K-pop singer IU explores her ‘Persona’ with 4 roles in 1 in film debut on Netflix
- The 25-year-old star, whose real name is Lee Ji-eun, inspired four individual short films by four directors, which will be released on streaming service on April 5
K-pop singer and actress Lee Ji-eun, known professionally as IU, will make her film debut in streaming service Netflix's original ensemble piece Persona.
Four directors Lee Kyoung-mi, Yim Pil-sung, Jeon Go-woon and Kim Jong-kwan have created four individual films for the ensemble, inspired by the 25-year-old K-pop icon.
I’m a bit bewildered to [make] my film debut; I tossed and turned last night with excitement ... I think this project will remain in my memory for a long time
“I’m a bit bewildered to [make] my film debut; I tossed and turned last night with excitement, before the press conference,” IU said during the event in Seoul on Wednesday.
“I accepted the offer, thinking it was a fresh experiment.
“Four directors through their own interpretation created four different characters. And I had to play them in a fairly short period of time. I think this project will remain in my memory for a long time.”
IU began her music career as a singer-songwriter in 2008 and had many hit songs including Good Day, You and I and Bbibbi.
From 2011 she began to act in television dramas, including that year’s hit teen drama Dream High, alongside another K-pop star, Suzy Bae, the 2013 romantic comedy series Bel Ami – for which she won the best new actress award at the KBS Drama Awards – and Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, in 2016, and last year’s My Mister.
Yoon Jong-shin, a singer-songwriter and producer of Mystic Story, first suggested the idea of Persona.
“I often say a song is a story, and so are films,” he said.