Lee Seong-min: “I’ll never play an old man again for the third time in a row.”

Actor Lee Sung-min meets the public by playing the role of an elderly person three times in a row, starting with last year's movie 'Remember', the drama 'The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family', and the upcoming 'Confidential'. However, he expressed his determination not to do it again.

Lee Sung-min took on the role of Pil-ju, a character in his 80s, in the movie 'Remember', which was released in October last year. He then played the role of Chairman Jin Yang-cheol in ‘The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family’. Now, he is a powerful person hidden behind ‘confidential information’. 'Confidential' is set in Busan in 1992, and a fierce struggle between Hae-woong (played by Cho Jin-woong), a candidate for a member of the National Assembly, Sun-tae (played by Seong-min Lee), a hidden figure in politics, and Pil-do (played by Mu-yeol Kim), an activist gangster, to get hold of a secret document that will shake up the Republic of Korea and turn the tables. A crime drama that unfolds.

Previously, Cho Jin-woong said, “I wish ‘Confidential’ would come out quickly before the ‘youngest son of a chaebol family’ season ends.” When asked about the popularity of 'The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family', Lee Seong-min started by saying, "It used to shine, but it's not like that anymore. It's true that 'The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family' felt real when it was broadcast. It was a huge hit. People were surprised as if it was their first time doing a drama." .

He laughed, saying, “I received a lot of calls from people in the industry. They said, ‘We’re watching the show,’ ‘It’s so fun,’ and ‘It’s great.’ They don’t usually say things like that.” He said, “I thought, ‘This will also end in a month.’”

Lee Seong-min said, "It became that way as I did it. In fact, I didn't think of the role of Sun-tae as an old man from the beginning. I thought I should play a broker with experience, so I raised the age a little. The original order was 'Remember', 'Confidential', and 'the youngest son of a chaebol family'. . Because of the pandemic, it became a little difficult to produce a series of works,” he said.

He continued, "'Confidential' should have been released before 'The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family', but it was released after 'The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family'. At the press conference for the production of 'Confidential', they talked about 'The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family' and there was a lot of controversy. 'Isn't this it?' “I did. When I was doing ‘Remember,’ I thought about the role of an old man and had a hard time. When I was doing ‘The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family,’ it wasn’t difficult,” he added.

Lee Seong-min said, "I have an experience while working on 'Remember', and I am someone who lives life's ups and downs differently than in 'Remember', so I asked the 'Remember' production company before going into 'Confidential'. I had to play an old man again, so I asked for permission to do it. “I was disappointed because I didn’t expect it to be released so quickly,” he explained.

Lee Seong-min said, "I think I have to stop playing the role of an old man now. The original title of the Disney drama 'Detective's Record' was 'Old Title'. After discussion between the production company and Disney, we decided to go with 'Detective'. My co-star Yoon Je-moon He said, ‘Stop playing old people.’ It’s hard to play young people anymore. I don’t have the know-how to play old people well, and I won’t do it again. I’ll have to play people my age,” he said, laughing.

He also said, “It seems risky. Korean audiences are accustomed to natural acting and realistic things. If there are even a few gaps, immersion is broken. I think that’s the way audiences watch Korean movies, so I think it’s a risky and cautious choice. Rather, when wrinkles are less evident, "You become sensitive. In the case of 'the youngest son of a chaebol family', wrinkles did not appear as much as expected. I don't take care of anything at all. I try not to be stressed. I think it's because he doesn't drink."

Lee Seong-min mentioned the reason why he chose ‘Confidential’. He said, "It was a work directed by director Lee Won-tae. At that time, I had just seen 'The Villain', so I was interested. I was curious about the director. I was attracted to working with Jin Woong. Jin Woong always worked with me. “He is an actor I want to be. While playing the character of Sun-tae, I thought, ‘I have to play a role like this at least once,’ and ‘I have to look like this.’ So I thought it would be fun.”

In fact, Lee Sung-min almost failed to be cast. Because the schedule didn't match. However, the casting was finally confirmed. Lee Seong-min said, "There were times when I received a book and was asked to do it. I'm not good at saying no. When I say no, it's often because of my schedule. Of course, if it doesn't suit me or I'm not interested, I wonder, 'Do I really need to do it?' "It's a different problem. Still, I think I've done it anyway if I'm interested. I worried, but the work was attractive, so I adjusted my schedule and filmed it. I wanted to try an image of an older boss with short hair," he said.

Lee Sung-min and Cho Jin-woong worked together for the fourth time in 'Confidential', following 'Kundo: Age of Civil Rebellion', 'Sheriff', and 'Duke'. Lee Sung-min said, “I had no worries” about working with Jo Jin-woong for the fourth time. He said, "There is a slight age difference with Jinwoong. I feel like our trajectories as actors are similar." He added, "Jinwoong was active in Busan, and I was in Daegu, and we started broadcasting and movies around the same time. We met in a drama when we were so-called unknowns and nobody. We grew up together."

Lee Seong-min said, “We even filmed a car commercial together once. There was a comment saying, ‘Hyung, we got here, didn’t we?’ I was very grateful to Jin-woong for participating in the movie ‘Sheriff.’ I had that kind of heart, so I worked with Jin-woong. "I feel like we're always walking together," he said. "The best thing is his acting. His acting excites me. Even if the direction of the acting is wrong, I use a thick copper string. If I act, I use a thin nylon string. It's strong, but the copper string is cool. “Isn’t it? No matter how many times I praise you, it’s not a waste. I’m sincere,” he said, expressing his affection.

Lastly, Lee Seong-min said, "I don't know about changing my image. I've played a lot of heavy and dark roles recently. I thought I should play bright and cheerful roles. I should stop doing that now, and shouldn't I act in a comfortable and natural way. “That’s what I thought,” he said, adding, “I guess I have to change now. I heard that ‘Confidential’ was coming out, and as soon as I saw the trailer, my heart sank because they talked about ‘the youngest son of a chaebol family.’ I watched it carefully and I did it differently.”

Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr