Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean), Danny Huston (Robin Hood), and Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns) also are cast in The Warrior’s Way.
Jang Dong-gun is one of the most popular actors in Korea and Asia. His film Friend and The Brotherhood of War broke box office records in South Korea.
Jang Dong-gun came to Los Angeles last month to promote his Hollywood debut. In an exclusive interview with The Epoch Times, Jang Dong-gun (through an interpreter) spoke about his most recent movie, the movie business, personal observations about life, and how his life changed by becoming a father.
The Epoch Times: On the poster, it says “Assassin, Hero, Legend.” It seems Yang is a role with a rich and complicated character. What’s your understanding of Yang? What was most challenging in presenting this character?
Jang Dong-gun: My character, Yang, has no humanity. He has no human emotions at the beginning of the film. As time passes, he slowly gains some. Then, he realizes that it’s much better to give than to receive.
I think one of the most challenging things in trying to do this role is how you portray someone who is a warrior, who is a lethal weapon when living a very ordinary daily life. So I’m not trying to show a stereotypical warrior image through this character. I am trying to show this kind of warrior in daily life. That’s the most difficult part.
The Epoch Times: What’s the most impressive scene for you in this movie?
Jang Dong-gun: In the film, my character is someone who kills everybody, I mean everybody, but he cannot kill this kid. And because of that, he has a hard time all the way to the end of film.
Originally, I was thinking this guy pretty much kills everybody, how come he cannot kill this baby? Now that I am a father, I will be able to do this scene much better because I know how he feels.
Jang Dong-gun: Hollywood is the place you can make your imagination and creativity come true. They have the technology to do that and the capital to do that. And the reason for that is because they have such a wide audience.
In the case of Asian filmmakers or Korean filmmakers, I think in terms of ideas, they have just as good ideas or even better ideas than Hollywood. The big difference is that they don’t quite have the technology and capital to put those ideas into the reality of film yet. So we could learn from Hollywood technology.
The Epoch Times: When you were shooting your photo album in London in a castle several years ago, you mentioned about your past life. … How do you feel about the influence of past-life experiences on your life? Now that you played a role as a Western legend, do you feel anything from your past related to this?
Jang Dong-gun: When I was shooting in London the story you are talking about, someone who was doing the interview said he could see my past lives, and commented about it. I think if I really had been a Western gunman, that would be very closely linked to this film now.
I’m a Buddhist. I do think a lot about my past lives and also my next life because of reincarnation. Maybe that’s why I didn’t feel so strange doing this film. I can’t remember any of my past lifetimes. What I am doing is, I’m thinking about my next lifetime, [and] so I’m trying to do good things in this lifetime.
Jang Dong-gun: It hasn’t really sunk in yet. And since my baby was born, I have had to go out-of-town to work on a new film, so I haven’t really seen him all that much yet. So I feel really bad toward my wife and my kid.
So because now I am a dad, every time when I hear a story or a new story, or I read an article that has something to do with my kid, I pay a lot of attention to it. And because he is getting all this unwanted attention that he didn’t ask for, I feel very responsible that I need to protect him.
The Epoch Times: Are you concerned that your son may not be able to live a normal life since you and your wife are under the spotlight all the time?
Jang Dong-gun: Yes, I am concerned. But I am trying to think positively. So, yes, I will protect him. I will take all attention that he is receiving and try to make it a positive thing, and move toward a positive direction for him. And … it is my responsibility as a parent to take care of him, and also lead him to the right way. So I will take care of him, and lead him to the right way, and try to take care of all the little details as well.
The Epoch Times: You just gave your son a beautiful name. What kind of person do you expect him to be?
Jang Dong-gun: I want my son to have a really big heart and be very manly. And I would like him to be very considerate of everyone so that a lot of people will follow him and listen to him. And I want him to be a cool guy who has a lot of followers. [Here the interpreter interrupted with, “Like you.” Mr. Jang laughed.], Yeah, like me.
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