NU’EST’s Ren Reveals He Regained His Self-Esteem Through Role In Musical “Jamie”

NU’EST’s Ren has broken another barrier through his role in his first musical since debut. Through his role in Jamie, he was able to grow, learn, and find himself and his self-esteem.

He commented, “My self-esteem would be low at times during my time as an idol. I would be hard on myself during those times, but through this musical, I received a positive response from the people around me and it felt like I had found the self-esteem that I had lost. It was a time that allowed me to convince myself that I could trust myself more in the future.”

During a special interview with Sports Kyunghyang, Ren dished on his experience on finding himself, gratitude towards his family, and what he plans to do next.

On September 6, Ren took the final stage for the musical Jamie. The moments of performing on stage in high-heels under the spotlight pass by like it was yesterday.

Instead of feeling refreshed, I feel a bit sad. Maybe it was because I met a character that I couldn’t meet anywhere else so I had a lot of affection towards this role. Knowing that it is time to say goodbye to this role, I couldn’t sleep the night before. My mind was a mess. I grew close with all the fellow actors so I was really sad.

— Ren

Jamie was first shown in the West End in 2017 and has been on tour in 17 regions in the U.K. The premiere in Korea was held this past July, so taking the lead role was a lot of pressure for him.

I wasn’t fully sure after I heard that I had been cast for the role after auditioning. I even watched the original performance and studied the characters, but I became worried after seeing other actors who were talented in vocals, dancing, and reading long dialogues. I was always worried about whether or not I could do a good job and I asked for advice from people even up until the first performance. My parents in particular supported me for this role and were the ones who told me that I should do it as it was an amazing opportunity. They told me that passing the auditions meant that I could have pride in myself. Whether or not I received hate, I decided to take on the challenge.

— Ren

The result of this challenge was a success. This role allowed Ren to become not only an idol, but a singer and actor with a lot of potential.

I wanted to show a lot of things as Choi Minki but there were a lot of limitations as an idol. I wanted to show off a bit more of my artistic talent but I didn’t have many opportunities to do so. I was always longing for a way to show it so when I saw that there were ‘Jamie’ auditions I tried it. I worked really hard. Aside from eating and sleeping, I constantly practiced the script. Of crouse I can’t evaluate my own work but I am truly grateful to my fans for being proud of me.”

— Ren

Fans are happy that he took this opportunity to challenge himself in a different field and find his self-esteem while doing so. We’re excited to see what he has planned next!