‘Decision To Leave’s lead actor Park Hae-il “I wondered if I’ve ever taken a role like this”

▲ This photo, provided by CJ ENM, shows the lead actor Park Hae-il in the film "Decision To Leave." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- “When I first met director Park Chan-wook, he told me about the film for 30 minutes straight. At the moment, I wondered if I’ve ever taken a role like this in my life.”

Actor Park Hae-il, who plays the lead role in the Cannes-competing feature “Decision To Leave,” looked back on his first meeting with director Park.

“I’ve never played a cop. Maybe it is because of the role of a suspect that I played in 'Memories of Murder.’ The character which Park wanted to create was so fresh,” said Park at the official press conference held in Cannes, France on Tuesday (local time).

“S. Korea has many cop-related movies but most of them depict police detectives aggressively and violently. However, in ‘Decision to Leave,’ the main character Hae-joon is polite, kind, and a neat person. I wanted to challenge myself in a role that doesn’t use violence to solve crimes. As an actor, I also had the ambition to break social norms.”

Park plays the elite cop Hae-joon, who investigates the murder case in the mountains and falls in love with a woman (Tang Wei) suspected of murdering her husband. Hae-joon is a professional and neat character just as he dresses. He sometimes falls into internal conflict after being attracted to the suspect.

In an interview with a Korean media, Park said, “I didn’t act while knowing everything (of Hae-joon’s emotions and situation),” adding, “But I didn’t think the director wanted a familiar acting.”

“There were some difficult moments where I wondered about what the answer was during acting. But at some point, when I put down my ego, I started to listen to what director Kang wanted to say. It was a magical moment. I think that is what Park Chan-wook’s magic is.”

The actor talked about the time he couldn’t even imagine that he would receive a casting offer when directer Park called him to meet in person. Moreover, the actor thought that he wouldn’t have many opportunities to meet the director.

“I had no idea that I would be cast for the film. When I received the call, at that instance I thought, ‘Did I do something wrong?’ (laughs). When I met the director he said, ‘Hae-il. Let’s work on a film together.’ I had received a fortunate opportunity,” explained Park.

The actor said, “I’m still incredibly lucky to have worked with the director. I still can’t believe it,” adding, “The biggest challenge for me was to blend with the actors that have appeared in director Park’s works.”

Park Hae-il, who starred in various films including “The Host,” “Rules of Dating,” “War of the Arrows,” “Eungyo,” and the “The Fortress,” mentioned how he found a new side of himself through the Cannes-featured film.

Park recalled, “Since the situation that Hae-joon faced was new, it was hard to bring out the basic emotions,” adding, “When I heard ‘Okay’ after filming a difficult scene, I’ve experienced feelings that can’t be put into words.”

This will be the first time Park Hae-il will step into the red carpet of the film festival as part of a Cannes-competing feature.

The Korean actor laughed and said, “Everyone told me how nice the Cannes film festival was so I thought, ‘Is it that good?’ I wanted to go if I’ve ever had a chance.”

“After coming here, I felt that this is what the power of the film festival is like. I felt acknowledged along with my fellow actors. I think it will be a nourishing experience for me to carry out my next work with deeper and wider ideas. Not only as an actor but as Park Hae-il, I want to cherish this memory in my album and look back on it.”

(This article is translated from Korean to English by An Hayeon.)

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