Nervous tackling The Virus alone

Going solo for her acting debut in new TV drama The Virus has made member of Kpop girl group Wonder Girls Kim Yu Bin treasure her bandmates even more.

Speaking to the Singapore media in a phone interview from Korea, the 24-year-old singer said in a mix of simple English and Korean: "I felt very nervous and I had to take on more responsibilities being alone. I think about my members and cherish them."

Kim is the rapper of Wonder Girls, which also comprises Sunye, Yenny, Sohee and Hyelim.

The quintet, who made their debut in 2007, made a huge splash in Asia and subsequently the US with catchy tunes such as So Hot and Tell Me.

They reached the peak of their popularity when they released their infectious hit Nobody in 2008, sparking a dance craze around the world.

Word has it that Wonder Girls were going to disband after group leader Sunye, 24, got married in January. She is pregnant and her baby is due next month.

But the band's talent agency JYP Entertainment dismissed the rumours last week.

On hiatus

JYP Entertainment has maintained that as the group has been on hiatus since February, Sunye will focus on her family while the other members will concentrate on individual projects such as acting, producing and recording solo albums.

Kim aside, Sohee and Yenny have also taken on acting projects this year.

As for Kim, she is going to focus on her music career in the coming year, but will not reject a good acting opportunity if it comes along.

"I am not going out of my way to take on acting stints, as I don't want to neglect my singing career. But if there are any good scripts, I will still look through them as I do not want to miss out," she said.

Kim plays a genius hacker and IT specialist in The Virus, which revolves around the efforts of a specialised team that's tasked to contain a contagious disease that is killing humans.

It airs every Thursday at 10pm on Thrill (StarHub Ch 618/SingTel mio Ch 415).

To prepare for her acting debut she asked her good friend, who is an IT expert, for advice.

"The role itself was not too difficult, but I had to learn a lot about computers and software, things that I have absolutely no knowledge about," she said.

Even though The Virus sees her sitting in front of the computer most of the time, the adventurous starlet admits she prefers roles that require her to move around more.

"I like action movies a lot. My dream role would be that of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider."

jocelee@sph.com.sg

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