Cover Lee Si-young as the Ghost (Photo: Disney+ Hotstar)

Lee Si-young is back and bringing her passion for action as the Ghost in Disney+ Hotstar's latest K-drama

Featuring an all-star ensemble comprising Seo Kang-jun, Kim A-joong, Kim Moo-yul, Kim Sung-kyun, and Lee Si-young, Disney+ Hotstar's latest K-drama Grid centres around a group of people hot on the trail of a mysterious existence known only as the Ghost (played by Lee) who develops a Grid system to protect the planet and mankind from catastrophic solar winds. She reappears after a 24-year absence only to help a serial killer escape, making her an accomplice to murder.

But why would an existence (figure, person, being, or Ghost) build a shield to protect all life on the planet from something that's prophesied to destroy them all only to resurface 24 years later to abet a murder?

Read more: Interview: Kim A-Joong Talks Preparing for Her Hotshot Detective Role in 'Grid'

Tatler speaks to South Korean actress and former amateur boxer Lee on bringing her action A game to the new suspense thriller series.

What was the most challenging part of shooting this series?

The Ghost can time travel and after a critical turning point, she travels back to that same point in time over and over again. While shooting these scenes, I often lost count of how many time travel iterations I’d been through so far and how many times I’d been to this very place. It was difficult to calculate and keep track of the small yet numerous changes in the present that were caused by each instance of time travel.

In playing the role of the Ghost, what were some aspects or abilities of your character that either surprised or frightened you?

That she actually has a huge secret. I was in for a series of surprises when the writer told me all about her past and her future that were not explicit in the script. It’s such a shame I can’t share it with you because the series is still ongoing. Suffice to say, her history is beyond our imagination.

What did you love most about playing your character?

My character has this surprising childlike quality of being true to her instincts, especially for someone who has a complex backstory and is fated for tragedy. I find that part of her adorable. It makes her seem more human and relatable when she can sometimes come across as intense.

What character did you admire most in Grid and why?

I’ve grown fond of Eo-jin as the series goes on. Kim Moo-yul is such a good actor and his performance makes Eo-jin even more intriguing and impossible to get enough of.

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Above Photo: Disney+ Hotstar

What has surprised you most about working with the cast and crew of Grid, one of South Korea’s rare sci-fi dramas?

There were a couple of challenging and complicated scenes and everyone including the director, the crew, and the cast members, put our heads together to discuss the best way forward and we each came up with our own theories. We even shared some laughs along the way. This is what I remember most vividly from filming. This series was quite difficult to tackle and we faced quite a few challenges on the set but the group effort we made to work through them still stays with me until today.

These days, women are portrayed in K-dramas in stronger and more dominant roles. How do you think this shift will benefit the industry as well as K-drama fans moving forward?

It's encouraging and cathartic to watch marginalised characters overcome hardships and bring justice to evil—and we’ve been seeing more and more of this for quite some time now. It's also one of the most effective devices for creating dramatic tension. The fact that women and children are no longer sidelined and have become proactive forces in stories is reflective of the change in our awareness as well as the social norms.

Regardless of gender or age, a character’s development and growth is a joy to witness for many viewers. I believe this is what has caused the recent spike in interest in diverse content. It also means that viewers now have higher standards and expectations and that we must satisfy them by creating better works. This is such a positive and much-welcomed development.

In your own words, tell us why you think the audience will love watching Grid?

"Twists" and "turns" would be the words to describe Grid because what you see is not everything. And you’d definitely be able to empathise with my character because she had a very tough life.

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