From shaved head to showing his skin, Joo Won has prepared so much for the Netflix movie Carter.
In an interview, the actor talked about the first impression he got of the movie. “As soon as I read the script, I wanted to do it,” he shared. “The script was extraordinary. I even wondered if it was even possible to shoot this in Korea. But I thought I had to go for it. Whatever the result comes out to be, I thought I had to show that Korea can make this kind of action movie. If we could show what was in the script, that was more than enough.”
Carter topped Netflix’s non-English film category. Joo Won said, “I’m happier than ever that people are showing interest in what we’ve worked so hard on. Whether they liked it or not, I’m just grateful that there are many people who are interested in my work.”
Working with Director Jung Byung Gil, Joo Won pulled off various action scenes. “I was a bit disappointed at first because they all talked about how tough it must’ve been for me,” the actor mentioned. “(laughs) I heard that more than about how they liked the movie, but I’m grateful that they’re acknowledging all the effort I’ve put in.”
He then showed his confidence in the action scene. “But I wanted to clear something up. I hope they didn’t see (some scenes) as computer graphics since they aren’t. I’ve actually performed the sequences myself, but people just assumed that they were computer graphics,” he explained.
In the opening sequence, Joo Won fought off dozens of naken people in just his underwear. “Actually, that scene wasn’t supposed to be shot in underwear (a man’s thong),” he shared. “The director probably was thinking something different. But I shot the scene wearing it, and I was wondering what he might’ve been thinking, but we thought that it’d leave an impact.”
Of all the action scenes in the movie, not one scene was predictable. The actor said that he filmed every day, wondering how he’d be filming the helicopter scene or the motorcycle explosion scene. He even got the motorcycle license to shoot the bike scene, but the sequence was so difficult that he needed a stunt.
When asked if he wanted to become the Korean Tom Cruise, he answered, “Yes, I do.” Above all, he showed infinite faith in Director Jung, who is well-versed in shooting action movies.
This year marks his 16th debut anniversary. He commented, “I’ve always tried to try doing not-so-easy characters. I’ve been acting with the thought that an actor should always take on new challenges. I’m very satisfied that I can keep that belief.”
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