“My role was hard for me to understand. But I was strangely attracted to him.”
In movie Deliver Us from Evil, Ray, played by Lee Jung Jae, is a character who the audience cannot easily sympathize with. He chases someone for revenge, but reasons for his revenge are not well explained.
It was not easy for Lee Jung Jae to fully digest the character when he first saw the script, because no detailed explanations about him were present. So he had to ponder over, “why did Ray chase after In Nam.” In terms of probabilities, it makes no sense, but Ray had the charm that only Lee Jung Jae felt.
“Whenever I act, I have the dream of expanding my limits. I had to fill in the holes left about the character. I figured that Ray pursued In Nam because he found a prey he wanted to chase, using his brother’s death as an excuse.”
Since there were not that many lines, he wanted to highlight his character with the visuals. For the first time, he hired a personal stylist and got help in creating Ray.
One of the best things about the movie is the striking action scenes. Lee Jung Jae was injured while filming them.
“I think I got hurt because I was doing these action scenes while feeling my ages (laugh). We planned to receive 15 rating from the get-go, so we tried to reduce the number of violent scenes.”
He played the villain role once again, following The Thieves and The Face Reader.
“Playing a villain allows a wide range of imaginations in performing. When dealing with villains, I wanted to perform differently, and I also wanted to add differentiated charms from my previous villain characters to Ray.”
Jung Woo Sung became a crucial part of Lee Jung Jae’s life. Coincidentally, he will compete with his best friend in the box office.
“Steel Rain 2: Summit is a work that depicted political and diplomatic issues with suspense. I also liked and enjoyed the end, where the director sent a message. I think you will enjoy the film because it presents a different color from Deliver Us From Evil.”
He also mentioned his friendship with Jung Woo Sung.
“The reason why we are so close is simple. We cherish each other and we feel it. I know that he’s on my sides and I feel like we’re on the same page. I’m grateful for him and he reassures me. I’m very proud that we started our careers around the same time and have been together until now, and that I have a friend who always presents colorful performances and receives positive responses from the audience.”
Lee Jung Hae will make his directorial debut with the movie Hunt (working title), which he had been preparing for 4 years. After finishing Netflix original series, Round Six, he will begin filming next year.
“Since I prepared, planned, and agonized over this project from 8 to 9 years ago, I naturally thought that it would be more effective if I direct the film.”
