When K-Drama Actors Play Classical Musicians

It takes a special kind of actor to attempt playing a classical musician. Even if the actor can already play a classical instrument, it's unlikely that he or she can play at the performance level their characters are said to have achieved. So the actor has to learn his part and his music.

Joo Won is about to play Cha Yoo Jin, the perfectionist music student who dreams of becoming a conductor in the drama "Cantabile Tomorrow," previously called "Nodame Cantabile." Based on the Japanese manga, which has inspired both animated and live action productions, the drama takes place in a music school. Cha Yoo Jin plays the violin and the piano.

To convincingly pull of his role, Joo Won practiced the correct conducting posture non-stop for about five months. He also practiced playing the violin. And his dedication surprised the drama's music director.

"Sometimes it's difficult to teach music majors because of their bad habits but Joo Won has been soaking everything in like a sponge, so I've been enjoying teaching him," the drama's director, conductor Lee Jong Jin told enewsworld. "I get surprised when I see how quickly he learns,"

Joo Won is not the first k-drama actor to take on the challenging task of playing a classical musician.

When Yoo Ah In took the role of a musical prodigy in "A Secret Love Affair" he also spent hours practicing his piano techniques. The actor practiced whenever he had a break so that he felt comfortable behind the piano.

In an interview with TV Sohu, he said, "In a piano performance the piano sound can be produced on screen without a problem.  It's the finger movement on the piano that you need to act out."

So, he kept a cellphone on the piano to hear to the music that his character listened to, he also wanted videos taken of him practicing.

His classical music supervisor was also impressed.

 "It seems like Yoo Ah In is a real genius," said pianist Kim So Hyung.  "He did not learn how to play the piano before, but I admire the way he is able to understand and follow along when I tell him something only once. Also, even if I give him a very difficult piece, he returns the next day having memorized it so I realized that while he's able to immerse himself in the music and has superb concentration, he is not proud but rather, he is a really hard worker."

Kim Myung Min played a genius conducter in "Beethoven Virus." In the documentary "Kim Myung Min Was Not There," he said that when he was not actually shooting the drama, he thought about every aspect of it in his head. He remembered the music and figured out the tempo and the rhythm.

"At that moment, I think of myself as a conductor. As the conductor, I think, how ashamed would I feel if I fail in front of all these people? If I don't prepare enough, I have bad dreams, nightmares where everyone scolds me."

Will Joo Won create a new classical musician that's believable? What do you think?