Thanks Prettysup for posting this on Soompi JH thread. Please visit it for more JH news and fangirling. I also added some more excerpts translated by Jane on IG.
Jang Hyuk “Unprecedented emotional Lee Bang-won, great pleasure to create”
The name of actor Jang Hyuk, 44, has been engraved in the historical drama’s beloved character “Lee Bang-won Club”, joining other actors who had previously given impressive performances of this person. Jang Hyuk has once again created a new character in the viewers’ minds that appear whenever Lee Bang-won’s name is mentioned.
Q : Which was the hardest scene in this work?
A : Every single scene. In every scene, we have to constantly calculate and agonize whether should I turn this way or that way? Should I show my front or my back? Should I hold a sword or my fan with me?
Q : Lee Bang-won holding a fan is something new. Is this in the original script?
A : I just brought one from somewhere (laughing). Kim Gyu-ri painted a picture on the fan, she has been painting folktales since “Beauty”. I said, “It will be nice if there is something that reminds you of Lee Bang-won’s feelings, can you draw a picture for me?” So she did a lyrical portrayal of a full moon and bamboo swaying in the wind. I liked the picture, so I decided to use it as a prop.
Q : Can you say the scene burning the fan at the end was almost ad lib?
A : Yes, when I burn the fan, my mind will be thinking “Everyone dies”.
Q : Will you play Lee Bang-won again in another film?
A : I don’t know yet. After ‘The Age of Innocence’ was over, I wanted to do it again, but now I don’t know. I’m not saying that I’m done with Lee Bang-won already, but I’m wondering if I can show viewers something else. Not right now, but I think the story of Lee Bang-won after becoming king will be another interesting one.
Q : We only have a month left this year, what’s your year-end plan?
A : I will be doing next year’s work (OCN drama ‘Tell Me What You Saw’)(laughing) We’ll be shooting from early December.
Q : Don’t you need time to recharge, such as travel or rest?
A : I’m going to recharge at the scene. Haha. It’s different, we’re going to a different scene. I enjoy my work. Happiness is not the only pleasure. Sometimes there are annoying, angry, and stuffy parts, but I feel like my day is thicker when I’m on the scene. Sometimes, when I meet a wall (problem) at the scene, I feel frustrated, but I enjoy the process of solving it.
Q : When did you start to enjoy being at the scene ?
A : Of course it wasn’t from the beginning. There were times when I wished there were no walls, and there was a feeling of pain when I bumped into them. I’ve been boxing for a long time, and if I want to hit, I have to get hit first. After a painful time, even the match becomes fun at some point. I think acting is just as hard and fun as I get through it.
Q: You will be playing the role of genius profiler Oh Hyun-jae in the next project. I wonder what kind of character it will be?
A : Director Kim Hong-sun, who directed “Voice 1,” gave me an offer. Looking at the script, the process of solving the case looks good and the character was fun. This is a character that is on the opposite side of Lee Bang-won. In comparison to animals, if Lee Bang-won feels like a tiger, Oh Hyun-jae is like a hawk. He identifies his target, hovers round and round, and catches the person when he gets the chance.
Q: These days, more celebrities are communicating with the public outside of their acting, such as through YouTube and SNS.
A : I’m on SNS too, but I’m not active. I think I should have my own time. I have a job to do, but I think I should have my own time.
Q : What do you usually do in your own time?
A : Work in the office (laughs). After work, practice boxing in the gym, go home, drink a beer and watch a movie after putting kids to bed, take the youngest to kindergarten in the morning. My eldest son is playing soccer, and if there is a match, I will go watch him. That’s the routine.
Q : It’s like a typical father’s routine.
A : It is not exemplary, haha. My father went abroad for a long time when I was a child because of his construction work. I only get to meet him for a month within a year, and even when he was in Korea, he will be busy going to local sites. That was the case with most fathers at that time. Because I felt my father’s absence, time spent with my family is precious. When the child grows older, his friends will come first before his parent. It is not long before my kids reach that, so now everyday is happiness.
Q: Are you still “passionate” Jang Hyuk?
A: While filming “Volcano High” I wrote “passion” on a chair on the set and “passionate” on “Jungle Juice” (laughs). I feel the same back then and now. I guess that’s what I wanted to mark then. I seemed to only have passion. And I think it’s the same now. I have some worries about how I will go forward and what will I leave behind. Plus the mind of “giving the best as much as I know” is the same as well.
Q: What words would you use if you carved a phrase in your chair now?
A: Well…I just want to say “enjoy it”
Stuck on Hyuk 