IU, have she played a variety of roles so far?

I think she plays a variety of roles.

But my friend says she tends to choose roles with a strong personal color and picks characters more conservatively than expected.

What do you think?

Isn't she relatively diverse in the roles she takes compared to other actresses her age

The source

The comments:

1. IU had the most variety, didn’t she? She hasn’t done slice-of-life.
2. Reply to 1-> Right? I also think Kim Tae-ri and IU are the most diverse among their peers.
3. Isn’t IU considered pretty diverse?
4. To me, she’s quite diverse.
5. So diverse that I even want to see her in something ordinary, lol.
6. Reply to 5-> For just 8 dramas, that’s quite a range. I want to see her in slice-of-life or youth dramas.
7. Reply to 6-> Exactly! I’d love to see a regular youth or office drama for a change.
8. Isn’t she super diverse?
9. She’s really diverse, right? I don’t think she’s ever repeated a character.
10. She’s on the diverse side. Since her characters don’t overlap, fans even do fantasy pairings between them, lol.
11. I don’t feel she’s that diverse. Personally, I think Kim Go-eun and Park Eun-bin are more varied in their roles.
12. Reply to 11-> Agreed.
13. She’s diverse.
14. I really want to see her in a more everyday, realistic character.
15. There’s barely any overlap in her roles, right?
16. I agree that she seems to choose her roles conservatively.
17. Reply to 16-> What do you mean by choosing conservatively?
18. Reply to 17-> It means she picks her roles carefully. For example, in "Dream," her first commercial film, she played a supporting lead. Also, she tends to pick roles with a poetic or emotional feel—ones that fit her public image. So even if the characters are different, the emotional tone often feels similar—mostly melancholic and lingering.
19. She is diverse. Just looking at her major roles: Cindy, Haesoo, Lee Ji-an, Jang Man-wol, Oh Aesoon.
20. I get the idea that her characters have a strong presence or assertiveness, but they’re all really different! So I think saying they’re all the same is a stretch.
21. Compared to her peers, I’m not sure.
22. Her characters feel very distinct and different, but in terms of genres, she hasn’t done a wide variety.
23. Reply to 22-> That’s why I’m curious how she’d do in genre dramas, professional roles, rom-coms, or unique lead roles.
24. There’s no overlapping in her characters—if that’s not variety, what is?
25. She’s really diverse. I think maybe your friend has a certain image or bias in mind.
26. She plays a wide range of roles, but many are deep, emotionally rich characters. That’s probably why your friend sees her as conservative. But if you’re offered a variety of scripts, choosing a meaningful lead seems natural, doesn’t it?
27. It does kind of feel like she always plays a version of “IU.” This time it was less so, but still didn’t feel that varied.
28. Personally, I don’t think her roles are that diverse. There’s no really “out-there” character in her filmography.
29. She’s even played a mother. There are plenty of actresses who only do rom-coms—so yes, she’s definitely diverse.
30. I think she’s really diverse, just looking at her filmography.
31. Super diverse. Each role is distinctly different.
32. Oh Aesoon, Geummyeong, Jang Man-wol, Haesoo, Lee Ji-an, Cindy, Lee Soon-shin, Pil-sook. That’s super diverse… I just want to see her in a regular rom-com, please.
33. She’s diverse.
34. She usually goes for either very glamorous or extremely gloomy roles.
35. After “My Mister,” she did “Broker” and “You Have Done Well.” I don’t think her choices are that conservative. Her characters’ personalities seem different too.
36. There are no identical characters, so of course they’re different—but it doesn’t feel very diverse because the dramas have a similar tone.
37. I think IU is diverse. And the characters she’s played are all memorable.
38. For me, Kim Go-eun and Park Eun-bin are more diverse. Even though IU’s characters aren’t the same, I agree she chooses conservatively.
39. Now I just want to see something ordinary from her.
40. I feel she’s diverse.
41. She’s definitely diverse. And come on, what K-drama character doesn’t have a backstory? She’s played everything from glamorous roles to moms—that’s rare for actresses her age.
42. It’s not that her characters are similar, but she has this vibe where it still feels like “IU is acting.” Some actors totally transform—you forget their past roles. But with her, maybe because she’s a superstar, that “IU image” sticks no matter the role.
43. “You Have Done Well” and “My Mister” had distinct characters—that was nice! But maybe when people talk about diversity, they mean more shocking or unconventional roles—like a violent wife, a character with nude scenes, a murderer, someone who smokes and swears, etc.
44. I think she’s pretty diverse.
45. Considering the number of projects she’s done, she’s very diverse. Of course, she’s not as varied as actors who do tons of different works all the time. “You Have Done Well” – very deep emotional range between mother and daughter “Hotel Del Luna” – fantasy, flamboyant Man-wol “Dream” – comedy, MZ generation, producer “Producer” – top singer “Dream High” – aspiring singer“My Mister” – dark and depressing “Moon Lovers” – historical, time loop“Broker” – can’t say due to spoilers, but also a rare type of character “Persona” – queer, psychopath, etc. So yes, super diverse. Still, I hope she continues to take on even more unique and different roles.