From "Old Boy" to "King's Man"..Yoo Ji-tae's dream of becoming a '10 million actor' in the end [★FOCUS]

*This content was translated by AI.

"I haven't been a 10 million actor yet."

Actor Yoo Ji-tae expressed his desire for "10 million actors" before the release of "The Man Who Lives with the King." Even for him, who has built a presence across screens, dramas and series, "10 million actors" has been a long-cherished dream, and he has won a "trophy" 27 years after his debut.

Released in February, "The Man Who Lives with the King" (director Jang Hang-jun) tells the story of a young king who was expelled from the throne and exiled from Cheongryeongpo in 1457, a chief who claimed to be exiled for the revival of the village. It has surpassed 14 million viewers and is proudly ranked fifth in the box office rankings of all time.

Yoo Ji-tae played the role of Han Myeong-hoe, the most powerful man of the time, in "The Man Who Lives with the King." Director Jang Hang-joon recreated the image of Han Myeong-hoe with a different approach from the existing mass media, and Yoo Ji-tae completed a new Han Myeong-hoe with overwhelming weight and strong energy by studying from walking to gaze.

Yoo Ji-tae, who has been at the center of the play with various characters between screens, dramas and series, did not have "10 million movies" in his filmography. Referring to the masterpiece "Old Boy" (2003), he told Star News before the release, "The movie is worth more than the number. "Old Boy also has 3.26 million viewers, and it is a work that is talked about all over the world," he said.

"Lee Woo-jin, who I played in "Old Boy," is ranked 16th in the world's villain rankings," he said, emphasizing that "times have changed, and movies are not a medium that can be evaluated only by scores at the time of release." He also expressed his gratitude to the audiences who still love his films "Agreed" (2000) and "One Fine Spring Day" (2001).

Yoo Ji-tae, who has emphasized the value of works that surpass numbers, finally became a "10 million actor" through this "Man Who Lives with the King," marking another milestone as an actor. After the 10 million mark of "The Man Who Lives with the King," he appeared on KBS's "Newsline W" and said, "There can be no movies without audiences. I think the number 10 million is unique to me and to our production team, he said. "As an actor who participated together, I hope it will be the biggest box office hit for everyone." "I hope it will be the third successful Korean movie," he said, "I'm encouraged by the fact that 'The Man Who Lives with the King' is a movie with a production cost of about 10 billion won, and the intermediate film has created this much success."

Earlier, Yoo Ji-tae diagnosed that the Korean film industry is currently in a transitional period and is moving to a new stage of change. He said, "The previous production cost of 'Shiri' was 3 billion won, and it was said to be a large movie. But now, a movie with a production cost of 3 billion won is counted as a low budget. As the structure centered on investment in large corporations has been established, independent films and large films are showing a polarized structure," he pointed out.

"Because the OTT era has opened, it has become more than meaningful for the audience to sit in the theater. "I think a new consumer base will be formed and a different market can be created in the future," he said, stressing that the essential competitiveness of Korean films lies in the "writer." He expressed his expectation, saying, "The form of independent films will be further developed and expanded into one 'B Culture', and a new industrial ecosystem will be established based on this."

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*This content was translated by AI.