ARTIST JIHAE ON HER SUCCESSION CHARACTER, MUSIC, ART ACTIVISM AND CREATING
BY IRVIN RIVERA
PHOTOGRAPHER: MOTE SINABEL AOKI
JIHAE, the South Korean singer, model, artist, activist and actress plays Berry Schneider, the Public Relations consultant in the 3rd season of SUCCESSION- HBO Max’s award-winning satirical comedy-drama series created by Jesse Armstrong about the complex, intertwined lives of an extremely rich, dysfunctional family in America. In the show, Berry stepped in and helps Kendall Roy navigate the PR crisis after bombs were dropped.
Jihae is a well-rounded creative thrill seeker with a body of work spanning across music, acting, modeling, art and activism. On the acting side, she played roles like Anna Fang (Mortal Engines), Hanna Seung / Joon Seung (Mars) and a Torch Singer in Netflix’s Altered Carbon. As a model, Jihae appeared in various campaigns for brands. As a musician, Jihae has released 4 albums and also has her own music label and multimedia company, Septem.
In this exclusive interview, Jihae spoke about her Succession character, about the surprising improv culture within the show, the things that inspire her, her creative process, making music, making art, designing a multimedia sonic cow sculpture that speaks and sings for the 100th Cow Parade in NYC and more.
Hi Jihae! How are you? How was this year so far?
I’m very well thank you! I can’t believe the year‘s almost over. 2021 has gone by in a flash like one long winded night. I’m still feeling inspired to create and grateful my family and friends are in good health.
How was it to join Succession on its 3rd Season as Berry Schneider?
Joining genius storytellers and a brilliant cast was beyond exciting.. I’ve always been a creative thrill seeker so I welcomed the new challenge. Also having anything to immerse myself into during such a dark period was such a godsend.
Tell us about something unique in the show that you’ve discovered while being part of it.
I walked into production not being aware of the improv culture. Actors usually don’t have the freedom to steer away from written material so it was quite unexpected especially with writing as stellar as Succession. I think it's rare that these wild takes end up getting used, but the production’s artistic integrity is one to applaud.
What drew you to her character?
I’ve played a few sci-fi characters since I started acting 5 years ago as a sword fighting rebel leader, Astronaut commander/pilot, Secretary General of NASA (of the future) and bounty hunter disguised as a torch singer. This role is more real to life and that’s refreshing. Learning about crisis PR was fascinating, it’s not easy to control the public narrative especially in the climate of cancel culture where one bad tweet or a headline (even if it’s fake news) has the potential to destroy one’s reputation for good. It’s a delicate and intricate job to manage client behavior in front of the public eye and maneuvering journalists/social critics who have the power to influence one's standing in society with their empathy or bias.
What’s the most memorable moment for you throughout the whole process of filming the show and highs that you experienced during filming?
On day 1 Jesse Armstrong and Mark Mylod introduced themselves and gave me a warm welcome. Mark mentioned he had been checking out my work and how the ‘Life on Mars' music video I directed gave him goosebumps. I had a big smile under my mask which set the tone for the day.
Despite the fact that Berry’s PR pitch wouldn’t be covered on screen, I came up with a whole pitch given the circumstances of Kendall’s position by studying what real life crisis PR consultants have done in similar circumstances. I found it important to fill in the flesh and blood of the character so Berry’s work process is embodied whether it gets used on screen or not. So when Ken asked for the pitch while the camera was still rolling I was glad to be prepared. I felt like I had passed a test.
Talk about the challenges you experienced during filming?
During the filming period, I was going through intense inner turmoil. I couldn’t believe the outrageous violence against people of Asian descent all over the world. NYC was on top of the list for most attacks. I was in fear for the lives of my parents, my sisters and their children. I had to wear a disguise in the streets to avoid attacks and that was infuriating. The city has been my home for half of my life and overnight I felt I had lost it. I was vulnerable and highly sensitive dealing with the compounded stress and trauma of it all. I’ve never been in such a state while filming, it was a trying time but I got through it.
Who and what inspires you?
Some of my dearest friends who are filmmakers, authors, inventors, philanthropists and composers are my biggest inspirations. They never compromise their creative vision and command global respect for their work. It’s a gift to get to exchange molecules with them and have their ears when I need advice.
Beauty can be inspiring… a gentle drop of a leaf dancing in the autumn wind or a colorful sunset carry you into nostalgic songwriting. Any intense emotion can be a driving force too. In 2015 when the body of a 3 year old Syrian boy Alan Kurdi washed up on European shores. I dropped everything I was doing to work on a human rights campaign for refugees for a year.
I find anger can be a great motivator too. Some people in the past have told me that I’d never make it in the music or acting industry. I’ve found my passion in both and I work very hard on my craft but I admit there’s a small part of me that stuck it out to prove them wrong.
As an artist of multiple talents, you sing, you make music, you model, you act- what's your creative process?
My creative process is different for each medium and each project.
There’s always a lot of research and study involved in acting to gain as much knowledge about the character’s backstory, profession and environment. For Mortal Engines I also physically trained in martial arts and sword fighting for 4 months and for Mars we had to attend space camp.
As for music, a song can take 15 min or 15 months to write and record. The ones that come quickly feel like catching fish or channeling. I start with a melody or a phrase or both and once the basic composition is done I work on the sonic structure.
This fall I designed a multimedia cow sculpture that speaks and sings for the 100th Cow Parade in NYC, a public exhibit and charity auction. I spent a few weeks researching mythological names and symbolisms of cows in various cultures. I named her Ether and began the physical process of building a podium, choosing the right gold color and installing a motion sensor to trigger the sound with the help of Scott Sanders and his team at Stark Design. The musical concept was developed as a shepherd's call in reverse, 1 million plant and animal species calling humanity back into harmony with nature.
I made the beats with Jean-Luc Sinclair using sounds of sea mammals and space sounds from NASA, then recorded the live vocals inside a cave in Los Angeles with percussionist Mathias Kunzli. I also created a short film, Ether so people outside of New York could experience her too. It was an intense 3.5 months but was most fulfilling.
You still create meaningful music that inspires a lot of people. How important is music to you and how do you fuse music and acting together?
Thank you for your kind thoughts! Music is my first love, acting came later in life but the two will never compete because they balance each other out so well. In acting you’re at the mercy of the writer, director, producer, and editor. It’s a good balance to surrender and also have the ability to take the reins and create with full creative control.
It was exciting to fuse the music and acting in Altered Carbon Season 2 where I played Anthony Mackie’s bounty hunter character in disguise as the Torch singer. I’m working on developing a music based neo noir drama, ‘Indigo Nights’, so there will be more fusion to come!
What’s a valuable lesson that you’ve learned that you always carry with you?
I’m learning to attain a strong unshakable mind without big highs and lows, to remain neutral and centered no matter what.
If you were a book, what book would you be and why?
I’m on the fence between Memories, Dreams and Reflections by Carl Jung, and The Mysticism of Sound and Music by Inayat Khan. Both books are beautifully written with endless wisdom you can keep going back to rediscover and relearn.
