[Sportschosun Jiyoung Cho] Actor Eum Moon-suk, 44, said, "I watched Bong Joon-ho's praise video dozens of times."
In an interview with Sportschosun on the morning of the 29th, Eum Moon-suk shared behind-the-scenes stories about the sci-fi thriller film 'Hope' (directed by Na Hong-jin and produced by Forged Films).
'Hope' tells the story of a branch office chief at Hopo Port in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) who hears from local young people that a tiger has appeared. As the entire village goes on alert, the film follows the characters as they face an unbelievable reality. Eum Moon-suk played Yang-bae, the carpenter who set off the major incident in the village.
Eum Moon-suk said of Bong Joon-ho's high praise, "I didn't just watch Bong Joon-ho's GV video a few times. I watched it dozens of times. I was so amazed and grateful that Bong Joon-ho even said my name, Eum Moon-suk. I once went to the Cannes Film Festival with my short film, and that was also when Bong Joon-ho came to Cannes with 'Okja.' Watching him walk the red carpet, I thought, 'He's a director I really want to work with,' and I felt envious. To be honest, just being able to see Bong Joon-ho was an honor to me, so I was incredibly happy that he mentioned my name. I can't choose between Na Hong-jin and Bong Joon-ho. It's like choosing between whether you love your mother or your father more."
He added, "Bong Joon-ho said I looked 'more alien than an alien,' and hearing that praise made me feel that I had at least done justice to the character. It felt like he was seeing Yang-bae for who he was, so every single word meant so much to me."
He also explained his thoughts on Yang-bae: "When I first heard about Yang-bae, I was told he wasn't a strange kid or a bad kid. But when Na Hong-jin said that evil is still evil, I was confused at first and wondered what he meant. This may be the project I thought about the most while filming. In Chungcheong dialect, there's an expression that means, 'It's neither this nor that.' At first, I didn't know how to approach the character. Then I thought about what kind of character Yang-bae really was and looked at my nephew. I saw him doing things without realizing he was in danger. Watching that, I felt he was similar to Yang-bae."
On his desire to play righteous characters, he said, "In 'The Fiery Priest,' 'The Roundup,' 'Taxi Driver,' and even in 'Hope,' I feel the characters I played had many good qualities. When I approach a character, I always believe everyone has joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. It just depends on which side stands out. I have never once acted while thinking I was playing a villain. Yang-bae probably did not want to hurt anyone. He just wanted to show off."
About Yang-bae's unusual look, he said, "Na Hong-jin created all the concepts. If you watched the 'Men in Black' series before, aliens couldn't really control human bodies once they entered them, right? I thought it might look like that. When Na Hong-jin was making the teeth, he kept refining even the color details. During filming, when Beom-seok and Yang-bae met, I used a very distinctive jawline because the fake teeth dried out my saliva. Na Hong-jin saw that and asked if I could act in a more exaggerated way. In fact, I didn't know it would come out like that while acting, but after watching the film, I found it fascinating. Yang-bae looked so strange on screen that I even tried copying him at home, but I couldn't do it."
'Hope' stars Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander, and Michael Fassbender. It was directed by Na Hong-jin, known for 'The Chaser,' 'The Yellow Sea,' and 'The Wailing.'
Jiyoung Cho, soulhn1220@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
