Choi Jin Hyuk, The Real Man – Interview for Elle

[imienazwisko.livejournal.com]

I read the script of “The Divine Move” for this interview. I read it without any trouble. I want to watch the movie at the theater, so I didn’t read the ending on purpose.

Really? Did you enjoy it? When you watch the movie later on, the feeling will be different.

You play Sun Soo [t/n: the name also means "Player"] (Team Leader Yang) who is deep in the gambling “Go” world .

I guess people who know me will be quite surprised when they see me the first time. Starting with my hair style, I’m completely different.

It’s your first time being a proper villain, right? Playing a villain is every actor’s dream.

I’ve always wanted to try it. This character isn’t evil. It was an evil character when I first read the script, but the director and I talked about it and made him a little bit more gentle. He’s half-way being evil and being chic, something like that?

Did you have no desire to express an extreme evil character? Like Heath Ledger in the “Dark Night” that you mentionned during the photo shoot as a memorable villain for you.

There are already a lot of strong characters, so if I would have been in the same way, my character would have looked similar or the audience would have easily imagined what kind of character it was. So we changed him into someone who can be gentle in the things he does and still be really scary. Aren’t there people like this? They’re usually quiet and they become scary once they get angry.

Are you talking about yourself?

I’m not. When I’m cold to someone, I’m cold, but I’m “usually” affectionate and soft-hearted. When I’m very angry, I don’t speak at all. No, more like I can’t really speak. When I’m angry, I’m like a child quivering with anger. (laugh)

This movie has a star-studded cast.

I was simply happy with the fact of being with sunbaes I respect such as Ahn Sung Ki who is the first one I saw when I got on the set. Most of my scenes were with Woo Sung-hyung (Jung Woo Sung) and In Kwon-hyung (Kim In Kwon). I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to exchange lines with other actors. However, we were all gathered in one place for the poster shooting and this was truly awesome.

Are you comfortable with being in a men’s world?

I am. I’m a dongsaeng the hyungs love. I don’t know exactly the reason behind this, but I always try my best to treat them with respect.

Have you already been obsessed by a game or by gambling in real life?

No, I don’t really like that. I hate gambling with money that comes and goes.

You seem to be someone who has a strong desire for winning.

Of course, when I was a kid or when I was doing sports, I had a desire for winning. I also fought a lot. If you get into a fight after playing basketball, you can be overwhelmed and the fight can get real. However, I don’t sweat minor things like this now. Seems like it’s because I’m getting older (laugh).

You’re also someone with a strong sense of pride

Aren’t there actions or words that can hurt people’s pride? I’m the type who can’t put up with stuff like this. That’s why I lost many things along the way. This is especially true in the world I’m working in. If I had just passed over some situations without saying anything, there would have been no problem, but I kept trying to talk things out and that created bad misunderstandings with other people.

That’s because you hate cowardice. You feel it’s right to be like this.

It’s a good thing. And I like people who are like this too.

What is your definition of a charismatic man?

Someone who knows his own mind and has no doubt about what he does. It’s not someone who is stubborn. It’s someone who knows how to get along well with other people. A man who has strong leadership in this men’s world is charismatic in my eyes.

Do you take on a leader’s role?

I sometimes take the lead in my everyday life. Like when my friends don’t know what to choose on a menu, I say “let’s eat this”.

Jung Woo Sung takes the lead role in this movie. Isn’t he the essence of the “charismatic man”?

He is. He has this Italian beauty. He’s someone who really gives off this actor vibe.

I know the two of you are close, so how was it to work together?

To be honest, it was a bit awkward. He’s a hyung I respect as well as my agency’s CEO. So it was awkward because our characters have confrontations and there’s even a scene where I hit him. It was almost my first experience of being in a movie, so it made things more awkward and difficult. Still, I was satisfied after I finished the shooting because I feel that I have learned a lot.

Let’s pick your “Divine Move” [t/n: reference to the movie title] in real life.

Hm… The first one is the fact that my acting career started by coincidence. The fact that I didn’t start because I actually wanted it from the beginning makes everything even more amazing. To be honest, I went constantly through hard times after I started my acting career. Things never worked out. I felt that I didn’t have acting skills either. There were misunderstandings because I didn’t know how to keep a straight face. As I was under a lot of stress and decided to quit, “Gu Wol Ryung”, my character in “Gu Family Book”, was the small confirmation I needed again. I think this can be called my second “Divine Move”.

So what would be the “bad move” you want to reflect on?

Ten years ago. Giving up on my military service application when I was supposed to do it with my friend. I met my first love around that time. Circumstances here and there just overlapped and my friend ended up going to the army on his own. It’s something I regret a lot. I should have just gone and come back. I’m getting tired of being asked about my military service by every person I meet these days.

You filmed the romantic comedies “Emergency Couple” and “Heirs”, but none of your characters were typical characters from “rom-coms”. So you stood out even more.

“Emergency Couple” was my follow-up project. There was no calculation. I wanted to do it because the scenario was fun. For the first half, my character was hated on by the female viewers, but I was able to show how the child “Oh Jin Hyuk” grows up, so it was a good thing. “Kim Won” in “Heirs” was a character that shifted a lot from the initial setting. I thought that the fact that he hated his little brother because he hated being deprived of the things that belonged to him really didn’t show at first.

t/n: maybe I’m missing the point here, but I think “Oh Jin Hyuk” should have been “Oh Chang Min”, his character in “Emergency Couple”.

Oh Jin Hyuk [t/n: should have been Oh Chang Min] and Kim Won were rough characters. I wonder if you’re not a “bad guy” too in real life.

I think it depends of who I’m confronted to. Before, I was sure I wasn’t a bad guy. After being single for nearly two years, someone new might feel this way.

When would that someone new…?

My mom says it’s still not time yet for me to date. She’s stubbornly against it (laugh). I guess she was worried I’d drink and make a mistake during the 1,2 week break I took after “Emergency Couple”. She hopes for me to solidify a bit more my status as an actor.

You’re already considered as the “trend” in the TV and movies worlds.

Hey, I’m no trend. I still have this faith inside my heart. I have this faith and this confidence like “things will turn out well”, “I will be able to do it”. As I went through ups and downs in my life, I had different feelings co-existing in my heart. I thought it would be an advantage for me as an actor one day.

How did this faith and this confidence blossom? I don’t know. When I look at myself in the mirror, I never thought I was good-looking. Not even once. I guess it started when I first stepped into the “world” as I moved to Seoul when I was about 20. Maybe I unconsciously self-hypnotized myself. Looking back at the past ten years, it feels far and makes me dizzy. There were many hard and dangerous moments, but I see everything as a priceless experience today.

One more project before going to the army? You decided to play in “Fated to Love You”.

It’s a remake of a famous Taiwanese drama. I’m a Daddy-long-legs who helps and stays by Nara’side. And of course, there will be a love triangle.

Looks like you will shake the female viewers’ hearts once again.

It’s not that I became known as an actor with a good body. I simply made efforts to “create” this body, so it’s burdensome that people keep talking about it. Golf is the sport I enjoy these days. I had to learn how to play for “Heirs” and I actually found it fun.

What else do you enjoy in your daily life?

Music. My first dream was to be a singer. I won’t go as far as to say that I have a lingering feeling about it, but I do feel it’s a bit unfortunate. Regardless of the genre, listening to music is what I love the most. It’s for a reason like this that I accept every time I get the opportunity to sing for an OST.

If being a singer would have worked out for you when you were around 20, the Choi Jin Hyuk of today wouldn’t exist.

I think I would have ended up acting one way or another. I think it’s a “job decided by destiny”. I felt it for the second time when I did “Gu Family Book”. I forgot about people liking or not what I do and I was just very happy about the outcome of what I committed myself heart and soul to. My biggest wish right now is to be an actor for a long time.


t/n: I like how his vision of his career changed in the span of 6 months. This doesn’t sound like the Choi Jin Hyuk from December 2013. I guess experiencing success with three roles in a row helped him to really see acting as something he loves to do and not just as a job. He does sound less cynical about it.
Original article: Elle
Translation: @onesunnylady

Comments

[vforvera.livejournal.com]

I know this is late, but thanks for posting this and I agree with you OP about him sounding less cynical.

When he was experiencing the immediate reaction to GFB, he sounded really overwhelmed, surprised and grateful at the response to his portrayal of Wol Ryung.

And then around Heirs came out, he became honest about his depression and thoughts about quitting acting prior to his success in GFB.

I really wonder if the change to Red Brick Agency was how he was able to get the opportunity to read the role of Wol Ryung. It seems like his turn of luck in 2013 started from there and continued forth to GFB, Heirs, etc.

Also, he looks fab as a baddie. I'd probably check out Divine Move just for him.