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| Actor Park Sung-woong / Courtesy of CJ CGV |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Actor Park Sung-woong is well-known for taking roles that are outside of his comfort zone. While most people know him for the 2013 crime thriller, "New World," Park has appeared in many other noteworthy films such as "Inside Me" (2019), "OK! Madam" (2020) and "Gentleman" (2022).
He is also one of the A-list stars who frequently collaborates with first-time filmmakers. Last year, he starred in Lee Han-jong's feature directorial debut "Daemuga." Park's latest "Woong Nam" is directed by Park Sung-kwang, who is well-known as a comedian. His next project is actor Jung Woo-sung's directorial debut, "A Man of Reason."
In the comedy film, "Woong Nam," the actor plays the dual role of bear-turned-superhuman Woong-nam and his twin brother Woong-bok who were separated at birth. Woong-nam, raised by his loving stepparents, serves as a police officer, while Woong-bok becomes the second-in-command of a criminal gang. One day, Woong-nam becomes involved in taking down the gang, fighting against his estranged brother.
The comedian-turned-director said the plot was inspired by the Dangun myth, in which a bear turns into a human after eating garlic and mugworts for 100 days.
The 50-year-old actor spoke about being in a movie directed by his longtime friend.
"I met Sung-kwang through a mutual friend 14 years ago. He told me that his dream is to make a movie and said he would give me his first movie script. At that time, I didn't think he was serious. After 12 years, however, he actually sent me the script and asked me to star in his movie," he said during an interview with The Korea Times, Monday.
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| A scene from the film, "Woong Nam" / Courtesy of CJ CGV |
He recalled that the original script was poorly written. However, he decided to take the risk because he wanted to help his desperate friend. He knew that if he turned down the role, the film would no longer move forward.
"Sung-kwang is like a brother to me and I really wanted to help him achieve his dream. So I told him, 'Put my name on the cast list and let's rewrite the script together,'" he said.
"My advice to him was that a comedy film shouldn't be a mix of comedy sketches. I kept saying that a comedy film should be easy to understand in order to make people laugh."
He said making the absurd story work around the constant jokes within its 97-minute runtime is an impressive feat on its own.
"I'm satisfied with the final product. I think it was edited in a nice way. It's easy to underestimate how funny the film actually is because people have a certain bias or expectation toward the director. I think Sung-kwang will be able to make a second movie," he said.
The actor said the most challenging part was filming underwater. "It was difficult to swim underwater with suits and shoes on. I drank a lot of water because I had to hold my breath underwater for an extended period of time," he said.
"Woong Nam" will hit local theaters on March 22.
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