I don’t speak Korean so this is only based on the Chinese subtitles in the video. Q: What sort of preparation did you do before filming? A: North Korean dialect, martial arts practice, and bodybuilding for the character, etc. Preparations began approximately 4-5 months before (filming). So for North Korean dialect lessons, I would meet the dialect couch (teacher) 2-3 times each week, and practice over and over again with the script as the basis. Also, when the teacher and I are chatting, I will try to make daily life conversations using the North Korean dialect. In terms of action scenes, I prepared from the basics step by step with the action team before filming. Overall this took about 4-5 months. Q: You had to lose weight as well, right? A: Yes. In terms of this, rather than losing weight overall, I was losing the body fat content. I hoped that my character would have an appearance that feels solid, so I focused mainly on muscle training. And in order to give muscles that solid appearance, I lost some body fat. Q: Wasn’t that hard on you? A: mmm.. No, it wasn’t that bad. I’ve always liked exercising, and I’ve been through this kind of (weight loss) process before, so this time I felt like I had an easier time adapting. Q: What was the most difficult part of the martial arts practices? A: Building endurance is probably one of the most difficult parts. I have to repeat the same actions over and over until I get it perfect. And something even more important, more difficult is the mutual understanding.. like with the distances, or my action sequence at the moment, the preparation must be extremely thorough and well practiced. I guess this is also one of the difficulties. Q: Are there any interesting episodes during practice? A: If we didn’t follow through as per what we have agreed to do, it is possible to get injured. The martial arts used by my character this time are used to kill the opponent, so we were often fighting at an incredibly close range. Therefore, there were often scenes that required hitting vital locations or the face with our elbow or knee. During practice, there were times where we misjudged the distance by a little, a few cm closer than predicted, and resulted in hitting the face with the elbow. So there were moments like this during practice. Q: Between martial arts practice and learning the North Korean dialect, which do you find more difficult? A: They’re both hard, but I think the North Korean dialect is harder. Because my character is not one who is good at expressing himself, so there are many simple answers, or really short lines, but I have to express everything within these premises, so I spent quite a bit of effort in terms of the North Korean dialect. Q: There are many action scenes in this movie. Were you injured during practice or filming? A: Fortunately nothing serious happened. But while filming action scenes, there were always instances that caused minor injuries here and there. Q: Which scene was the most difficult during filming? A: Most difficult scene.. Ah.. this type of question is really hard to answer. Hahaha.. Action scenes and danger.. Because these two things are closely linked, this keeps me alert during the shoot. If i have to pick one, then… it would be the car chase scene where we shot at each other. It was a bit.. Now that I think back to it, that would have been a very dangerous situation. That scene where I was close to the ground and leaning almost parallel to it.. Because that was on an unfamiliar road, we don’t know what debris might have come flying up. The gun was also real. The remnants of gunpowder and explosives are actually coming out as we drive against the wind. On top of that we were filming on the highway. Like that, it was really quite dangerous. But at the time of the shoot I didn’t care about any of these things. Q: In this film other than Hyun Bin, there was also Yoo Hae-ji. We know that in one scene you two had to face each other in close proximity in a car. That was pretty interesting. Did anything interesting happen during the filming of this scene? A: Everyone seems to really like that scene in the car because it made them laugh. But other than what you saw on screen, our bottom halves were also.. Two grown men facing each other in a car in actuality.. That space is really tight, so I remember that we had to shuffle our legs quickly. And to act with a male actor in such close proximity, I didn’t feel great about it. But it’s great that the audience enjoyed watching it. Q: Was this your most memorable scene? The one with Yoo Hae-ji.. A: mmm.. It’s one of the most memorable scenes. Q: In many scenes, including the one we just talked about, you had great rapport and sparks with your co-star. In real life, or off camera, is it like that as well between the two of you? A: Recently I kept appearing in stage greetings with Yoo Hae-ji in order to meet with our audience. Lately he will always say.. He would jokingly say, “Only now we can be considered to have good rapport.” As we spend more time together, we become more comfortable with each other. We normally have great rapport, and as time passes, I think it has become better and better. Q: Do you meet with Yoo Hae-ji outside of work? A: No. After the film wrapped, we haven’t had any chances to meet. This is because he immediately began filming his next project. I also moved on to my next project immediately after this one. So we can only meet again during the promotion of this film. Q: This film is also the acting debut of Yoona. What are your thoughts on Yoona’s acting skills? A: First.. On set, she tries very hard, she puts a lot of effort into her performance. She would always approach senior actors if there is something she doesn’t understand, and always have discussions with the director. Because she is always full of cheerful energy, so her presence brings a positive atmosphere to the set. With regards to her acting, it doesn’t seem appropriate for me to comment. The reason would be that I don’t think I am the right person to be criticising her, but I think she is someone with great potential. So I look forward to seeing Yoona in her next project, and to see what kind of skills she will show off there. Q: Do you like action movies or love comedies? A: There isn’t just one type that I like. Right.. I can’t say absolutely that I have a preference towards one or the other. I always choose my projects based on the circumstances at the time, so there is no preference. Q: I see that it’s hard to choose between the two genres, but if you have to choose.. For example, through this film you gave the audience a very manly impression. So if you have to choose, would you prefer to be viewed as a manly man, or as a prince of a love comedy? A: hmmm.. My breakout role was in a love comedy. So the label as you mentioned “prince of love comedy” is also something others gave me. But these days I play rougher characters in some projects, so some people see me as a manly man. I don’t have a preference, and can’t say which is better than the other. After all, in both cases I gave my all in order to create the characters, and received positive reactions from the public. So it really doesn’t matter to me whichever it is. Lastly, both characters are me, so.. I like both. Q: Other than these two types of characters, what other types of characters would you like to challenge yourself with? A: Every time I choose a project, there would be invitations of various types. Whether it be minor differences in content, in genre, in character… since there are always offers of a variety of projects, as usual, going forward I will do something that I haven’t done before, and look for all sorts of different things to try, and do well on my performances. In order to make the audience happy, I have to make great works. Q: I see. After this film what are your upcoming plans? A: I just finished a shoot for a new movie not long ago, it’s already wrapped. Now we’re just waiting for post production to complete, probably around fall or winter of this year. Then I will be able to meet everyone with another new movie. Before that time, if you’re talking about right now, in order to bring this new film to a wider audience, I will need to work hard on promotion. Q: If there is a chance in the future, do you wish to meet friends in Hong Kong? A: Yes. From what I know, the last time was the Asian tour fan meeting after I returned from the military. That was back in 2013 right? Yes, I remember in 2013, I went to the fan meeting that took place in Hong Kong. It’s already been so long. If there is a chance, I wish to meet fans in Hong Kong again. Q: Finally, please say a few words to your fans in Hong Kong. A: The fact that I will be able to directly meet you all in Hong Kong through this new film makes me really happy, and I am really looking forward to it. I hope everyone will enjoy watching this movie. Because this is something that can be enjoyed with your family, I hope you will all have a great time. Please come watch the film. I wish for great happenings for everyone in this coming year. Please also stay healthy, and live everyday with happiness. Thank you.
Muito obrigada por está tradução!Um brilhante trabalho e um enorme presente para os fans desse talentoso,carismático e lindo Hyun Bin. Abraços do Brasil!!!
very sincere interview!!! this movie, confidential assignment, has a equal quality of action scene compared with hollywood’s. his words n thoughts are soooo intellectual
The most pleasant of interview's. Soft voices. Brief questions. Lengthly answers by Hyun Bin enjoying the show . A few days ago. A dreadful 25 min.interview. The STAR sitting straight on a too low sofa. In front of several women; loads of micros.. One woman posing question far too long , with a disagreeable voice . Hyun Bin was obviously not happy with the whole set up. I was amazed he stayed!
