Movie 'Bohoja' Press Screening
Questioning the Justification of Handling Violence
Lead Actor Kim Nam-gil: "Directing Style is Clear"
"There is no such thing as a perfectly prepared challenge. I have said for a long time that I would become a film director, but I never knew when it would happen. The movie 'Protector' became an opportunity to take on a challenge at the right timing. I thought about how to handle the challenge that came right before my eyes. It was fun."
Actor Jung Woo-sung (50) has taken his first step as a film director. When asked about his feelings on revealing his directorial debut at the press screening of the movie 'Protector' held on the afternoon of the 9th at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University in Jayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, Director Jung answered this way.
Director Jung expressed his expectations, saying, "It is a fearless challenge, but if a highly complete result comes out, it will be an opportunity to show a new spirit of challenge."
Opening on the 15th, 'Protector' is an action film depicting the story between Su-hyeok (played by Jung Woo-sung), who is released after 10 years and learns of the existence of a daughter he did not know about and wants to live an ordinary life, and those who target him. Actors Kim Nam-gil, Kim Jun-han, and Park Sung-woong also appear.
Jung Woo-sung stars as both the director and the lead actor playing Su-hyeok, a man dreaming of an ordinary life. Director Jung asked to see it as an expansion of his professional role. It also came with considerable contemplation. He said, "I had to answer the question, 'What is a Jung Woo-sung-style direction?' It was a fun and anticipated challenge."
He said, "During the work process, I did my best as a director in my own way. I am satisfied with myself." At the same time, he added, "It was physically tough to juggle acting and directing."
Director Jung Woo-sung said that directing an action genre was not easy. He said, "The setting is a clich?," but added, "I thought about whether the way violence is handled is justified." He then pointed out the difference, saying, "I did not want to use a child or depict weakness. I wanted to portray them as a whole person."
Director Jung also said, "I introduce 'Protector' to those around me as a cute movie." He continued, "The characters who do not know what kind of consequences their actions will bring are cute. It also came across as a black comedy element. Especially Woo-jin (played by Kim Nam-gil) acts not by empathizing with others but intuitively and according to the flow of his thoughts," he explained.
Kim Nam-gil, who stars as the lead actor, described Director Jung Woo-sung as "clear" from his perspective on set. He said, "At the beginning of filming, I was worried, thinking 'Will it be suffocating?' because when an actor directs, I wondered if they would really let us play freely. Contrary to my worries, he clearly talked about the path we should take on set."
Kim Nam-gil stands out playing the fixer, nicknamed the washing machine Woo-jin. His mischievous and cute villain is striking. Showing a face never seen before, he said, "I just expanded the attitude I usually have toward Director Jung Woo-sung into the role," which brought laughter.
He added, "I was worried that Woo-jin might break the flow, seem out of place, or appear arbitrary." Then he said, "On set, Director Jung Woo-sung told me to 'trust' and said it was 'the way Woo-jin shows himself and a breather in the movie,' so I trusted him and acted."
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