Lee Ji-hoon "It's a romance movie between the walls... Closer to the audience"

Lee Ji-hoon, an actor from the movie 'Close Relationship', revealed his views on handling romance without skinship in the movie. Even though 'Close Relationships' is a romance movie, men and women do not meet each other. It is a unique attempt in the Korean film industry, where it is difficult to find romance films recently.

On the 4th, Lee Ji-hoon started an interview at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, one day before the release of the movie 'Close Relationship' (Director Lee Woo-chul).

'Close Relationship' is an impenetrable romance that tells the story of an aspiring musician, Seung-jin, and a figure designer, Rani, who share their daily lives across a soundproof wall. In the play, Lee Ji-hoon played the role of 'Promotion' who is preparing for an audition for his dream of becoming a singer.

Lee Ji-hoon has been embroiled in a controversy over the shooting of the 2021 drama 'Sponsor' for harassing a staff member. At the time, the controversy was over, but additional revelations about Lee Ji-hoon broke out. Lee Ji-hoon denied the claim of the writer and staff that he abused power on the set. After that, the misunderstanding was resolved and the controversy was resolved, but after that, Lee Ji-hoon showed an appearance such as not participating in the production presentation. After the controversy, Lee Ji-hoon returned to 'Close Relationship' after 3 years.

He said, "Actually, after I've matured, if someone asks me in detail, I want to talk about it. What I can say for certain is that I've never been abused. I think you will be misunderstood if you listen to it. At that time, I also tried to quit acting. It felt like my entire life of 34 years had been denied. Still, I was able to act again thanks to the director and the head of the production company who believed in me. This work is more I have a lot of affection. I am grateful for looking at the person I am."

Ahead of his return to the screen after 4 years, he said, “Every day I tremble and my blood dries up, but on the contrary, it feels like a dream. They said they would go like this. I went to the Hongdae area, and I was surprised to see so many people gathered." He added, "After filming the movie, it was fine. As the release day approached, it came closer to me."

He felt that he was similar to 'Promotion' in the play. When asked what they are similar to, he said, "In the play, there is a line that 'Promotion' says. 'Everyone else is doing what, but I feel like I'm the only one.' After enduring such a time, the lines of promotion and the period of preparation for acting overlapped and touched my heart."

Lee Ji-hoon, who had been an idol trainee at DSP in the past, explained an anecdote at the time. He said, "The CEO said, 'SS501 is disbanding. SS502 will be made.' recalled

'Between the gaps' is a story that takes place across a wall. Because of this, Lee Ji-hoon explained that he had to sit alone in front of a wall and act. He said, "I was very worried when I first saw the script. I've done a monologue by myself, but it was the first time I acted against a wall. I stood in front of the wall for a month after receiving the script and tried to be as close to it as possible. Alone in front of a wall ( I put Han Seung-yeon's lines on my phone and tried to do a situational drama."

Receiving an offer to appear in 'Close Relationships', he said, "I saw the original work, and it was good because the subject matter was unique. It also fit well with the situation called Corona at the time. said," he replied. The film is a remake of the French film 'How to Fall in Love with Your Worst Neighbor' (2016) directed by Clovis Corniac.

Also, since it is a story of a man and a woman blocked by a wall, the title of romance without skinship was added. He added, "It was different because there was no skinship at all. At first, I was worried, but after filming the movie, I thought it would be good for the audience to have no skinship in their relationship."

Regarding his collaboration with actor Han Seung-yeon, who plays the role of 'Rani', he said, "I spent a month in Gwangju. It was awkward at first, but we stopped talking while reading the script at a cafe. From then on, I made a lot of effort to get closer. While filming, Han Seung-yeon The actor opened up his heart a lot,” said the episode.

When asked if there were any difficulties in acting, he said, "It seems that each actor is different. The way he approaches the character is also different. Even before filming, I tried to get closer so that I could talk to the wall. I practiced while doing a situational play. I thought that there would be times when I acted in the meantime, so I let myself go on set.”

Actor Ko Kyu-pil, who plays the role of 'Cho-rong' in 'Crime City 3', appears as a friend of Seung-jin (Lee Ji-hoon) in 'Close Relationship'. Regarding Ko Kyu-pil, who became an actor with 10 million viewers, he said, "I was with him on the day 'Crime City 3' reached 10 million. He is a lovely older brother." He added, "I was really surprised when I saw 'Crime City 3'. I thought, 'Is this hyung so good at swearing?'"

Regarding his impressions with actor Kyu-Pil Ko, who has a good reaction, he said, "There is a scene where the truck starts. I was acting alone and suddenly it was so funny. Everyone from the director to the actors were in front of the monitor, and everyone burst into laughter at Kyu-Pil hyung's expression." He revealed the behind the scenes.

Lee Ji-hoon expressed his affection, saying, "I think 'Go Kyu-pil's subject alone is acting'. I've worked on a project together before. When acting with my brother, we don't have to calculate each other. It's comfortable and we can talk without hesitation."

Regarding the number of viewers for 'Close Relationships', Lee Ji-hoon said, "We are aiming for 500,000. In fact, the break-even point is 450,000. The dream is very small. The 'Close Between' teams say that it is 1 million. Areas such as Daegu, Gwangju, and Busan. I also want to meet the fans at the stage greeting. I'm sorry and sorry if you come from afar. I want to do something for the fans who like me even a little bit."

'Close Between' will be released on July 5th.

Reporter Lee Ha-neul, Ten Asia greenworld@tenasia.co.kr