[Limelight] "Authenticity Doesn't Change Even When Shown As It Is"

Movie 'Cha In-pyo's Cha In-pyo... Living in Past Glory, Facing Reality
Still the Strong Wind Ho Image from 27 Years Ago "I Thought Change Was Urgent, I Wanted to Be Different"

In the Netflix movie "Cha In-pyo," actor Cha In-pyo goes hiking with his pet dog. He attracts a flood of attention from the aunties. Trying to save face, he puts on a bluff but ends up covered in mud from head to toe. He goes to a nearby closed school to take a shower, but suddenly the building collapses, putting him at risk of being crushed. Cha In-pyo does not call the safety reporting center. Instead, he calls his manager (Jo Dal-hwan).

"I'll call the rescue team right away." "Are you crazy? Why call the rescue team? You just need to come quietly and get me out. Why are you so clueless?"

"What's wrong with showing a bit of nudity?" "What's 'what's wrong'? Are you really a manager for an actor?"

"Still, nothing is more important than life." "I told you earlier, you're not hurt. How many times do I have to say it? You just need to come quietly and get me out."

"Cha In-pyo" is a comedy that depicts the process of Cha In-pyo, who lives in the glory of the past, coming to face reality. The collapsing closed school symbolizes the current reality of the real Cha In-pyo, who has lost film and drama offers. Over the past decade, he has been on a downward slope as an actor. He has been remembered more for his volunteer work, donations, and his warm and caring image as a husband than for his acting roles. Thus, he is still remembered as Kang Poong-ho from the 27-year-old drama "Love in Your Arms" (1994). He remains trapped in the portrait of his younger days, playing the saxophone stylishly and waving his index fingers side to side.

Director Kim Dong-gyu treats the stereotyped image as a subordinate concept that Cha In-pyo must break free from. Only when he is trapped under the rubble does he confront the true self he had tried to avoid. Cha In-pyo says that the process of expressing this was close to a sincere and thorough self-criticism. He wanted to reveal new possibilities even by self-deprecating. That is why he especially likes the line from his wife Shin Ae-ra, who made a special appearance: "Honey, what does image matter? Even if you show yourself as you are, Cha In-pyo's sincerity doesn't change."

- It must have taken considerable courage to appear in the film.

"When I first read the script, I was dissatisfied. They created a small world based on a stagnant image without my permission for the portrait rights. I firmly refused the offer to appear. I changed my mind four years later. Like the Cha In-pyo in the movie, my life as an actor hadn't improved much. I was getting older without even receiving offers for roles. I wasn't greedy for leading roles. I wasn't even in a position to choose projects. I thought transformation was urgent, and I wanted to change through this film."

- Were you worried about the coexistence of reality and fiction?

"The Cha In-pyo in the movie is a role interpreted by director Kim Dong-gyu. In reality, I would have called the safety reporting center and quickly left the accident scene. There are quite a few other hard-to-understand scenes, but I didn't mind. If I interfered with everything, it would become a documentary, not a movie. I thought it consistently aimed for comedy and had enough room to share with the public, so I decided to appear."

- Wasn't it painful to be remembered only as Kang Poong-ho from "Love in Your Arms"?

"Actors inevitably get certain images imposed on them regardless of their intentions. For me, Kang Poong-ho seems to be that. It helped a lot, but it also stereotyped me for a long time and narrowed the range of expression. I wanted to skillfully portray various roles, but it didn't go as I wished. In fact, only a few actors can achieve that. Most just faithfully perform the roles given to them. That means there is less room to show different acting."

- Do you think there was a problem with yourself as well?

"After being discharged from the military, I appeared in various works for 10 years. Then, I occasionally appeared on variety shows and devoted myself to volunteer work. That 5 to 6 years of choice seems to have been a misstep. At some point, offers for works almost stopped coming. Maybe because we are a celebrity couple, only private aspects were highlighted."

- I think you also enjoyed positive effects from such a fixed image...

"It's the two sides of the same coin. Thanks to that, I think I wasn't forgotten by the public. I am very grateful, but now I want to bring change to myself. I hope this film is seen as an expression of that will. Honestly, there were many times when I felt pathetic while acting. I felt sorry for myself portraying a character who cannot objectively see himself and a scene where he is trapped naked in the shower room. As Charlie Chaplin (1889?1977) said, 'Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.'

- You might follow the footsteps of Michael Keaton, who broke free from a stereotyped image with "Birdman" (2014)...

"I don't expect to rise to leading roles again. I just want to appear in many works. There is nothing more enjoyable than the collaborative work of filmmaking. I want to accumulate precious experiences and be happy with filmmakers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.