Tidal wave
Top South Korean actor Gang Dong-won is set to make his Hollywood debut in Simon West’s Tsunami LA next year. But is the low-profile thespian ready for a bigger and brighter spotlight?
GANG Dong-won looks as if he wants to sink through the floor. The South Korean actor is in a room full of reporters at a swanky hotel in Kuala Lumpur when somebody suddenly points out that actress Han Hyo-joo, his co-star in his latest movie Golden Slumber, is very pretty.
He bashfully deflects the statement and looks down as he tries to hide a creeping blush. But at 1.86m tall, being inconspicuous doesn’t come naturally.
“I really hate those kind of questions,” he confesses with an embarrassed chuckle when we finally sit down for a one-on-one interview after the press conference.
“I don’t like being treated like public property,” he quietly adds.
Of course, privacy is a luxury when one possesses Gang’s movie-making magic.
Since his breakthrough in 2004’s Temptation Of Wolves, the 37-yearold has appeared in a string of successful films like Maundy Thursday,
Voice Of A Murderer, The Priests, Master and A Violent Prosecutor.
Critics adore his acting while audiences help propel his movies to the top of the Korean box office.
Would he take critical acclaim over mainstream appeal then?
“Can I say both? If you can get one of the two, then I would say it is successful. But if you can have the good reputation too, then that would be perfect,” he answers.
In an arresting oxford blue suit paired with a soft pink shirt, Gang looks every inch the movie star. Sitting across me though, he comes across more dorky than dashing.
Gang goes around giving reporters awkward high-fives and sheepishly admits his lack of knowledge in the South Korean entertainment scene.
“When I turn on the TV, I only watch baseball or the news. I don’t know what’s going on in the world of variety now,” he shrugs.
Hollywood calling
The Busan native converses – without the help of a translator – in basic English with an American lilt, a telling sign of the preparations he’s been making for his Hollywood debut.
Gang made headlines last year when news broke of him starring in Simon West’s Tsunami LA.
The disaster flick from the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider auteur is set for release next year and will see Gang taking on the role of a surfer.
“My character is a surfer but in the movie he is not surfing,” he says. Catching my puzzled look, he adds: “That’s because the tsunami happens from the beginning.”
Gang’s first foreign film sees him joining an elite pantheon of Korean actors crossing over to the American market. He will be following in the footsteps of Lee Byung-hyun (Red 2, G.I. Joe: Retaliation) and Rain (Speed Racer, Ninja Assassin).
That being said, Hollywood isn’t exactly something that Gang consciously aspired to tackle.
“I never really thought about it. I just want to be a good actor. If you become a good actor, I think people will come with opportunities,” he says.
Of course, Gang isn’t trying to play it cool. He gushes about working with an international cast and crew, stating several times that he is happy and excited.
At the same time, he expresses some reservations about taking on the once-in-a-lifetime chance. It will be an arduous process, he notes.
“Everyone will be speaking English. Learning the language is so difficult.”
Method to madness
With all the success Gang has garnered as a serious actor, it’s hard to fathom that he started out in the business as a model.
“I didn’t expect to be a model. Somebody just picked me up from the streets,” he recalls. In 2000, Gang was a first year mechanical engineering student at the prestigious Hanyang University when he was scouted.
That sartorial stint saw him walking international runways for the likes of DKNY, Gucci and Hugo Boss. In fact, Gang’s foray into acting was initially done to expand his modelling capabilities.
“My manager said models have to learn to act to be more dynamic in photos,” Gang reveals. He hasn’t looked back since then.
The roles he played have been multifarious – a delivery man framed for a politician’s death (Golden Slumber); sinister kidnapper who taunts a family over the phone (Voice Of A Murderer); disgraced seminary student embroiled in the supernatural (The Priests); and an inmate on death row (Maundy Thursday), just to name a few.
Maundy Thursday’s grim subject in particular, took a huge emotional toll on Gang.
“I struggled for a year after finishing the shoot for that movie ...,” he trails off, a solemn look flashes across his porcelain-like features.
“I kept getting bad dreams, and I would wake up crying,” Gang says, adding, “That character really affected me.
“As an actor, you have to really study your character. I just couldn’t shake him off even after the director says ‘Cut’,” he discloses.
Gang takes his craft seriously – something that’s reflected in the preparations he makes prior to shooting a new movie.
“When I read the script for the first time, I imagine the character in my head. On second reading, I will design the character and develop him from there,” he explains.
Lasting legacy
Gang is known to be notoriously low-profile – interviews are often few and far between.
“When I don’t have to be in the spotlight, I try to stay away. I feel uncomfortable when I’m with random people,” he confesses.
Is he uncomfortable doing this interview then?
“Right now? Hmm ... I’m good. It was harder when I was in my 20s, so I usually just stay at home. But it became easier as I got older,” he says.
The maturity that comes with age has also helped Gang to better manage hardships – on both professional and personal fronts.
“I just work hard and drink hard with my friends,” he says with a laugh, before adding, “and learn not to run away from my problems and people.”
All that aside, he admits the temporary nature of showbiz sometimes keeps him awake at night.
“That’s the most scary thing for me. I really love my job and don’t want to lose it,” he reveals.
“I really want to create a better path for other Korean actors. I want to be better than my seniors, and I want my juniors to achieve better things than me. When I leave, I want people to remember me as a great actor.”