Lee Jung-jae, Jung Woo-sung reunite after 23 years for Lee's directorial debut, 'Hunt'

Actor-director Lee Jung-jae, left, and Jung Woo-sung attend a press conference for the film, "Hunt," at the Megabox Seongsu theater in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Actor Lee Jung-jae, who is making his feature directorial debut with espionage action film "Hunt," said the hardest part for him was casting his longtime friend, Jung Woo-sung, in a starring role. The two actors reunited for the film 23 years after appearing together in 1999's "City of the Rising Sun."

"I've been showing him the script since the early stages of development, but he rejected it four times. I rewrote a considerable amount of material over the course of four years and was finally able to cast him for the film," he said during a press conference for the film at the Megabox Seongsu cinema in Seoul, Tuesday.

Set in the turbulent 1980s, the action-packed film centers on two rival intelligence agents, Park Pyong-ho (Lee) and Kim Jung-do (Jung), who are tasked with uncovering a North Korean spy stealing highly classified information that could threaten national security. They investigate each other in the process of discovering a larger plot to assassinate the president. "Hunt" was invited for the Midnight Screening of the 75th Cannes Film Festival in the non-competitive category.

Although Lee and Jung are close friends in real life, the two didn't speak to each other on set in order to play up the conflict between their characters, they said.

"Normally, the cast and crew go over every shot of the day and discuss a lot behind the camera. But we haven't talked much while monitoring this film. We wanted to build a strong tension between the two rivals," Jung said.

A scene from the film, "Hunt" / Courtesy of Megabox Plus M

Lee confessed that he got his start at directing by accident and he nearly quit several times during the years-long process.

"Initially, I was offered a role and then I just wanted to produce the film. I had to search for a screenwriter and a director, but I couldn't find one. So I took on the task of writing the screenplay and directing myself," he said

His 30-year-long career as an actor was a big help when stepping behind the lens. "I have acted in many different genres and I could remember action scenes that were difficult to film. I tried to remember those scenes when filming," Lee said.

Lee shot to global stardom with Netflix's "Squid Game" (2021), winning honors for his performance at major awards including the 28th Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards and the 27th Critics' Choice Awards.

To achieve a balance between acting and directing, Lee communicated with the cast and crew during rehearsals and table reads. "When working on the storyboarding, I invited the crewmembers of each department to come up with good ideas," he said.

Heo Sung-tae, another "Squid Game" star who plays the role of Kim's assistant, said that Lee read through the script out loud with him about five times before actual filming began.

"To be able to work on a film like this and work with Lee and Jung was a dream-come-true kind of moment for me. It was surreal," he said.

"Hunt" will hit local theaters on Aug. 10.

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