Park Hae Il shared his thoughts on working with Lee Min Ho.
An interview with Park Hae Il, star of The Assassin(s), directed by Hur Jin Ho, was held at a cafe in Seoul, on September 10th.
The Assassin(s) follows the suspicions and hidden circumstances surrounding the assassination of First Lady Yuk Young Soo, which shocked South Korea on August 15th, 1974.
In the film, Park Hae Il plays Jae Hwan, the head of the social affairs desk at Dongseong Ilbo.
Park Hae Il worked alongside Lee Min Ho, who plays rookie reporter Young Il, as the two journalists investigate the case together. Reflecting on his first impression of Lee Min Ho, Park said, “When I first met Lee Min Ho, he was so tall and handsome that I thought, ‘Is there really someone like this working at a newspaper?’ I wondered if I had walked into a movie scene, and then realized, ‘This is our movie.’”
He said he also came to understand why Hur Jin Ho had cast Lee Min Ho in the film.
“Lee Min Ho has a masculine charm even in person, and he has the kind of image that reminds me of the late actor Shin Seong-il in the 1970s,” Park said. “It didn’t feel out of place at all. His delivery is bold and clear, and he has the presence of someone who could have existed in that era. If you look at Shin Seong Il’s younger days, you can feel a similar vibe.”
Park also praised Lee Min Ho for his dedication to the production.
“Even when he didn’t have scenes to film, he came to the set several times,” Park said. “The moment he showed up, fans somehow appeared. Fans from all over the world. It was amazing to see how many came.”
“He knew that, and even though he understood that his presence could make things more difficult for the production, he still wanted to be there,” Park added.
Lee Min Ho also encouraged Park throughout filming.
“He cheered me on a lot,” Park said. “Whenever he said something to me and smiled, my energy would immediately come back.”
Director Hur previously shared an anecdote about Park helping Lee Min Ho during a scene in which Young Il makes a phone call. As Lee Min Ho’s colleague in the film, Park crouched on the floor and delivered his lines so Lee Min Ho could perform the scene.
Park explained that the scene was actually Lee Min Ho’s first day of filming.
“That was Lee Min Ho’s first scene,” he said. “I wanted to see how he moved and performed on set, and the scene involved him calling me. Since I would later have to act out receiving that call, it was also a chance for me to rehearse my own part. So it worked out well for both of us. Honestly, I also went there partly to take care of my own work.”
Park also spoke about working with his other castmates as members of the Dongseong Ilbo newsroom, including Ryu Hye Young, Kim Dae Myung, and Bae Seong Moo.
“I had worked with Kim Dae Myung before in The Admiral: Roaring Currents, where he had an important role,” Park said. “We had the kind of relationship where we could understand each other with just a look. So it wasn’t difficult to share the same professional mindset.”
Park previously worked with Ryu Hye Young in the 2014 film My Dictator.
“I met Ryu Hye Young again after quite some time, and I’m a big fan of her as an actress,” he said. “Perhaps the director knew how bold and determined she was, so he created her character as the only female reporter in the Dongseong Ilbo newsroom. There weren’t many female reporters at the time, and I could see how hard she was working. She felt like a natural colleague.”
Meanwhile, The Assassin(s) will be released on September 23rd.
>> Lee Min Ho, Yoo Hae Jin and Park Hae Il Unite for Truth in Thrilling ‘Assassins’ Trailer
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