Jung Il-woo "Fighting with cerebral aneurysm is the biggest turning point"

Actor Jung Il-woo revealed that he reached a turning point due to his battle with brain aneurysm.

Jung Il-woo, who returned to the play 'Kiss of the Spider Woman', appeared on JTBC's 'Newsroom' broadcast on the 21st.

Jung Il-woo debuted in 2006 with the MBC sitcom ‘Unstoppable High Kick’. He said, "I also think it was a long time ago, but these days, things are turning around again, so many people are talking about it and I'm just thankful." He added, "While changing channels, I happen to see a rerun of the show. In my case, I can't watch my own works anymore. My hands and feet cringe, so I change the channel."

Jung Il-woo explained, "I have been an actor for 18 years now, and this work became the foundation for that work. I also think I am truly lucky to meet the character of my life in my debut work. I still think it is a work for which I am very grateful." . He said, "I think I had a lot of worries when I was in my 20s. I tried to play different characters, but now that I'm in my 30s, I think I should create a more developed character rather than breaking that image." He confessed it honestly.

Fans call Jung Il-woo ‘tree frog’. He said, "I think I have a bit of a quirky side too. So there's an image that the fans want, but in fact, even after doing 'high kicks without hesitation,' I still wanted to try something different. So the fans wanted me to do 'high kicks without hesitation.' “After it was over, they wanted me to film a romantic drama or something like that, but I tried another historical drama. I think I got that nickname again because I took on various challenges,” he explained.

Jung Il-woo is appearing in the play 'Kiss of the Spider Woman', which opened at Yegreen Theater on January 21st. 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' is a work about the warm humanity and love that blooms as Molina and Valentin, two characters with completely different ideologies and thoughts, meet in prison and accept each other. Jung Il-woo said, “I really wanted to do this work because I always had a desire to challenge myself with works that are difficult to cover in the media or characters with depth. “It contains the inevitable loneliness and sadness of Iran itself. I am currently preparing with the desire to express that love to the best of my ability,” he said.

He also mentioned that he had been diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. Jung Il-woo confessed, "The biggest turning point of my 20s is that I was a bit sick, so going through that time made me truly grateful every day, and my attitude and attitude toward my work changed." He said, "I still feel like I have a lot more time to break down, and I think I need that time to become stronger and more mature. I'm still in my 30s, so I need more experience, but even though it's not visible to others, I'm still very fierce in my own way. “I wonder if I’m living it,” he said.

Jung Il-woo says, “Villains are attractive characters.” He said, "I think I have this kind of evil, so if there is a good villain character, please call me at any time and I will work hard. I don't think it's easy to define a good actor in one word. In fact, I think an actor's imagination comes from his gaze. That's why there are so many different characters. Point of view and an unbiased point of view. When you look for the beauty of another person, you sympathize and understand this person from that point of view. I think those things are very important as an actor. So, when I look at the work from that point of view and analyze the character, it becomes more general. “I think there will be a character that is not like this,” he said.

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