I could remember watching the shows where Kim Tae Hee was the protagonist. Blink and I missed that she was also the wicked stepsister in Stairway to Heaven - the very beauty that I felt would make it look like both Rhian Ramos Howell and Glaiza de Castro "disappeared" with their knock-off version. Though, I'm not going to deny Glaiza's stage presence was still good but she's stuck with mostly bad scripts. Rhian is pretty but doesn't have much of an acting presence. Tae Hee is the best of both of them - she has Rhian's looks and Glaiza's stage presence. It was evident in the role of Tae Hee as the villainous beauty Han Yoori.
One can argue that Lee Hui Hyang is a show stealer with how she made a wicked stepmother feel so hateful. Hui Hyang made the insane Tae Mira truly terrifying. Tae Hee also dominated the scene with not just her good looks but her ability to act. I mean, it was difficult for me to focus on Choi Ji Woo in favor of Tae Hee. Tae Hee can dominate the scene as the secondary villain. Just looking at those eyes, her stare, and how Tae Hee makes the scheming stepsister come to life is something. The more Tae Hee made her character hateful - the more she caught the eyes of people. Maybe, I'd dare say that while Hui Hyang stole the show - Tae Hee became the "star" of the show overtime even if she was the bad girl.
Tae Hee's beauty and talent were a unique mix. She did have her minor role in A Problem at My Younger Brother's House and in Screen. But it was the beautiful evil stepsister that somehow got her noticed. I guess her powerful stage presence got directors interested in getting her for future projects. I guess it's no surprise that directors now wanted to cast her as the protagonist instead. Probably, people kept talking about the wicked stepsister more than they ever did about the poor protagonist in Stairway to Heaven.
No surprise, a year later, Tae Hee (and also Hui Hyang herself) were reunited in Forbidden Love. This time, it's a tragic tale of a nine-tailed fox (gumiho) and a human. Instead, Tae Hee plays the tragic heroine who is a nine-tailed fox named Shi Yeon. Instead, we get a heroic role for her after her famous villainous role. Eventually, Love Story in Harvard at that same year cast her as the leading lady Lee So In. Her villainous role tends to get overshadowed by her protagonist roles. IRIS even made her (again) a protagonist in Choi Sung Hee when I felt she could've done the role of a villain better there.
Tae Hee's role as the wicked stepsister will always have a special place in my heart. After all, it was what got her even more noticed and talked about. Sadly, she hasn't had any more flexible roles other than the protagonist. I guess directors were too scared about her stealing the spotlight from protagonists back then so they refused to cast her in another antagonistic role.
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