R: ‘City Hunter’ is of a different genre compared to KBS ‘Boys Over Flowers’ and MBC ‘Personal Taste’. Where did you place your focus since there are a lot of action scenes and the character you played is very different from your previous works?
LMH: I kept bearing in mind the need to appropriately portray the emotions of Yoon Sung when he interacts with different people. As the episodes unfolded, Yoon Sung and Kim Young Ju’s relationship changed and the emotions also piled up. According to the script, Yoon Sung coldly turns away from Young Ju after Young Ju’s dad got involved in an accident because of Yoon Sung. However, when I look back on the relationship between Yoon Sung and Young Ju, I felt that Yoon Sung would have felt sorry for what happened. When someone suffers or is injured because of me, it is important that I feel sorry and so (I/we) modified the emotional expression of Yoon Sung. When the character I play crashes with other characters, I want to portray a fresh palpable emotion and not miss out on it.
R: How do you resolve the differences you have when you interpret the character differently from that written in the script?
LMH: I tend to worry and think about it on my own initially. After much thought and reaching a conclusion, I will then approach others for discussion. In this project too, I agonized a lot over it on my own before I discussed the parts where I have a different viewpoint with the director. Actually that is my personality. I tend to trouble over a matter initially on my own before I talk about it with other people.
R: Lee Yoon Sung’s action scenes are not as showy as that of other action heroes.
LMH: I have an inclination to be that way. When delivering a role, rather than doing it forcefully, I prefer to deliver it unexpectedly. I think one does not need to squeeze out one’s tears against one’s will for a sorrowful scene, and anger scenes can also be expressed levelly. I usually don’t like pretentious movies or dramas with little substance. Even in forceful action scenes, I hope to deliver it candidly and non-superfluously. The ‘spoon action scene’ and the ‘staircase action scene’ stand out the most for me. In particular the staircase action scene was carried out in a dark and narrow space under the illumination of a single light, which helps convey a sense of seriousness and urgency.
R: I heard that you didn’t use a stand-in much at all even though there’s bound to be plenty of dangerous scenes.
LMH: I did around 80-90% of the scenes myself. Except for instances where Yoon Sung had to jump down from a high altitude or scale a wall, I was ambitious do to the rest myself. Although I was told I didn’t need to, I obstinately clung on.
R: Lee Yoon Sung is a person who longs for the affection of a family and shows an interest in societal problems. He is a complex person on the inside and also faces many problems outwardly.
LMH: I think Lee Yoon Sung is a person who is inherently lonely. Bound by the chains of revenge, he struggles with the fact that people are hurt because of him. I try and think of the loneliness I experience as a lone actor as I flesh out Yoon Sung, and I hope to not forget how loneliness feels. Such is the emotional foundation of Lee Yoon Sung as I tried to convey changes in him as naturally as I possibly can when he interacts with Kim Na Na, Kim Young Ju and Lee Jin Pyo under different circumstances.
R: What do you think of Lee Yoon Sung’s revenge method that believes everyone will be able to lead happy lives after the revenge has ended.
LMH: The method Yoon Sung adopts where he does not kill the enemies but lets them suffer personal destruction under public judgment is a tiring method. Lee Yoon Sung very frequently mentions ‘a revenge where blood requires blood’. As difficult as it may seem, that seems to be correct, else there will never be an end to it. Nevertheless, I was tired during filming and would have really liked to take care of all the 5 enemies at one go. (laugh)
R: Why are you so ambitious over a character that not only makes you tired over his method of revenge (laugh) but requires you to do lots of action scenes?
LMH: Initially it’s because I felt a strong responsibility since Yoon Sung is the soul of the drama. I not only put much thought in the action scenes but also concerned myself with each of the small props used. When I analyzed the script, I thought to myself “shouldn’t I express it in such a way when the character is feeling this way” and burrowed into these exhaustively.
R: You must have thought and agonized a lot playing the role of Lee Yoon Sung. However, there are times when acting may tend to be unnatural when one thinks too much. Is there a single thing that you’d focus on when you act out the role?
LMH: I think it is very important to grasp an understanding of the character. Only by understanding the views and values of Lee Yoon Sung and realizing to what extent his emotions should be appropriately expressed am I able to portray him unwaveringly even when the script is off (?). Using loneliness as the foundation, I think Yoon Sung will not appear out of character even when he expresses his anger.
Source: 10asia
Translation: webby @ soompi
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