Nana from girl group After School featured in “The Good Wife,” a Korean remake of the American TV series of the same title which aired from July 8 to Aug. 27.

(Hydrogen2.tistory.com)

The K-pop star took on the role of Kim Dan, a law firm investigator, for her acting debut. In an interview with Sports Chosun on Monday, Nana talked about her first acting experience.

“I was extremely nervous during the first few takes. My hands shook a lot. I thought I‘d die from nervousness. I solely focused on saying my lines straight. But as I focused on the lines, the facial expressions and gestures started to come out naturally.”

Nana said that other members of After School were both excited and nervous for her when she was cast in the drama. “The other members of After School knew how much I wanted to act, so they congratulated me sincerely when I told them that I will be on ’The Good Wife.‘ But they were also worried that my acting won’t be so good since I lack experience, and I will thus receive much criticism and get my feelings hurt. They told me that even if I do receive negative critiques, I shouldn‘t let those get to me, because this is my very first time acting, and my acting will inevitably improve over time through more experiences.”

Nana speaks in a Gyeongsang Province regional dialect in “The Good Wife.” In order to perfect her accent, Lizzy, a fellow band mate who grew up in Gyeongsang Province, helped her out.

“I am from Cheongju, so I don’t speak in Gyeongsang dialect. When I got my lines, I took a photo and sent them to Lizzy. Lizzy read the lines in the dialect and sent me the recorded file. We then met up in person and she helped me speak better in the dialect.”

Even though drama is over, Nana isn’t finished with acting. “I want to continue acting. There is so much I can learn from watching other actors and actresses,” she said.

By Lee Ji-hae (jihlee@heraldcorp.com)