'The Assassin(s)' Director Hur Jin-ho Praises Park Hae-il: "He's Wonderful as Both an Actor and a Human"

Director Hur Jin-ho, who directed the film "The Assassin(s)," used the word "respect" when speaking about Park Hae-il.

On the afternoon of the 10th in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, Director Hur Jin-ho held an interview to commemorate the release of the film "The Assassin(s)." Regarding Park Hae-il, with whom he is working for the second time following "The Last Princess" (2014), he started by sharing a point of connection in their tastes, saying, "Both of us like makgeolli. So whenever our eyes meet, we tend to say things like, 'Makgeolli!'"

He continued, "I have told actor Park Hae-il in private that I 'respect' him. As I felt during 'The Last Princess' as well, Park Hae-il is a wonderful person both as a human and as an actor. In this project too, I was deeply moved by his diligence and dedication as an actor."

Director Hur Jin-ho revealed, "There is a scene where Yeong-il, played by Lee Minho, has an incident happen and calls the newspaper desk chief Jae-hwan (Park Hae-il) to report the situation. As you know, in the case of telephone scenes, the counterpart's scene is added through later editing, so actor Park Hae-il did not need to be on set. Usually, the directing team stands in to perform the voice acting for phone calls. The day of shooting that scene was especially hot, but actor Park Hae-il came out to the set anyway even though he had no shooting scenes of his own. It was a scene that went over ten takes, and he did the voice acting for the phone call from start to end. I was surprised, and the other actors on set were surprised too."

He added, "He has now become a mid-career actor, and he tries to fulfill his role right where he is. I felt that the character of Jae-hwan was just like him. I was surprised watching him act by saying, 'Did you leave the article to me?' Not only was he serious, but he also added wit with casual touches in his acting. It made me think, 'He's charming, isn't he?' It was amazing to see his endless contemplation on how to express this character and his efforts to add dimensionality to the character."

In this project, Park Hae-il takes on the role of Jae-hwan, a city desk reporter covering the assassination of the First Lady, delivering a passionate performance that exemplifies upright journalism (meaning upholding just arguments and recording facts exactly as they are).

"The Assassin(s)" tells the story of tracking the suspicions and behind-the-scenes forces of the First Lady assassination incident that shocked South Korea on August 15, 1974. It was directed by Director Hur Jin-ho, who made "Christmas in August" and "The Last Princess," and stars Yoo Hai-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Minho.

The film is scheduled to be released on September 23.

(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)