Baek Jin Hee played a character you love to hate in "Empress Ki" and she was so good at it, she will long be remembered as the jealous spiteful Empress Tanasiri.
Nothing was too evil for her character in that historical drama. She was not above killing innocent bystanders. She assassinated the woman bearing the heir to the throne before she poisoned the nuns who cared for her. Tanshiri personified evil.
But once you've played evil so well, can you go back to playing a sweet innocent character?
She is all set to try and hopes that viewers will embrace her as a likeable good girl in her new drama Triangle?
In that drama she will play Oh Jung Hee, a young woman who cares for her grandmother and younger siblings after her father dies. Oh Jung Hee dreams of becoming a casino dealer and erasing her family's debts.
Baek Jin Hee's evil empress character appeared in two thirds of the 51-episode "Empress Ki" before she met justice. Despite her long commitment to "Empress Ki," the actress did not take much of a break before signing on for her "Triangle" role.
She was so eager to play the character that she felt her heartbeat accelerate every time she tried on Oh Jung Hee's casino uniform.
'Even though she lived a difficult life, she is brave and positive," said Baek Jin Hee. "She is the kind of woman who cares for her family, which is why her character so touched my heart."
She saw it as a nice change from her "Empress Ki" role because she can finally act in a way that elicits love from fellow characters and viewers.
"I kept begging for love in "Empress Ki," said Baek Jin Hee. Her character was lonely and angry, which only inspired her to be more evil.
Some of the appeal of starring in "Triangle" may also be her co-stars. She will be romanced by both JYJ's Kim Jaejong, playing gangster Heo Young Dal and ZE:A's Im Si Wan, playing Yoon Yang Ha.
The characters are actually two of three brothers who were separated when they were young and have no idea they are related. Kim Jaejoong's character has become a gang boss and Im Si Wan's character is a chaebol.
"Romance will play a big part in this project," said the actress, who appeared in the dramas "Jeon Woo Chi" and "I Summon You Gold."
That will make a nice change from her romance-free role in "Empress Ki."
