Interview 2011: Dark Knight Part 1

Riding the KTX (Nance: This is Korea’s intercity train service) for an interview didn’t make the interviewer feel refreshed. Whether from the title “Confession of Murder” or  a call to the manager to make time in the middle of a tight schedule, the actor’s situation seemed to be rather tough. From experience, actors often delay appointments or walk down from their hotel rooms playing with their handphones with puffy eyes. However, when Park Sihoo, who had been filming all night for three consecutive days, walked in, he strode taller than the hotel Christmas tree, and this interviewer’s “suffering from delay” disappeared.

Looking great despite the freezing water

“A few days ago, I filmed a scene swimming in the pool all day. But the hot water pipe broke down. All day in the cold water will paralyze you in five minutes,” he said.

The scene where Park Sihoo had to dive into the freezing cold water countless times made it difficult for him to keep his eyes open. Park Sihoo always laughed at the end of the story, making it feel it to be less serious than it was.

The same was true of the car chase. Park Sihoo’s narrative was cool and calm even when he talked about wearing only a bathrobe and rolling off the hood of a moving car with only a wire rope and hitting a car driven next to him.

The cell phone he showed the  interviewer contained a video collection of the car chase scenes. Behind those other tense video footages of Park Sihoo walking among the reeds which were spread out like the sea came into view. After finishing his schedule at dawn, he finally rested before going to Suncheon Bay to see the reed fields.

Looking at his natural distinction between working and non-working hours, it was like an ON and OFF switch. The interviewer saw a crack in the strong preconception that an actor would be difficult to deal with, at least when it came to Park Sihoo.

I got my vampish look. Like it? I am the Dark Knight

Q: Actors who film on location all night and when their filming schedules ended at dawn, usually don’t go out of the hotel on off days, right?

PSH: I have always liked taking photos so when I saw the reeds, I took photos. In fact, none of our managers wanted to move around but I tend to try to find something interesting to do while filming.

Q: You are making your first movie. How do you feel now?

PSH: I think I have come across a good piece of work. You can guess the expectations of this movie when the filming started just two days after the drama was finished. I was going to finish the drama and rest, but the script was so good that I gave up everything.

Filming a movie and a drama are very different. After filming a scene in a drama, I would go on to other scenes. I have been filming all day (Nance: on the same scene) and now I am adapting to the sense of time. A drama has to be broadcast every day, so I was very involved in filming, but I am now very happy that I have time to prepare for the scenes.

Q: How is your relationship with Jung Jaeyoung? He seems to be a serious senior.

PSH: We have worked together a few times, and we are very comfortable with each other. He is like an elder neighborhood brother. There is no tension because I am comfortable with the staff. Maybe it is because so far, we haven’t had many scenes together. Until now, I have been filming mainly of me fainting, so I have been looking at my senior’s back all this time. (Laugh).

Dynamic duo!

In dramas, I have often played characters that are department heads and have a fixed image. The character is usually a soft man who has never experienced the hardships in life. I went into a new movie without a break. This will be a new character I have always wanted to try. A serial killer will publish a book about his crimes after the statute of limitation has expired and become a bestselling author. I have always wanted to play a double-sided character.

It is like a behind-the-scene story and the psychopath appeared so evil, cruel, dark, calm and cold. Rather than looking at the character from many perspectives, he is assessed as a mysterious person according to the visuals presented. 

Q: Have you watched the Director’s previous work “Action Men”? What genre would it be considered?

PSH: The Director’s production style is unique and he is very meticulous on the set. He is particular about that. There have been no easy scenes in my filming so far. (Laugh) I wanted to appear cool, but I had Jajangmyeon (Black sauce noodles) thrown at my face, swam and was bitten by a snake, rolled on the hood of a car…The Director graduated from action school, so many stunt scenes were included and there are high expectations of the completed scenes.

It was difficult to digest the action, but I did it without saying anything, so I pushed it through to the end without having a substitute. It was really hard and I can’t even describe it… I had a difficult time, but the film turned out well so I forgot everything and acted again.

To be continued…the Dark Knight Part 2 tomorrow!