Girl Group April’s Lee Na Eun Makes a Promising Impression in MBC Drama Extraordinary You

She was the “titular” female lead of the manhwa Secret that was the story within a story of MBC drama Extraordinary You, and it was a fun role if you ask me. Rookie actress Lee Na Eun, better known in her idol incarnation as member of girl group April, got to play what would have been the female lead in the stereotypical manga or Hallyu rom-com role, the poor hardworking kind and beautiful student staying true to her principles surrounded by snobby rich classmates. She was playing a caricature and did a really decent job for someone with only a short drama under her belt, and I think it comes from her not overacting. It’s easier for rookies to act by trying to act and I didn’t see that from her, she’s got a natural screen presence and a really comfortable and easy to watch vibe. I’m going to keep my eye on her to see how she continues to develop in acting.


Comments

Girl Group April’s Lee Na Eun Makes a Promising Impression in MBC Drama Extraordinary You — 19 Comments

  1. I don’t know if it’s only me, but I always smile when Yeo Ju-da appeared. I think Naeun was so comical and so absorbed into her character. She look friendly and cute too, I think she must always pick bright characters onward

  2. Personaly, I prefer the actress who acted Sae Mi, she had more chemistry with Nam Joo.

    And she isn’t even close to KHY in terms of acting. Everybody was asking KHY or watching her to know how acting.

    • She can’t act let’s be honest. It was pure lip service because except Rowoon everyone out acted her. She was hyped up by twitter but Naeun was better and had chemistry with both her male leads.

      • I think she can act but she really needs to tone it down like by a mile, and I think her forte is in more melodramatic dramas. A straight romance drama is something she should stay from away from, her aegyo is unbearable and I’m the kind of person who squeals I’m almost ever cute moment in dramas.

      • She can totally act. She was the best actor in the casting. She had the most difficult scenes to play and she made it like it was easy. She acted cute only in her romantic scenes with Haru. She wasn’t always cute.

        Naeun has a very simple role and she did it.

      • No no not true juda was not an easy role to play and no dan oh was not cute she was screechy. I’m sorry but I’m with all the other commentators so even if you hype her up it won’t change the fact that her acting was annoying despite being a veteran. It just made me respect juda more because she switched from naive and sweet to strong and fiesty without ever breaking character or being annoying.

  3. Of course they would do so because number one she’s the main lead of the show, number two she has the most experience, number three it would be bad publicity if other people would ask the other cast members for advice on acting rather than from the main lead with the most experience.

    If you think about it objectively, what could they had genuinely learn from watching her acting? What not to do when acting perhaps? Lulz Because most of the characters don’t require her style of acting. If every character were to be over the top and over-acted, I would had quit the show in a heartbeat.

    It’s just good publicity for the other cast “to learn” how to act from her.

    She looks cute with her main male stars but she doesn’t have chemistry with them. I think that’s the best way I can explain in terms of why I couldn’t root for any of the ships seriously.

  4. I just started EY (on ep 4 now) and actually thought Kim Hye Yoon was doing an excellent job as Eun Dan Oh, yes her reactions are OTT but so far she’s coming off as a good fit because that’s how the character is supposed to be.

    and it really works for the role, just like having Oh Nam Joo and Yeo Joo Da play those cliche Candy+Rich Boy-type characters works because that’s how they are in-story.

    • It was refreshing at first but it never ends. It was fun but the over the top trope pulled away from the melo gravity moments.

      In kill me heal me, the female lead was over the top but when needed the actress can deliver in the melancholic moments. Hwang Jung Eum drove me nuts in She was Pretty, but she was still endearing and made me care for her in her sufferings. She dropped her overacting style and became more real during tear drop scenes.

      Kim Hye Yoon on the other hand, made me feel like she is still in a Spanish cheese fest soap opera during her crying scenes. I wanted to fast forward each time.

    • @Royal We – since you are only on Ep 4, I don’t want to spoil your fun…. But wait til you are half way through, then I am curious at how you feel about this drama and KHY’s delivery of her stage vs shadow roles. I am a bit biased since I also read the webtoon. I defended for her at the beginning but my feelings changed after Ep 10.

  5. Seriously? I think she was the weakest of all. When I can see the actress or actor act instead of impersonating the role, for me it is pretty bad. And almost in all scences of her I saw the actress instead of the character. No way for me. Gladly her role went down in screentime over the Drama and I think it did for a reason.

  6. She was good….given her screentime, did not make much of an impact on me. Her next project will obviously be a better indication of her skills as sn actress. Good luck to her.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.