Jung Woo Sung talks about 'The Divine Move' & his 20th debut anniversary [Interview]

"Shooting 'The Divine Move' felt like accomplishing a mission"

Jung Woo Sung made his official debut back in 1994 through a movie called 'Nine Tailed Fox.' A young actor who dreamed of becoming one of the top movie stars of Korea is now not only one of them, but also a movie director. Jung Woo Sung recently casted in a new film called 'The Divine Move,' a 'one of a kind' action film.

Recently, actor Jung Woo Sung at an interview with StarN at a café´that is located in Palpan-dong, Seoul. On July 3rd, 'The Divine Movie' has debuted #1 on daily Box Office Chart, winning over 'Tranformer: Age of Extinction,' and Jung Woo Sung said, "That was a very good news that I did not expect to hear so quick. It feels great to win over a major Hollywood film."

◇ Jung Woo Sung, the best action star of Korea.. "Every action scene needs a long take"

'The Divine Move' is a very special film that has a unique blend of paduk(Korean checkers) and crime action, and Jung Woo Sung told that he knew that he had to show some amazing action scenes. Jung Woo Sung showed a great number of fabulous action scenes in the film, and Jung Woo Sung fully showed his caliber as an action star.

Jung Woo Sung told that he waited for many years to shoot something like 'The Divine Move,' and he said, "I really loved the scenario. I made my decision to cast in 'The Divine Move,' and I prepared for the film over years. The production agency of the film was just a new company, and it took many year for them to make a thorough preparation. I think the result turned out very well."

Jung Woo Sung told that he went through a lot of thoughts about all of the action scenes, and also told that he is very happy with how he did.

"I think shooting as a long-take is way better than shooting bit by bit when shooting action scenes. We have a great number of fabulous techniques around with us today, but viewers need to feel the pulse of the actor when watching action scenes. We could express the suspense and desperateness much better, and we had much less injuries because every movements were much smoother."

The highlight of the entire film is the action scene of Tae Seok(played by Jung Woo Sung) and killer(played by Lee Bum Soo). Jung Woo Sung told that the scene took the longest time among all of the shootings, and the suspense of the film hits the peak during the scene.

Jung Woo Sung said, "Shooting every action scene in 'The Divine Move' felt like accomplishing a major mission. The writer set up fabulous backgrounds, and every character should show 200% of them. Even very small movements look big and cool in this film."

Recently, martial arts director Jung Doo Hong told that Jung Woo Sung is one of the best action stars around. Regarding director Jung's comment, Jung Woo Sung said, "I am just an actor who is good at action genre. I think that is because I don't fear much. I'd like to say a great thanks to director Jung."


◇ "It was lonely to play as a character who fights for a revenge alone"

'The Divine Move' is a film about a former professional paduk player named Tae Seok making a revenge against a group of killer who murdered his older brother. Tae Seok teams up with three men named Ggong Soo(Kim In Kwon), Joo Nim(An Sung Gi), and Huh Mok Soo(An Gil Kang). Jung Woo Sung said, "Tae Seok sets up a scheme for his revenge, but he never gets an emotional agreement with the three people."

A great number of characters appear in the film, and balancing out between those characters must have been an important job for Jung Woo Sung.

"I don't know if there was any balancing out that I had to do, but not losing Tae Seok's identity was important. During his first encounter with Huh Mok Soo, I only showed a light smile in order to keep Tae Seok's calmness. Tae Seok never got to become true partners with the three men, so I intentionally tried to stay away from them during shootings."

Lee Bum Soo, who casted in 'The Divine Move' as the murderer of Tae Seok's older brother, had casted in a couple of dramas called 'There Is No Sun,' and 'Love.' Regarding his reunion with Lee Bum Soo, Jung Woo Sung said, "I always thought that he dresses well when shooting 'There Is No Sun.' I still remember the unique hairstyle that he had back then. I didn't really get to become a close friend in the past."

In 'The Divine Move,' the two did not have many scenes together since Lee Bum Soo was the ultimate target of Tae Seok's revenge. Jung Woo Sung told that he could not meet Lee Bum Soo as much, because he was shooting a drama at the same time. He said, "Lee Bum Soo always showed a great respect for me even though I am younger than him."

Regarding his kiss scene with Lee Si Young, who was the only actress in the movie, Jung Woo Sung said, "The original scenario included a bed scene, but the director cut it out. In the film, the killer actually watches the kiss scene, and I don't think a bed scene would have worked."


◇ Celebrating 20th debut anniversary this year.. "I am still going through busy schedules"

This year, Jung Woo Sung is celebrating his 20th debut anniversary. After making a major hit with movie 'The Watchers' last year, he is still going through busy schedules. On the day of this interview, he had shootings until 4 AM, and his face showed an obvious exhaustion.

"I am spending busy days as I intended. Everything was decided by my own decision, and this is the 'scheme' for my career. I never let myself to take a relaxed rest. The longest trip that I've ever had was just three nights, and I never yearned for more. I am planning to take a bit of break after what I am working on these days all get done."

At the moment, Jung Woo Sung is working on three different works, 'Madam Bbangduk,' 'An Old Man In Front Of A Killer,' and 'Don't Forget Me.'

Regarding 'An Old Man In Front Of A Killer,' Jung Woo Sung said, "I was going through tight schedules because of 'Madam Bbangduk,' but I took an offer from Hong Kong International Film Festival. I am very glad that the film was invited to this year's Bucheon International Film Festival."

'Don't Forget Me' is a film that director Lee Yoon Jung, who wrote the scripts for movie 'The Good, the Bad, the Weird,' shot while studying filmography in the United States. She has been a huge fan of Jung Woo Sung for many years, and she asked Jung Woo Sung to cast in the film as the main character. Jung Woo Sung said, "She was planning to link scenes from many different short films, and make it a long film. However, I told her to write the entire scenario again if she wants to shoot a long film, and I also told her that I will take the job after reading the scenario. I tried to find a production agency for her, but I could not find any agency that was willing to take the work. That is how I got to become the producer of the movie."

What are the reasons that made Jung Woo Sung, who was already more successful than any others as an actor, to become a producer? Jung Woo Sung said, "I always sought for chances of doing things that I wanted. I took the challenge without any fear, and things got a bit delayed due to various reasons. However, I don't feel worried. I am sure all of these experiences will become a great experience for me."

Regarding his 20 years of career, Jung Woo Sung said, "I have had a great fortune of having a lot of precious experiences, and I am still going through daily learnings. I am doing almost everything that I wanted to do, and it was very privileged 20 years."

Meanwhile, 'The Divine Move' was officially released on July 2nd.

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