2020.10.26 | Interview
You took on an unexpected role in "Strangers From Hell" so we were curious to see what your next job will be. "Tale of the Nine Tailed" also seems like a new challenge that will not be easy, we are curious why you chose to star in this.
The premise of a male "Gumiho" was unique, and it was refreshing that this is not only a fantasy melodrama, but also contains elements of the suspense and action genres. The director also persuaded me with nice words, so I ended up starting with this while trusting the director and the writer.
Although he was the host of "Strong Heart", the host carries more weight in "Because Lee Dong Wook Wants to Talk", so he must have had a different mindset. How was the?
For me, talk shows are a different kind of challenge than acting. I did “Strong Heart” just a year after my discharge from the military, so I started out thinking it would be interesting, but I found it very difficult once I started. Dong Yeop hyung and Boom helped me a lot, so I got it right somehow, but I realized that "this is not an easy thing after all, this is difficult."
When I received the offer to be an independent host, I thought to myself that although there is something to be gained from this, I can also lose something by doing this. Because this is a time when words are sensitive, I may make a mistake while hosting or the show may also become less interesting. Despite that, hosting a talk show under my own name is a very good thing, so I decided to give it a try. The opportunity to host a talk show with my name appeared in front of my eyes, it was also an opportunity to have conversations with various people from all walks of life and to be able to work with people from the cultural department of a television station. instead of the variety department it was also a hot spot. So while it was definitely a new challenge and risk, I thought this job would become a new kind of food for me (to grow).
Although I cannot say that the show has been a great success in terms of viewership, it was a significant work that will remain in my memory for a long time. While I was hosting the talk show, I had many meetings with the production team. We would think about the guest together and decide what kind of questions to ask. Being deeply involved in the production process was also a good experience for me. The talk show production team also sent a coffee truck to the filming set of my drama this time, and they contacted me to say that they enjoyed watching the first episode. Being able to forge a good relationship while working is also very meaningful.
There should be a lot of requests for a season 2. We are curious what type of accommodation you will want to do at that time.
They have to come get me first, right? (laughs). I appeared on “Amazing Saturday” not long ago and it seemed to have become more relaxed compared to variety shows of the past. I think you can see the general flow a bit now. I don't know when I will host a talk show, but if I get the chance, I will want to try a more mature approach using the life experiences that I have consistently accumulated throughout all this time as a foundation.
After hearing your host's story of "Because Lee Dong Wook Wants to Talk", it seems that Lee Dong Wook has a lot of interest in various fields.
That's how it is. Because I think of my job as a job. How can I live alone with my job? I think I need to have a degree of interest in things that I didn't know much about. I also studied a lot about the guests when I was hosting the talk show. I studied about the person and also about that person's work. The production team gave me about 150 pages of reference materials on A4 size paper (laughs). They contained almost all the information from the person's background to interviews they did elsewhere. We did not arrange guest responses in advance so that the talk show did not flow according to the questions we prepared. The guest would talk about things that he did not mention in the interview that was done with them beforehand, or would also ask new questions that arise while listening to what they say.
Although I don't normally read a lot of books, I watch the news whenever I can to find out what's going on around the world. I'm not picky about the music I listen to, so I enjoy listening to the radio. I often listen to "Bae Cheol Soo's Music Camp." I listen to all kinds of music, from the ones that were released a long time ago to the newer ones, and I like how he also explains about singers and genres.
Is there anything else that interests you besides music?
I like sports very much. It's the major league postseason these days, although I can't watch every game, I'll definitely see the best moments. I also watch the NBA whenever I have time. During the world cup, I will see everything from the preliminary to the final. That is why I am very tired during the World Cup season. (laughs)
The role you play in "Tale of the Nine Tailed" is a character who not only has perfect visuals, but also appreciates a personal story over a very long period of time. You are the representative of "Face Genius" *, so the images are already well cared for, but you must have thought a lot about how to portray a character with a lot of backstory.
I have experience acting in "Goblin". It made me think that it is important to do a good job portraying the worldview created by the writer when it comes to the fantasy genre. So I do it according to what is written in the script (laughs). The "Gumiho" that appears in folk tales first appears as a male Gumiho in this drama, so the script serves as the standard.
*"Face of genius" is a nickname commonly used in Korea to describe a very beautiful person.
Is there a particular job that you referenced when preparing for this drama?
I'm afraid I'll end up unknowingly following them, which is why I generally try to create on my own rather than taking references from other works. This time, I think of my role as Lee Yeon as a character with an unstoppable personality. Since he is over 1000 years old, he must have found the human world very laughable. You will probably find it annoying to even talk to humans, so it's not a surprise that you speak to them in informal language either.
The role of him this time can be considered as a kind of "problem solver", he can be called a character who has "lived life at the highest level". Is there that side to Lee Dong Wook's real personality too?
I don't have the supernatural powers of a Gumiho and I need to live my life adapting to society, so I try to get along if I can. But I do it when I need to demonstrate responsibility commensurate with the role assigned to me. In this drama too, I actively talk with the director and share my opinions while working on the film set.
In "Because Lee Dong Wook Wants to Talk" and even in "Tale of the Nine Tailed," we have a feeling that they work together by actively sharing their opinions.
Even if you're not playing the main character, an actor becomes the main character in his own scene in which he appears, so I think anyone has the right to make his voice heard. When the actors who work with me express their opinions, I will also actively accept their opinions if they are good. Because I think I need to be able to listen to opinions as much as I express them. When the news articles about "Tale of the Nine Tailed" were first published, I was very grateful for the reactions saying that "Lee Dong Wook is very suitable" and "we are waiting for him", but the pressure on me was not small either. . Because a drama is done together with other actors and staff, not just me alone. So I think I need to listen to the opinions of other actors and staff as much as I share my own opinions.
Maybe because you often play characters who don't age, we often forget that Lee Dong Wook has a lot of juniors. At what moments during filming do you have the feeling that "I am a senior after all"?
We filmed splitting into team A and team B, the two camera directors from team B call me “sunbaenim” (laughs). At some point, I have reached an age where I am more senior than the camera director. Apart from two or three people, everyone who works with me on this drama is my juniors, so I have a feeling that it has been a long time (laughs).
What kind of senior do you think you are?
I don't know what kind of senior I am. But I try not to use words like "latte" which is popular these days (laughs). There is no point in saying such words, and I cannot judge how others will react to such words as well. In the past, my hyungs used to say that as you get older and gain more experience, "you have to shut your mouth and open your wallet", and I think those words are correct. So I want to become a senior who closes his mouth and treats others with delicious food (laughs).
There was a memorable interview in which he said that his goal is to become a trusted actor for the audience.
I mean the kind of confidence that people will feel "I'm looking forward to it" and "I want to see it" when someone says that Lee Dong Wook will be appearing on a show. It's the same for "Tale of the Nine Tailed" this time. “Lee Dong Wook is a gumiho? So I'm waiting for it ”or“ I want to see it ”, there were a lot of reactions like this, and I think it's thanks to that that the first episode got good ratings. You should build up more confidence in the future.
Focusing on an image can be a method to achieve that goal, but Lee Dong Wook does not hesitate to accept challenges. There are times when that will feel very tiring too, right? We are curious to know what your secret is that allows you to continually face new challenges despite that.
I think it's my personality. Because personally I can't bear to do the same thing repeatedly. I had offers for fantasy genres after "Goblin" and offers for psycho characters after "Strangers From Hell," but I turned them down. I will be performing in a show of the same genre again after a period of at least 3-4 years.
He has been continuously active with different types of roles in recent years without a break. You must have felt tired too, how do you spend the time to recharge?
I don't do anything at all when I rest. I am at home most of the time and I try to exercise every day as much as I can. After doing this every day for 3-4 years, my condition decreases if I don't exercise. If I exercise a lot during the day, then come home, have an early dinner, and go to bed, my condition will be very good when I wake up the next day. I will be brimming with energy even if I go out to film.
You said that actor Lee Dong Wook's goal is to be "a reliable actor." So what is the goal of the human Lee Dong Wook?
My goal is to live healthy for a long time. I have a lot of action scenes in my drama this time around, so I feel even more excited about this. Being healthy is the best. Because you can't do anything if you are sick.
Source: Nylon Korea
Translation: Latin Fan Community
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