Actress Kim Tae-Ri Describes ‘Space Sweepers’ As A Story With A Heart

When Kim Tae-ri first took the role of Captain Jang in Space Sweepers, it was more for the lighthearted story than the film’s message. The film’s space-roving crew of misfits spend their time scouring the universe for space junk, playing games with a money-obsessed robot and getting into petty fights. But, she says, there was more to the heart of the film.

 “The characters are all straightforward and clear-cut, and the plot is casual,” said Kim. “But if you look deep into this simple story you find love. Love for all humankind, you could say. They are not well-rounded, kind people. These are not people you’d think of as heroes —not at all. But they end up saving Earth without any hesitation. Our movie is very human. It’s set in 2092, when people can travel in space, but it’s also very grounded in reality.”

Retrieving space debris offers an opportunity to strike it rich, but the risks are so high that only the desperate sign on for such missions. It takes a determined woman to command the ship’s motley crew, played by Song Joong-ki and Jin Sun-kyu, with Yoo Hai-in providing the voice for the snarky robot. 

 “She leads a ragtag crew as the captain of a spacecraft that cleans up space debris,” said Kim. “They have to deal with many different situations and she’s the sharpest and most insightful. Highly intellectual and tech-savvy, she isn’t the nicest person you’ll ever meet. She seems very cold-hearted. But as you get to know her, you notice she’s actually warm-hearted. So the most important part to me was the relationship she built up with her crew. I wanted the audience to notice the trust and love between them even if their words and behavior could sometimes be pretty harsh.”

 For Kim, one of the most enjoyable parts of shooting the film was the teamwork between the cast and crew.

 “We did everything as a team in Space Sweepers, down to the tiniest details,” said Kim. “We’re all experts in our respective fields, but this is the first space movie to ever be made in South Korea, so it was a challenge and a first for everyone. The journey itself, with all the actors and the crew to bring the movie to completion, was such a pleasure for me in itself.”

While Kim plays an effective spaceship commander, she’s not prepared for an actual space flight. Not yet.

“Well, I’m not that good with new technology,” she said. “It takes a while for me to adjust to new things. For me it still sounds very far off. But it seems sure that space will become a part of our everyday lives in the not too distant future, just as in Space Sweepers. If such a time comes, I’d like to soar through space just like Captain Jang.”

 Kim made her feature film debut playing a maid in Park Chan-wook’s erotic thriller The Handmaiden, chosen for the role from among 1500 candidates who auditioned. The role won her multiple awards at 7th Blue Dragon Film Awards, Director’s Cut Awards, 25th Buil Film Awards and Busan Film Critics Awards. 

The Handmaiden undoubtedly provided me with a wider choice of opportunities,” said Kim. “As an actor, it’s a career of waiting to be chosen. The Handmaiden played a big part in helping me be chosen by directors and writers now. The movie was my first feature, and it’s meaningful in that it allowed me the first step onto this stage. Before that I’d mainly experienced theater, so it was a huge learning experience for me, helping me adjust to the field of commercial film.” 

She also starred in the the historical TV drama Mr. Sunshine with Lee Byung-hun and the manga-based film Little Forest with Ryu Jun-yeol. Her role in the political thriller When The Day Comes won her a Best Actress Award at the 55th Grand Bell Awards and in 2019 the actress was ranked among Forbes 30 Under 30 in the Entertainment and Sports category.

Kim describes acting as a “double-edged sword.”

“It gives you infinite freedom, but it also gives you the feeling that you’re trapped inside a box,” said Kim. “It is heart-fluttering to alternate between the two, but it’s also something fearful. At first I simply loved expressing myself freely. But it can sometimes suddenly feel like my entire body is tied up. As if my thoughts have stopped flowing and are stuck, like water that’s trapped and can’t flow. It is such a struggle for actors when they don’t find themselves flooded with fresh ideas. Every time I meet a new character I learn that it’s not easy. But it’s also very exciting, because there are moments when the dam bursts open and all the water starts surging.”

Kim is currently shooting Choi Dong-hoon’s film, tentatively titled Alien, a sci-fi film about aliens in Joseon-era Korea. Choi wrote and directed Tazza: The High Rollers, Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard, The Thieves and Assassination.

“It’s a new film by Choi Dong-hoon, another director I’d always wanted to work with,” said Kim. “We’re still shooting at the moment. I’m looking forward to talking about it, but, you know, it’s the kind of film that’s more fun the more in the dark you are.”

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