Baek Sung-chul on 'Dream for You': "Now I Feel Ready as an Actor"

Korean actor Baek Sung-chul says his latest drama marked a turning point. Six years into his acting career, he had long felt unfinished as a performer. After wrapping ENA's "Dream to You," that changed. For the first time, he says, he feels ready to show what he can really do.

TenAsia met Baek Sung-chul on the 20th at its office in the Jungnim neighborhood of Seoul after the finale of "Dream to You." His height and youthful face stand out first. In conversation, though, his plain honesty comes through more strongly. He answers questions without hedging, with a freshness that still reads like a newcomer.

"Dream to You" is a romantic comedy about the reunion of a genius film director, Woo Su-bin, played by Hwang In-yeop, who returns after achieving his dream, and a working-class reporter, Ju I-jae, played by Lee Hye-ri, who has let go of hers. Baek Sung-chul plays Shim Yu-gun, a bit-part actor juggling part-time jobs while chasing his own acting dream.

He remembers his first read of the script clearly. "It was so much fun. Unlike other dramas, the character Yu-gun felt genuinely charming to me," he said. "I also liked the arc of a small-role actor slowly growing. And the fact that I could play different roles inside the drama's in-universe shoots was exciting."

He says he sees a lot of himself in Shim Yu-gun. "Yu-gun and I have a lot in common. But Yu-gun is a bit more masculine than I am, so I thought hard about how to bring that out." To prepare, he turned to another film. "I watched 'The Bikeriders' with Austin Butler, who I've always liked. It has a lot of that masculine energy, and I learned a lot from watching it. Studying the character helped me grow as an actor too."

"It was only after 'Dream to You' wrapped that I thought, 'I'm ready now,'" he said. "I had passion before, and I worked hard on every project, but I was still unfinished. I was younger, and there were a lot of rough edges. 'Dream to You' is the project that let me prepare to move forward as an actor. I'm grateful for it."

Baek Sung-chul first stepped in front of the camera in the 2021 web drama "How to Be Thirty." He built his résumé from there with roles in TVING's "The Witch's Diner," JTBC's "Inspector Koo," and ENA's "Brewing Love." Acting was not the first dream, though. In high school he left his hometown of Suncheon in South Jeolla province and moved to Seoul alone, chasing one goal: to become a model.

"I wanted to be a model so badly that I came up to Seoul by myself, with no one there," he said. "I got lucky and signed with a modeling agency. Along with photo shoots and ads, I started booking music videos too." Those music video sets are where acting first pulled him in. "I got to play a role with actual lines for the first time, and I thought, 'Oh, this is fun.' That's when I got into acting seriously and started dreaming about becoming an actor."

"I was 162 centimeters until my second year of middle school, and then I suddenly shot up in high school. Modeling naturally started to interest me, and I wanted to give it a try. In 'Dream to You', Yu-gun's father tells him, 'If it doesn't work out in 10 years, come back home.' I lived with that same feeling. I came to Seoul telling myself I'd give it everything for that long."

The kid who came to Seoul for modeling is now landing larger roles and building a real foothold as an actor. His next targets are clear. "I really want to attend an awards show," he said. "I want to feel that huge energy in the room. Just being at something like the Baeksang Arts Awards or the Blue Dragon Series Awards is an honor for any actor." His eyes lit up on one specifically. "I really want to win Best New Actor at the Baeksang Arts Awards."

Ask him what genres he wants to try, and the ambition spills out. "There are too many, I can't pick just one," he said, laughing. "My parents want to see me in hanbok. My dad especially loves historical dramas. So I definitely want to try a sageuk." He kept going. "I want to do a period piece, and I want to do romantic comedy too. I'd love to earn the nickname 'rom-com master.'"

"I want to be an actor with a wide range. My goal is to not get boxed into one image or one genre, and to be able to handle all kinds of roles. And I want to be an actor who grows alongside my fans. I get older, and my fans get older too. I don't know when I'll get to hold a fan meeting, but even as time passes, I want to stay in this place and be with my fans for a long time."