Netflix's 'Wild Rat' Star Sol Kyung-gu Reveals He Inspired Kim Min-ha to Become an Actress

Actor Sol Kyung-gu has shared the story behind his longtime bond with actress Kim Min-ha, a neighbor he has watched grow up since her childhood. The veteran actor spoke during a recent interview at a cafe in Seoul's Samcheong-dong, where he discussed his lead role in the Netflix series "Wild Rat," directed by Kim Hong-sun.

"Wild Rat" is a chase thriller centered on a novelist named Mun-jae, whose name, face, and entire life are stolen by a mysterious figure known as "Wild Rat." A loan shark called No-ja tries to recover his missing money, while a detective named Sun-yong joins the hunt to uncover Wild Rat's true identity.

Sol Kyung-gu and his wife, actress Song Yun-a, have long been close with Kim Min-ha's family as neighbors. Kim has previously said that Sol's encouragement played a key role in her decision to pursue acting. She also drew attention in July at the 5th Blue Dragon Series Awards, where she opened the ceremony with a polished performance of Frank Sinatra's "That's Life."

Sol laughed as he explained why Kim calls him "Uncle Kyung-gu" while calling Song Yun-a "Big Sister Yun-a." "I've known Min-ha since she was in the third grade of elementary school," he said. "I was close with her parents, so I knew her from when she was very young. To her, I was always just an uncle."

He continued, "Min-ha met Song Yun-a later, when she was already older, so she calls her 'big sister.' I can't exactly tell her, 'Why is she a sister and I'm an uncle? Call me oppa instead.' A third grader wasn't going to call me oppa. Back then she was so shy she couldn't even make eye contact. She'd just breeze past me."

Sol also recalled the moment he first suggested Kim should try acting. "Honestly, it was just something I tossed out, and it happened to land," he said. "I was drinking with Min-ha's parents, and we all went to a karaoke room. When I saw Min-ha singing, I was genuinely stunned. Her face when she was singing was completely different from her usual self. She really enjoyed it."

"I got chills. I said, 'What is this? You should make her an actress. She's an actress,'" he recalled. "Her mother told me, 'Don't put ideas into a high school senior's head. Stop talking nonsense.' But watching her face transform when she sang and then shift back afterward, I just thought, 'She's an actress.'"

After that one comment from Sol, Kim changed her career path and stepped into acting. "In the end, she switched paths and became my junior at my school," Sol said with a smile. "She used to be so shy she couldn't even look me in the eye. Now everyone seems to know her. She probably meets more people than I do these days."