[Translation] Lee Dong Wook – Cine21 Issue no. 1440 “A Shop For Killers” magazine interview
[Interview] Actor Lee Dong Wook and I, “A Shop For Killers” Lee Dong Wook
An unknown identity, mystery, riddles. Jung Jin-Man in “A Shop For Killers” is a man wrapped in a veil. What’s evident is the fact that he is dead. His niece Ji-an (Kim Hye Jun) is shocked when she sees her uncle Jin-man, whom she lived alone with for 10 years, in the morgue. She feels betrayed and confused after finding out belatedly that her uncle had been running a weapons trading site for killers without anyone knowing. Jin-Man may not exist in reality, but he remains alive and breathing in Ji-An’s mind. With the sudden appearance of killers, Ji-An realises that the words of her uncle when he was alive were a kind of methods for defense and attack, and she fights back according to how he taught her. Actor Lee Dong Wook delivers controlled acting so that his inner feelings cannot be read through his facial expressions and actions, making Jung Jin-Man a character that is impossible to know. In particular, the true value of his skills and senses accumulated over the past 25 years is exhibited in Jung Jin-man’s poker face that constantly stimulates the curiosity of the audience.
Q: Jin-Man is not a prominent character, so we are curious why you chose this piece of work.
This is a role that doesn’t make an impact right from the start, and this aspect felt new to me instead. His role becomes bigger towards the second half. The gun action and the uncle character are things that I have not done before, and that attracted me. I also don’t think I will ever meet another character who has a job running a shopping mall for killers next time. I found it attractive that this is a work where the point of view is not fixed and there is fun in putting the pieces of the story together like a puzzle.
Q: It is refreshing that this is a genre work driven by an uncle and niece.
When I was actually acting, I didn’t attach much importance to the uncle character. It is just a setup that is like a background; even if the relationship of Jin-Man and Ji-An was changed to that of father and daughter, I think the story will still make sense. Because the feelings that an adult family member has for a younger family member are similar. From the perspective of becoming a parent, he approached every moment with the desperation of protecting his only blood relative to the end.
Q: There must have been a lot of scenes with actress Kim Hye Jun who plays the role of the niece Ji-An.
Jin-Man’s past with the young Ji-An also has quite a big significance, so I did not get to meet actress Kim Hye Jun, who plays the adult Ji-An, as much as I expected. Nevertheless, there are many things that I’m thankful for towards actress Kim Hye Jun. Jin-Man doesn’t have any comical scenes and he is a serious character, so I was quiet and did not say much on set this time, but she approached me first, spoke to me, and changed the atmosphere on set to a cheerful one with her bright energy. If not for actress Kim Hye Jun, I wouldn’t have had that much fun filming it.
Q: So the curiosity about “Who is Jung Jin-Man?” serves as the driving force for the first half of the drama.
I also read the script while being curious about the intentions behind the actions of this person, and why he acts so brusquely towards people around him. I think viewers will also want to know who Jin-Man is and watch till the end. Jin-Man wasn’t born without affection. It’s a spoiler so I can’t speak in detail, but his days as a mercenary in the past must have made him like a machine and turned him into a person who is good at hiding his feelings.
Q: You seemed to pay particular attention in making Jin-Man look mysterious. His expression, posture, and tone of voice were close to nothing, so it was impossible to figure him out.
In that sense, I tried to restrain and let go a lot so that Jin-Man would seem like a human who is calm and composed towards everything and doesn’t get swayed by emotions. When I play a character, I usually get the feeling that it has begun when I judge how my character speaks, so I start by getting the basic tone of my lines first. But in the case of Jin-Man, a dry tone seems to suit him so I didn’t use much breathing on purpose.
Q: While living as a dry Jin-Man, did the life of actor Lee Dong Wook also lose some of its shine? Were you affected a lot by your character?
I try hard to separate myself from the character without being affected. To me, how the natural person Lee Dong Wook lives is more important than anything else. If I fall and lose myself in my character every time, then the life of the natural person Lee Dong Wook will inevitably be ruined. This is also the reason why I only regard an actor as a job.
Q: In the flashbacks in the first half, Jin-Man has several action scenes that are worth anticipating. What kind of action can we expect to see from actor Lee Dong Wook in “A Shop For Killers”?
Not only me but all the actors perform stylish action. The point is that the stylishness comes from realism rather than something exaggerated. Various kinds of guns will appear, and there are also scenes of drones and four-legged robots attacking that will catch the eye. It’s not that there isn’t any physical action. I can’t reveal in detail, but there will be more and more intense scenes with physical fights as the show goes on, which will be thrilling. No matter how much safety equipment you have when shooting action scenes, you will still get injured and it hurts. If an actor looks like he is in pain while performing action, then he is definitely really in pain (laughs). But even so, you cannot play safe. I now know that I have to give more than 100% to look as close to the real thing as possible. But what’s fortunate is that I already have the basic skills since I’ve been an actor for a long time, so it is sufficient even if I just practise on the set and start shooting.
Q: In the past year, seeing how you’ve worked hard on the private message service “Bubble” to communicate with fans, and you often appear on YouTube channels like “Pinggyego” where you even received the grand prize, we get the impression that you are a person who thinks he should take good care of the people around him. Is it your natural personality, or do you feel a sense of responsibility as you get older and have more experience?
It just looks good. In reality, I’m not the type of person who will approach someone first. But if someone contacts me and expects something from me, I try to do the best I can. I use Bubble and appear on YouTube because it seems like that is the only way I can repay my fans. It’s also the same reason why I made an official character called Wookdong Lee and produced merchandise such as dolls and stickers. I changed to silver hair also as a surprise for my fans at a fansign event that I had not long ago. Though I was embarrassed so I made up an excuse and said that I was tired of my black hair.
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[LIST] A List of Things That He Is Into Recently According To Lee Dong Wook
“List” is a weekly space that introduces 5 sources of inspiration and preferences of people from various fields. Namely, a list of things they are into these days.
1. A Shop For Killers
What I’m most interested in these days. I’m the type of person who needs to see everything in person to be satisfied, but I haven’t seen the finished work yet, so I keep thinking about the show.
2. Major league stove league (Baseball)
There are many big contracts in the winter transfer market and there are also Korean players who have not signed contracts yet, so I am searching and reading the news every day.
3. Wookdong Lee
A baby white lion that is actor Lee Dongwook’s official character. From the perspective of having become a parent, I ponder a lot about how I should raise Wookdong well in the future.
4. Shoulder rehabilitation exercises
While filming “A Shop For Killers”, my shoulder muscles got ruptured so I had been going to the hospital for over 2 months. It still hurts when I do certain movements, so I have been working hard to find shoulder exercises that can relieve the pain.
5. Black
After changing my hair to a brighter colour, black colours seem to suit me well. That’s why I’m attracted when I look at black-coloured items.
Source:
http://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=104284
http://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=104274
Translated from Korean to English by Gabby. Please credit if sharing on other platforms. Please do not duplicate my entire translation elsewhere without permission. You may translate to other languages.
