Ju Ji-hoon: I torture myself a lot because I'm barely breaking even when I do well - Part 1

Ju Ji-hoon [OD Musical Company]

"I once ran into Ju Ji-hoon at a theater. And I felt a strong presence from him in how he looked at the stage. Then when I got to meet him through an acquaintance, I was very surprised by his philosophy and attitude on life. He also had a reverentialness toward the stage in particular." Along with news that Ju Ji-hoon would be discharged from the military came news that he was cast in musical "Doctor Zhivago." Many thought that it was unexpected that he was making a comeback through a musical instead of a movie or drama and some even said it is what he owes for the past incident he was involved in. However like "Doctor Zhivago" producer Shin Choon-soo, chief of OD Musical Company said, Ju Ji-hoon was a person who had been spotted at theaters an exceptional number of times. When he was brewing with the passion for acting yet could not actually do it, he waited for the time he could again while chasing it with his eyes. And now, it is time for him to release that energy accumulated within him. He has started on round two of his life with the desperateness that "the best way to apologize would be to do so with what one does best" and the ease the age of 30 has brought him.

<#10LOGO#> It's been about ten days since you were discharged from the military. Has it hit you that you're a civilian now?
Ju Ji-hoon: It feels like three years passed with the blink of an eye. And it hadn't really hit me that I've been discharged because as is the case for all soldiers, I was out on my final long-term leave from the military and did a lot of things during that time but it hits me a bit now that I see the flashes of cameras going off in front of my eyes.

<#10LOGO#> You chose "Doctor Zhivago" as your comeback project. And most people have responded that it's an unexpected choice.
Ju: Simply put, of all the scripts I received, this was the one I identified with the most. Of course I had a certain level of expectation for "Doctor Zhivago" because of its original work, but I saw that it contained the story of one man's entire life. Yuri Zhivago was a fallen aristocrat, a doctor and poet who also experienced war. He went through a lot of hardships in life and I could relate to a lot of them. [laughs] He was appealing in that his outlook on life didn't waver amidst those huge incidents and I felt a sense of reality to him. "Doctor Zhivago" could initially come off as being dull compared to projects that are fancy and stimulating these days. Should I say that it's sort of like a watercolor painting?

<#10LOGO#> You appear at theaters often enough that whoever likes musicals has probably seen you at least once. When did you start to have an affection for the stage?
Ju: I like the stage because I used to be a model. I also shot a lot of musical scenes in movie "Antique" and then I took on the musical "Don Juan." It was attractive in that I'd get to act live and focus just on the rehearsals for a long time. It was a lot of hard work but the longer and bitter the wait, the sweeter the fruit, right? And it turned out to be just great. Then that is how I came to make acquaintances and watch actors perform. And the more I watched musicals, the more fun I realized they were which naturally made me fall for them. When I found a musical I liked, I think I did a lot of imaging about them with me in them.

<#10LOGO#> You once said that you 'want to embrace the stage' after your first musical "Don Juan." Did you say it out of a sense of relief from pulling it off?
Ju: I started on "Don Juan" not knowing anything about it except for the fact that I wanted to do it. And all projects are tough but "Don Juan" was extremely tough physically. I had to sing about 18 songs and they were of such a wide range of genres that I had to change the position of my vocal cords three to four times. I had such a hard time that I complained to my fellow actors and asked them to save me. And people around me said they were really sorry to see that I had taken on such a difficult project as my first musical. There were also so many technical aspects to the project that my fellow actors got in a lot of accidents as well. Hence it was totally about luck and I luckily didn't get into any accidents. That's why I once kneeled on stage and prayed to it after a performance. And said that I'm grateful that no mistakes occurred outside of my power despite it being my first project. That's become sort of a ritual for me since.

<#10LOGO#> But unavoidably, there was much left to be desired regarding your singing. Plus, you've been double cast with Hong Gwang-ho this time, who nobody could win in terms of singing.
Ju: I received vocal lessons while in the military. Of course, it wasn't very hardcore training so don't set your hopes too high. [laughs] And Hong Gwang-ho's singing makes even guys hearts flutter. I don't have much pride when it comes to learning. I need to learn because I'm not good. And I like that. Who'd Hong Gwang-ho ever teach to sing for free! I'll put my all into my role, even if someone told me to take it easy since it'll be my first time in a while standing in front of an audience.

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10 아시아 Reporter : Jang Kyung-Jin three@
10 아시아 Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@