'Hope' Jo In-sung: "Better to fail with something new... My satisfaction means nothing" [★FULL Interview]

*This content was translated by AI.

Actor Jo In-sung chose challenge over comfort. Through director Na Hong-jin's new work 'Hope', he pushed himself to the extreme once again, stating, "If audiences feel it is 'new', that alone is enough," and affirmed his belief as an actor.

'Hope' begins with a story where Bang-seok, the manager of a Pohang outpost located in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), hears from local youths that a tiger has appeared, putting the entire village on high alert as he encounters an unbelievable reality.

Jo In-sung dominates the screen through his raw, wild charm and intense physical action performance as 'Seong-gi', a character with extraordinary survival instincts.

Working with director Na Hong-jin for the first time, Jo In-sung revealed that he focused on "newness." He said, "I thought of it as a matter of whether to settle or not. After this much activity, I naturally want to try something new, and I believe it is better to fail while challenging something new than to remain stagnant. Even if it doesn't work out, I always hope to conclude my filmography by having challenged something new."

He continued, "'Hope' was also a very new genre for me, and I knew the filming would not be easy. I asked myself, 'Can't I challenge more?' and the answer was 'Let's do it.' So, when I received the offer, I was actually happy. I contacted them immediately after reading the script, and a month later, I met with the director."

Jo In-sung said, "If you look at the director's previous works, you can somewhat infer what kind of film he will make. The screenplay says 'run', but it is up to the actor to figure out how to run." He added, "In fact, I had knee surgery, and during my first meeting with the director, I told him about my physical condition."

He continued, "The doctor said light jogging was fine, but running and jumping would be of no benefit for the rest of my life. However, as an actor, maybe I need to run for this work. I thought the quality of this film should not drop because of me."

He said, "But the director asked, 'That won't happen; you don't need to worry. You'll do it, right?' and added, 'Once you're on set, there's no choice but to do it.' He laughed, saying, '(To Director Na Hong-jin) I decided to take a lot from him and get along well."

Jo In-sung explained the arduous action filming process. He said, "They told me to ride a horse with one leg. How can you ride with one leg?" he chuckled, then added, "I asked the martial arts team and the equestrian expert, 'Have you ever ridden like this?' and they shook their heads, saying, 'I haven't done it that far either.'"

He continued, "But how could I do that? Of course, safety measures were in place, but if your rhythm doesn't match the horse, you get thrown off." He explained, "I learned horseback riding for about three to four months, but since we filmed in Romania, the horses' habits were different."

Regarding the filming style with director Na Hong-jin, he said, "Shooting a scene 20 to 30 times is natural, and you must go in with the basic mindset that it won't be okay on the first take. I approach filming with the mindset of 'I will shoot at least 100 times.' So, if it ends in 20 to 30 takes, it is actually considered a quick finish. It depends on your mindset."

He continued, "Director Na Hong-jin is not the type who goes for many takes. He is someone who waits a long time to get the desired scene." He explained, "In Hapcheon, there was a scene where it shouldn't snow, but it did snow. Then we had to wait endlessly in full makeup. As a result, waiting time on set inevitably became longer."

He added, "Originally, filming was scheduled for about a month, but as a result, I stayed for about 20 days longer. The filming team often had to go back up and wait again to shoot CG sources."

Although Jo In-sung gave a performance that seemed worth the expression "I poured my body into it," he raised his voice saying, "My satisfaction means nothing."

He said, "The more I work, the more I feel this way: if audiences watch, are satisfied, and say 'this movie is quite new,' then that is enough. That is why I am breaking my body, doing action with bad knees, and riding horses. If audiences enjoy it, I think that will be satisfying."

Ahead of the release of 'Hope', a highly anticipated Korean film, Jo In-sung said, "I am not someone who has made a tremendous contribution to Korean cinema; I am just an actor who films because I love movies." He continued, "There is a flower called the crape myrtle. It blooms by breaking through the rainy season and sea winds, and it seems like the current state of Korean cinema resembles the fate of that flower."

He added, "Although the film industry is facing many difficulties both internally and externally, I hope 'Hope' will bloom fully in the arms of audiences like a crape myrtle." He stated, "It is not something an individual actor can control, but since this is a work made with great effort by everyone, I have hope that there will be good results."

Regarding the story after the ending of 'Hope', he said, "If you watch the movie, it seems like a Season 2 story cannot be avoided. However, I am cautious. There are likely realistic considerations such as production costs and the director's thoughts. It seems difficult to make a definitive statement at this moment. Still, I think the director already has the story of what comes next in his mind."

Jo In-sung is currently dedicated to filming Season 2 of the Disney+ original series 'Moving', another highly anticipated work.

He said, "When Season 1 of 'Moving' was released, I was filming 'Hope' in Romania. I heard news that the work received a good response, and I remember it took several hours just to download it because the internet environment was not good." He added, "Although it received much love, since I was on set, it is regrettable that I could not directly feel that popularity."

He continued, "For 'Moving' Season 2, since Season 1 received so much love, our goal is to repay that love," and stated, "We plan to film with our best effort."

He added, "'Moving' is also a work that uses a lot of VFX and deals with superpowers. To fully realize writer Kang Full's imagination, the actors will likely have to pour their bodies into it once again," he laughed.

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*This content was translated by AI.