Lee Byung-hun: The Rolling Stone Interview

By Jae-Ha Kim
Rolling Stone Korea  (pdf: Korean) (.pdf: English)
May 4, 2022

It is less than a week before the premiere of “Our Blues” and the series star Lee Byung-hun is in a good mood for this interview. Wearing a yellow turtleneck underneath his checkered jacket, the actor is at ease as he sits down to talk with Rolling Stone Korea about his life, career, and his new tvN drama, which will also be available to international audiences on Netflix.

In one of the trailers for “Our Blues,” Lee’s character Dong-seok – a man filled with rage about his unfortunate circumstances, scrambles to make a life for himself while living in his car. (The drama reunites him with his “A Bittersweet Life” co-star Shin Min-a.)

At one point, Dong-seok offers his philosophy on life: “Don’t care about what others say. It’s my life after all.”

This forthright attitude might also explain Lee’s attitudes about his life and how he became one of the country’s most well-known actors. At 21, he was discovered at a KBS talent search. Shortly after being selected, he made his debut in that network’s drama “Asphalt My Hometown.” Four years later in 1995, he would star in the romantic comedy film “Who Drives Me Crazy.”

Back then, he couldn’t have imagined that not only would he become a movie star, but he would also become one of the few actors from Korea who would crossover into the U.S. film industry. Ironically, the start of his U.S. career began in France.

In 2005, Lee attended the Cannes Film Festival to support his film “A Bittersweet Life.” While there, an agent approached him about doing some work in America. Lee said he didn’t think much would come from that meeting. He was surprised when his manager received the script for “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” and he was cast as the masked Storm Shadow (aka Thomas Arashikage).

Long before Hollywood began courting Korean actors or actresses, Lee was already landing a steady stream of Hollywood feature films like “The Magnificent Seven,” “Red 2,” and “Terminator Genisys.”

Though he was already a huge star in Korea, Lee was treated as an unknown actor on the American sets, which he said he didn’t mind. He didn’t let those experiences impact his work.

At this point in his career, Lee is eager to keep his career interesting – which is one reason why he accepted an integral role in the international hit series “Squid Game.” Wearing a mask throughout his cameo appearance playing the Front Man, his face was revealed only at the end during a tragic sequence that hopefully will be explored further in the second season.

Fans are accustomed to seeing Lee tackle characters who are dashing and heroic on screen. One of his most famous roles is that of a righteous United States Marine Corps Captain who returns to Korea and faces his destiny in the hit series “Mr. Sunshine.”

But for now, he brings life to an ordinary man who’s working through his issues. And he hopes viewers will be able to relate to the slice-of-life stories told in “Our Blues.”

In “Our Blues,” you play a down-on-your-luck man who has no home and essentially lives in his truck. As a top star, you are perceived as living a life of privilege. What do you have in common with your character, Lee Dong-seok?

Dong-seok has a spontaneous side, like a rugby ball that is hard to predict where it will bounce off next, and I see a bit of myself in that personality.

What kind of roles pique your interest these days?

I put a lot of weight on whether the story is persuasive, whether it is plausible and reasonable, and whether it is entertaining to the audience in any form. I should be able to emotionally understand the character and find a way to portray him on the screen.

You have acted in so many films and dramas. Which role do you feel the closest to?

I feel a close connection to the characters in the drama “Tomorrow Love”(1992) and the film “Once in a Summer” (2006). I think many people assume that I am alike to the roles I took on in the noir or the action films, but I am actually similar to the funny and careless characters I have played so far.

There are so many young actors who hope to have the kind of career longevity that you are enjoying. What advice would you give to them?

I would like to tell them to hold on to the emotions they have felt in life as much as possible. It is important to refer to all the feelings and experiences they have gone through in life when acting. Gaining and holding onto those experiences form the foundation of good acting.

What have you learned about yourself from the roles that you’ve played?

Every character that I have portrayed and every work I took part in has affected me and offered enlightenment in one way or another, though there may be differences in the degree of their impact. While all works are special to me, I am particularly fond of “Mr. Sunshine” (2018) because it gave me the opportunity to look further into and study the period it was set in.

Circling back to “Our Blues,” what is it that you hope viewers will ultimately take away from this series?

I experienced touching emotions, and found consolation and hope ever since I read the script for Our Blues. I hope that this drama will be able to “comfort all wounded souls,” as the scriptwriter once said.