[ Cannes Interview② ] Lee Byung-hun Remembers His Father, Ethan Hawke, and 'Magnificent 7'

74th Cannes Film Festival On-site Coverage
Interview with Actor Lee Byung-hun

attends EMERGENCY DECLARATION PHOTO SHOOT during the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on July 15, 2021 in Cannes, France.
attends the EMERGENCY DECLARATION photo session during the 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals on July 15, 2021 in Cannes, France.

[Cannes (France) = Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] Actor Lee Byung-hun recalled memories with Ethan Hawke during the filming of 'The Magnificent Seven'.

On the 17th (local time), Lee Byung-hun met with Asia Economy at a hotel restaurant in the southern French city of Cannes and shared his thoughts on attending the 74th Cannes International Film Festival and his determination as the first Korean actor to appear as a presenter at the closing ceremony.

This year's Cannes Film Festival is special in many ways. At the 72nd Cannes International Film Festival in 2019, Song Kang-ho, the lead actor of 'Parasite' which won the Palme d'Or for the first time for a Korean film, served as the first male actor juror, and Lee Byung-hun will appear on stage as a presenter at the closing ceremony. Although director Park Chan-wook has presented awards before, this is a first achievement for a domestic actor. This year's festival will be remembered as a historic event where director Bong Joon-ho declared the opening in Korean at the opening ceremony, and Lee Byung-hun closed the festival at the closing ceremony.

Lee Byung-hun, a 'world star' active on the global stage, cannot be discussed without mentioning 'The Magnificent Seven'. In the film, he played the role of Billy Rocks and worked alongside prominent Hollywood actors such as Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, and Ethan Hawke. It was a meaningful breakthrough as a Korean actor proudly took part in a classic Western film. Having gained popularity as a Hallyu star in Japan and steadily knocking on overseas stages, this work solidified his indisputable 'world-class' status.

Photo by Sony Pictures

When mentioning this, Lee Byung-hun recalled his childhood. "My father was a movie enthusiast. When I was 5 or 6 years old, he would sit me beside him and watch Saturday Classics and Masterpiece Theaters. Most of the movies aired on TV were Westerns. Watching 'Cinema Paradiso' together, my father would recite the actor's name, character details, and plot while explaining everything. Looking back now, he was giving spoilers. (laughs) I also remember him telling me scenes that were about to come, which made them less exciting. Maybe that's why I had a romance for Western films. Although I did 'The Good, the Bad, the Weird,' called a Korean-style Western, it wasn't an original Western film. This is a truly meaningful work where I appeared in a genuine Western movie."

Recalling the filming at the time, Lee Byung-hun said, "We really rode horses and fired guns in the Western. I appeared as a close friend of Ethan Hawke, and there is a scene where we dip bread into something like bean porridge and eat it together. While filming that scene, I told Ethan, 'This was my romance.' When I was young and watched Western movies with my dad, there was always a scene where they made a campfire and dipped something into a bowl to eat. I wondered why it looked so delicious, and I said, 'This must be it.' Ethan Hawke laughed and said, 'So you were curious about that.'"

[Continued in Cannes Interview③]