Jeon Do-yeon Reunites With Lee Chang-dong 19 Years After 'Secret Sunshine'

"I learned through 'Secret Sunshine' that winning an award doesn't really change much, so whether I win isn't that important to me," Jeon Do-yeon said. "I'm already having a great time as an actress. While making this film, I got everything I could get as an actress. Winning an award doesn't turn you into a different actress, and it doesn't open up a new path."

The actress was calm about it. In 2007, she won best actress at the Cannes Film Festival for "Secret Sunshine," directed by Lee Chang-dong. Now, 19 years later, her name is coming up as a possible best actress nominee at the Academy Awards for "Possible Love" (Ganeunghan Sarang), also directed by Lee Chang-dong. Even so, she isn't getting carried away.

"Back then, winning an award overseas wasn't common, so winning at Cannes put a lot of pressure on me," she said. "But now there have been wins at the Academy Awards, and K-content is getting a lot of attention around the world. So I think I feel less pressure than before."

"Possible Love" follows a couple in which the husband has been laid off from his job and a couple who are documentary filmmakers hoping to record their lives. As the two couples meet, they come face to face with each other's lives and hidden desires. Jeon plays Mi-ok, the laid-off worker's wife.

The film drew attention as Jeon's first feature with Lee Chang-dong in 19 years, since "Secret Sunshine." The director cares less about polished acting and more about making characters look like real people.

"Because I'd already worked with him on 'Secret Sunshine,' I cleared my mind a lot instead of thinking about how to express the character or how she would act," Jeon said.

"Instead of trying to look perfect as a character like I used to, I tried to accept the character and the situation as they were and just be natural," she said. "Even watching it myself, it didn't feel like I'd acted in some new way. I just looked like Mi-ok, and I liked that."

The mood on set had changed. "It was a strangely healing set," she said. "I kept wondering if it was okay to be this comfortable." Jeon said that unlike in the past, she let go of the intensity and went into filming with a much easier mind.

"Nothing big happened on set, no major incidents or issues," she said. "We even joked among ourselves, 'Is this actually turning out well?' and 'Is it okay for this to go so smoothly?'" She laughed.

Her approach to acting has changed as well. She once pushed herself to make every scene perfect.

"On 'Secret Sunshine,' it was a painful process of constantly searching for the right answer," she said. "On 'Possible Love,' I tried to just accept things, even in moments when I thought, 'Is this good enough?'"

She also explained why she continues to challenge herself as an actress. "I know what I'm good at," she said. "But apart from what other people ask of me, there's something I want for myself." She added, "Whether or not people see a new side of me, I want to keep finding new things on my own."

Even as a 53-year-old veteran, praise from a director of Lee's standing meant a lot. At the Venice International Film Festival, reviewers singled out her performance, and she said she was caught off guard.

"My acting got good reviews, so I was confused and kind of puzzled," she said. "While I was standing backstage before a Q&A screening with the audience, I asked him, 'Did I really act well?'"

According to Jeon, Lee Chang-dong took her hand and praised her.

"He's not someone who usually tells you that you did well," she said. "But he told me, 'Of course you did. Watch the movie again later.'"

"Possible Love" is Lee Chang-dong's first feature film in eight years, since "Burning." It won the Silver Lion (Grand Jury Prize) at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival and the Ebert Director Award at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The film was released on Netflix on Nov. 6 and soon after reached No. 1 on Netflix's Top 10 movies chart in South Korea.

"'Possible Love' is worth watching. You'll know once you see it," she said. "It's an award-winning film, after all. Watch it thinking, 'Let's see how well she acted.'" She laughed again.