연합뉴스
| yna@yna.co.kr 2023-02-20 17:40:19
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korean veteran actor Shin Hyun-joon recalled the challenges he had to overcome while shooting the upcoming period action film “The Assassin” during an interview held at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul on Monday. The actor began by saying, “There were so many tough action scenes from the beginning to the end of the film during which I had to fight against 70 or 80 people, which made it harder. Even before going to actual shooting, the training itself was hard.”
The movie sees Shin as Inan, who once had his name up as the best assassin of Joseon getting old and finding himself not as fierce or physically capable as before, and also finding it difficult to hide his own identity.
Shin recalled, “I had my calf muscles always ruptured all the way through shooting, and every scene was extremely physically demanding. I always had badges and patches wrapped around all parts of my body,” adding, “I have always believed that an actor should take even the challenges for granted, but I did not expect it to be this exhausting. But I still had to make this film work, so I decided to take the lead role.”
Despite the remarkably arduous shooting process, “The Assasin” has also become a meaningful work for him as an actor: The actor, who made his television debut as Hayashi in director Lim Kwon-taek’s legendary television series “Son of a General” in 1990 while attending university, wished to star in a film as a warrior by the time he turned 60. In other words, this film had the actor achieve his long-held dream.
“Over the past decade, I have been catching up on interviews with many overseas actors every week while hosting ‘Entertainment Weekly,’ which made me dream of appearing in a role that goes way past my age,” the actor said with a laugh. “As I was shooting this film, I found myself to be cool, so I am satisfied.”
The 54-year-old actor also challenged himself to appear in a bed scene for the first time in a while. He shot his last scene in bed 26 years ago in the movie “Maria and Inn” (1997), in which he co-starred with actress Shim Hye-jin.
He also added that during the press conference of “The Assassin,” which he attended with his wife, she jestingly questioned him whether the bed scene was really necessary for the plot.
Shin said with a laugh, “I still have not soothed her, and I yet cannot eat warmly cooked meals. It has been 10 years since I got married, and I think my wife is really mad.”
During the press conference, the actor dished on how he and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a Swedish professional football player, look similar and also on the old times when he filmed the legendary Korean television series “Stairway to Heaven.”
Shin added that he is also preparing himself to shoot a comedy film, titled “Ghost Police,” with his old friend and colleague Jung Joon-ho and actress Kim Soo-mi, which will feature the story of people who are suddenly gifted with rather clumsy superpowers. He introduced his upcoming film as "a nice film for families to watch all together."
Shin, who has also been teaching as a professor for 14 years, also conveyed his hope that junior actors would come to overcome the difficulties they may face in their daily lives: “It was heartbreaking to watch how junior actors, especially actresses, being hurt by malicious comments and making extreme choices. It would be comforting if they think of those comments not as something that they should be careful about but rather as something that celebrities must have to take along with them,” adding, “I hope no one ever makes such choices again.”
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
(END)
[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]