Ji Jin Hee is looking back on a painful rookie-era setback.
In a video released July 6th on Shin Dong Yeob’s YouTube channel, Ji revealed that he was once cast as the lead in a drama early in his career, only to be dropped after filming just two episodes.
“Getting a lead role in a drama was so hard. It was almost impossible,” he said. “But somehow, I got lucky. I went home and told my family I was going to be in a TV series. Then after two episodes, I was dropped.”
Ji said the shake-up happened after the female lead was replaced. “Once the female lead changed, I had to leave too,” he recalled, adding that an actor from the same agency as the newly cast actress took over his role.
The news was not delivered directly. “The director called me in and said he was sorry, but he kept talking around it,” Ji said. “When I walked out, my manager grabbed me and said, ‘You never know what could happen in this industry, so you have to hang in there. What the director just said means you’re out.'”
Ji said he was so hurt that he wanted to quit, but his manager talked him out of it. But Ji could not bring himself to tell his family. “I had nothing to do, but I would still go out, wander around, and come home,” he said. “When my mother asked, ‘Did you have fun filming?’ I just said, ‘Yeah.'”
He said he pretended to go to the set every day for two to three months.
The truth came out only on the day of the first broadcast. “I told her I wasn’t in it and that I had been cut,” Ji said. “I could feel her turn away and cry. It drove me crazy.”
Ji did not name the drama, but speculation quickly spread online. Some viewers pointed to the 1999 KBS series Invitation, noting that the show had also gone through a female lead change.
Invitation aired from Sept. 20 to Nov. 16, 1999, and starred Lee Young Ae, Kim Sang Kyung, Choo Sang Mi and more.
Lee Seung Yeon was originally cast as female lead Choi Young Joo, but was replaced by Lee Young Ae after her 1998 illegal driver’s license scandal. Ji was reportedly cast as male lead Kang Dong Seok before being replaced by Lee Chang Hoon, with the production team reportedly saying the change was made to “refresh the atmosphere” of the show.
>> Lee Young Ae Reveals Her Daughter Is Auditioning to Become Idol Singer
In the meantime, watch trending K-dramas for free on Amasian TV.
Source (1)
