Lee Si Young cuts down to 8% body fat for role in Sweet Home

Seoul — Actors and actresses may be required to make changes to their body to fit their roles.

One of them has been Lee Si Young from Sweet Home. She had to cut down to 8 per cent body fat for her role.

The actress held an online video interview on Wednesday (Dec 23) where she shared the behind-the-scenes stories in response to the soaring popularity of the Netflix original series.

Directed by Lee Eung Bok, whose portfolio includes Mr Sunshine, Goblin, and Descendants Of The Sun, Sweet Home is about the bizarre and shocking happenings in an apartment complex.

Actor Song Kang is Cha Hyun Soo, a reclusive high school student who attempts to survive monsters as the apartment residents fight them off. Lee Si Young plays Seo Yi Kyung, a firefighter from a special force unit who performs challenging action scenes in the drama. She lost weight to have only 8 per cent body fat for her role. Lee Si Young also attended action school and prepared for six months prior to shooting.

The actress said: “No one told me how much body fat to lose, but my trainer said I have to have about 8 to 9% body fat for my muscles to show, so I started working out with that goal. I had to bulk up, and I ate a lot to the point I couldn’t eat any more. Then I adjusted my diet for the filming.”

She added: “I started to restrict my diet really strictly for two weeks. It was really hard during those two weeks.”

She also said, “since I’m not young any more, I want to try as many action scenes that I possibly can. I’m very thankful that I was given this chance and I want to really show my fans my improvement if another chance for an action film is given”.

Sweet Home premiered worldwide on Netflix on Dec 18. The drama series ranked top 10 in 42 countries, coming in at 8th place in the United States.

Sweet Home is the first Korean drama to succeed in landing on the top 10 ranks in the US. It has received positive reviews from many international fans. /TISG