Interview 2012: Between two men

“Confession of Murder” is an unusual movie in many ways. One of it being it had two lead actors. Two men who are distinctively different, both on and off the set.

Hear what rookie movie star Park Sihoo and veteran movie actor Jung Jaeyoung had to say about their roles and of themselves in this Cine21 interview from 2012.

Interview with Cine 21, 5 November 2012; Courtesy Translation by ParkSihooSsi.com

Two men: Jung Jaeyoung and Park Sihoo in “Confession of Murder”

There were two leading men leading in “Confession of Murder”.  They had a chase and be chased type of relationship. The main characters were Lee Dooseok (Park Sihoo), a serial killer who made an appearance after the statute of limitations had passed, with an autobiography that recorded his gruesome murders and Choi Hyunggu (Jung Jaeyoung), a detective who missed capturing him 15 years ago.

After working together under a tense atmosphere, the two men met for the first time after a long while for a cover shoot (Nance: for Cine21 magazine). Park Sihoo expressed his gratitude to Jung Jaeyoung who made working with on the movie comfortable.  He made the first approach on location and shared many stories about the movie.  Jung Jaeyoung also played a prank to lighten the atmosphere in the studio.

Let us hear the story of the two men in “Confession of Murder” in this interview

Facebook Video – Park Sihoo “Confession of Murder: Feature”, KBS Entertainment Weekly, 5 November 2012

https://www.facebook.com/parksihoossi/posts/396258224886408

Movie actor Park Sihoo? He is still an unfamiliar face. Last winter the reporter felt like that when he met Park Sihoo at the Youngpoong Bookstore filming studio. Wait. Let us not misunderstand, the reporter didn’t mean that he didn’t look good on the screen.

Speaking of Park Sihoo, it was true that he was a familiar face on television having played in such dramas as “Queen of Reversals” (2011) and “The  Princess Man” (2011). He was somewhat unfamiliar in movies as he was making his first movie appearance. Because he was experiencing this for the first time in his life, he was actively following the progress of the cover production close by looking at the photos of various actors on the wall of the studio and carefully checking the test cuts taken by the photographer. Promotion activities had already started. There were many movie advertisements on the streets. He was curious how the audience would react.  “I am very excited because it is my first movie,” he said.

A man whom we have no idea what he was thinking, Park Sihoo played Lee Dooseok, a strange serial killer in “Confession of Murder”. After the statute of limitations had passed, he appeared in front of the public with an autobiography entitled “Confession of Murder” which detailed his murders.  Was he doing it for the money or was it to get the public’s attention? It was not possible to know exactly what was in his mind. But it was clear that Lee Dooseok was not a normal man and it was obvious that for an actor, Lee Dooseok was not a character that you get to meet every day.

That was why Park Sihoo chose “Confession of Murder” as his first movie. However, when he first received the script, he did not want to appear. This was because  the filming of the movie would start two days after the end of the filming of the historical drama “The Princess Man”.  He shared, “It was a situation that I couldn’t speak of. (Laugh) I usually prepare for the character a month or two before filming starts. I wanted to take a rest because I was completely exhausted due to the drama.”

Rookie movie star shared what it was like between two lead actors

“So I was going to refuse at first. However, I read the script after listening to the plot of the movie and it was really interesting. I don’t know if there was actually such a murderer, but I really sympathized with the character in the story. So I thought I could keep up with him. In addition, as Jung Jaeyoung was also doing it, I thought I could ask him to share a bit of his experience. So I boldly chose to take on this adventure despite the somewhat unreasonable shooting schedule.”

Unlike Detective Choi Hyunggu (Jung Jaeyoung), who was characterized by his lines and actions, Lee Dooseok had a poker face that rarely responded to external stimuli. That was why Lee Dooseok remained almost expressionless. “I hear that a lot from people around me that they don’t know what he was  thinking as I was expressionless. I looked like I was actually spaced out.” (Laugh) My usual habit and facial expressions were reflected in making Lee Dooseok’s face. He is such a character. The fact that I experienced a movie has been a great learning experience for me as an actor. It is very different from dramas. Dramas are filmed quickly, movies scenes are filmed for hours at a time. I didn’t know it was this difficult to maintain my emotions and breathing all the time.”

Listening to him made the reporter felt more fulfilled than dissatisfied with Park Sihoo’s first work. The reporter asked him if he felt unfamiliar with himself on the screen. “Of course, it was a pity that I couldn’t prepare in advance due to my schedule. As such I had a difficult time, and I am attached to the movie because it was my first work. Honestly, I am satisfied. It came out well. It wasn’t unfamiliar to me.”

His next work would be SBS weekend drama “Cheongdamdong Alice” which was scheduled to air in December 2012 and he would work with Moon Geun-young as CEO of a world-class luxury goods distribution company. The image of “엄친아 Umchina” (Nance: This means “my mother’s friend’s son” which implied an ideal son who is perfect at everything and the kind of son your mother will always compare you to) came to mind because the character was a chaebol. Park Sihoo hastily prevented speculation, saying, “There will be a lot of broken images.” December was still a long way off. Whatever it was, it seemed an interesting change for the handsome small face TV star who moved to the big screen and became an unusual murderer. 

Two men finding each other in the crowd

Questions from readers of “Cine 21

Q: I am curious if you had a role model when you were acting as a psychopath. Who would it be if there was? Why?

PSH: I had no time to think of a role model because I had to start filming as soon as the drama’s filming was over. However, there was an impressive actor related to a psychopath. Edward Norton from “Primal Fear”. I was very impressed by the acting that suddenly changed after hiding what he was thinking throughout the movie. I want to act like that someday. 

Q: Is there a way to take care of your lip color? I wonder how you can have such a red and fascinating lip color.

(Jung Jaeyoung looked at Park Sihoo’s lips for a while and nodded his head.)

PSH: Oh, thank you for looking at me in a good way, but my lips don’t get treated separately. (Laugh)

Facebook Video – Park Sihoo “COM: Perfect Murders”, 8 November 2020

https://www.facebook.com/parksihoossi/posts/2576636875794859

Jung Jaeyoung : He is an amazing guy and he is taking on the role of a police officer for the first time in his life

Jung Jaeyoung walked over, his sneaker-like slippers worn with the heels folded and shoe laces untied. He wore white socks with the Adidas logo clearly visible inside his shoes, and spotting red, bloodshot eyes as if he had been chasing criminals all night long. “Oh, I have to nurse a hangover.” It was at that moment when actor Jung Jaeyoung’s simplicity and easygoing nature met his character in the movie. For a moment, the reporter mistakenly thought Detective Choi Hyunggu from “Confession of Murder” had walked in.

Choi Hyunggu was a detective who had to catch the serial killer, but he had not been able to do so. Just this way, Choi Hyunggu was similar to the detective in “Memories of Murder”. This needed some explanation. Choi Hyunggu was a smart detective. He was an elite detective who graduated from the police academy. However, his lover was a victim of the serial murder case and he had not been able to catch the killer so far.

When the statute of limitations had expired, Lee Dooseok (Park Sihoo), who claimed to be the culprit of the serial murders appeared. Lee Dooseok suddenly became a celebrity when his autobiography detailing the murders he committed became a bestseller. However, Choi Hyunggu was not easily drawn into Lee Dooseok’s provocation. Abusive language was constantly coming out of his mouth but his attitude seemed strangely cool-headed. Jung Jaeyoung’s performance which raised questions about Choi Hyunggu’s behavior,” was actually calculated. In order to turn the movie around, Jung Jaeyoung had to act without being caught.

Since it was not easy to guess Choi Hyunggu’s intention at the beginning of the movie, attention did not stay for long on Jung Jaeyoung. However, the more he pondered, the more meaningful his acting. It was also the skill of actor Jung Jaeyoung that added a soft touch to the somewhat hard character of Choi Hyunggu. In the initial script, Choi Hyunggu was portrayed as a static and meticulous character who didn’t have a sense of humour.

Veteran actor with no airs even with his junior

Talking with Director Jeong Byunggil created a more natural, thug-like detective. The audience would be less bored if the character had a lighter side. Besides, the storyline in the movie was unrealistic, so the characters needed to be realistic. Although it was his first detective role, he did not meet real life detectives to make it more realistic. There was nothing special about being a detective by profession. In reality that there is no archetype. If you think about it, he had always worked hard to build reality instead of easily following tested models.

In similar context, Jung Jaeyoung thought the action scenes as a business that did not leave much for the actor to express himself. It would be really hard during filming, but it will go smoothly in the movie. And action isn’t acting. You won’t say “Wow, you acted well” after watching the action scenes. Nevertheless, while filming “Confession of Murder”, he had to do many of the action scenes. From being thrown into a large fish tank to sprinting down an alley to being hit by a fast moving car, nothing was easy. “It was really tough. In the past, I don’t even know I was sick, but now I can’t move as much as I want to. It is all about mental strength, an essential part of making the movie.”

Jung Jaeyoung is an actor who has done nothing else but acting. So he acts diligently. He intended to act more diligently with the thought that  “Locusts are also in season”. (Nance: not sure I understand this expression. Maybe it has to do with every actor has his time to shine?)  Director Kim Hyunseok’s “11:00 AM” was almost finished with only a few scenes left. In December 2012, Director Lee Jungho’s “The Wandering Blade” will start filming. In “11:00 AM” he played a physicist who built a time machine and in “The Wandering Blade”, he will take on the role of a father who lost his daughter overnight. Jung Jaeyoung said, “The number of episodes is not important, the process is important.  How much energy each film consumes is of no importance, I will continue to take things seriously and enjoy the process of movie making.” That was why the report said he always had faith in the acting of this very human actor. 

Two dynamically different men

Questions from readers of “Cine 21

Q: Do you have any plan to film a romantic movie again in autumn like the movie “A Woman I Know” (Nance: aka “Someone Special”) which comes to mind?  Who is the actress you would like to be your co-star?

JJY: I have never thought about any particular actress. Anyone who likes me and wants to act with me is welcome. Actually, the character Dong Chisung in “A Woman I Know” was an ugly guy. He was an ordinary person who didn’t talk much, was blunt, silly, and had little sense, but I think many people remembered him because he evoked good emotions in the movie.

Q: How can I get a man like you, Jung Jaeyoung?

JJY: There are men like me on the street… . Well, if you want to get a man like that, bow (Nance: likely pray) 180 times