Whether you’ve been keeping up with Korean dramas since a decade ago or are new to the scene, Lee Joon Gi shouldn’t be a foreign name to you. The 34-year-old Korean actor first shot to fame through his role in critically acclaimed movie The King and The Clown and made flower boys a trend in Korean dramas and movies. He has since been distancing himself from that image, taking on more masculine roles, from a gangster in Two Weeks to the fearsome Wang So (or 4th Prince) in Scarlet Heart. In town to promote his fan meet, [Thank You] Asia Tour Live In Singapore, which is part of the HSBC Women’s Champions Music Festival, the actor spoke about going to Hollywood and getting injured in action scenes over the weekend:
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“I would like to extend my apologies to my fans in Singapore. The first thought that hit me when I arrived here was, why didn’t I visit this country earlier when I have so many fans here? I would like to say sorry for visiting you guys so late. I was heartened by the warm welcome I received at the airport last night when I touched down. And I’m very excited to make great memories together [with my Singapore fans].”
“Actually, before this trip, I had planned to come here with my family as I’ve heard a lot of things about Singapore. I wanted to explore that famous street…Orchard Road. I also wanted to visit Universal Studios, eat delicious food, and go to the beach. We were planning for that but unfortunately, it didn’t happen. But I’m still here for my fan meet, and I want to make good memories out of that.”
“I can’t do it all as a professional singer, so I practised very hard [for the Twice and Big Bang cover songs I performed during my previous fan meets] because I wanted to do well. Even though I know my fans would love anything I do on stage, I want to put up a good performance for them. But I enjoyed the whole process of preparing for the fan meet.”
“I’m a little embarrassed to call it a debut because the role wasn’t major or big – it was more like a cameo. I still have a long way to go, but the entire experience was a very enjoyable one and I learnt a lot, and it was very inspiring. I see it as a blessing. I am honoured to be a part of the production. Till this day, I still keep in touch with Milla Jovovich’s husband (director Paul Anderson) and told him to keep me in mind for his future productions so maybe audiences can see me in his future movies.”
“Minor injuries are part and parcel of being in action scenes. As much as I would like to do those stunts myself, I put in ample preparations for the scenes to prevent injuries or accidents. If anything were to happen to me, all the investors and all my fans who have invested time, effort and money into the production – all these would go to waste.”
“I had so much fun on the shoot, together with the junior actors and actresses I was with. Most of them were at least 10 years younger than me. At first, I was a little concerned that there might be a generation gap so I wouldn’t be able to interact with them as much as I wanted to, but when the camera’s started rolling, we interacted so well – the chemistry was great.”
“I think it’s the opposite. I think I have the least prince-like traits. I was really inspired bu Haneul as the Eight Prince because I think that’s how a proper prince should be like. He has a warm and impressive side to him, and portrayed the character very well. I wouldn’t say I have the best prince-like traits.”
“Even if he was in the modern era, I feel like he will still be good-looking and attractive. But I feel that he won’t fit in the modern culture very well because he’s very aggressive, he likes to control and he likes to take the lead. He also has an inconsiderate side to him. He may not get along with the people around him. But I feel like he will still be a charming character.”
(Text by Hidayah Idris, CLEO)