looked like the most natural makeup look I've ever worn."
Bae Doo Na also talked about the physical strain she endured: "In some scenes, while acting, the capillaries in my face would burst. If I put too much strain, they would burst. As a result, my face and neck would turn completely red, which made the makeup take longer."
With Family Matters, Bae Doo Na has once again expanded her acting spectrum. When asked if there is any particular type of role she wants to play, she replied, "Honestly, my desire changes all the time, and there's no genre I don't want to do. I'm open to everything. If the story is interesting, I'll do it."
Known for delivering intense performances, Bae Doo Na shared that she quickly detaches from her characters and returns to reality after filming wraps. "After doing dramas like Stranger and Kingdom that have multiple seasons, I've gotten used to quickly stepping out of character and diving back in when needed. I forget about it for a while, then get into the character again," she explained.
