[Exclusive]"The Prince" → "Lady Dua" Lee Junhyuk's choice.."You can't just be a striker" [★FULL Interview]

*This content was translated by AI.

• Interview with Lee Jun-hyuk, the best artist of the '10th Anniversary AAA 2025' and the two-time winner of the AAA 10 Legendary Actor

From the movie The Man Who Lives With The King to the series Lady Dua.Lee Joon-hyuk's name is engraved on each of the recent popular films that go between the screen and the small screen. In the transformation that does not cover the genre, he is breaking down his limits by bringing up another face. This is why actor Lee Joon-hyuk's time does not stop.

Lee Joon-hyuk won two awards at the 10th Anniversary Asian Artist Awards 2025 (hereinafter 'AAA 2025') held at Kaohsiung National Stadium on December 6 last year, including the best artist and the AAA 10 Legendary Actor.

He has spread a wide spectrum through dramas such as "Secret Forest," "60 Days, Designated Survivor" and the movie "Criminal City 3," and emerged as a trend by challenging the first romance genre with SBS's "My Perfect Secretary," which aired last year.

Lee Joon-hyuk will attend 'AAA' again after two years. "In fact, I never imagined it would be such a large-scale event, but I was so surprised to see that it filled the audience, and I felt that the power of Korean idols and stars was enormous," he said. "It is the award ceremony that gave me the most awards in my life. There are four trophies in the house. I hope you will hold events on a larger scale in the future," he said.

The actor is always in the spotlight, but for Lee Joon-hyuk, it was never easy to stand in the middle of a stage where 50,000 viewers gathered together in "AAA 2025". "I think it's a difference in personality," he said. It's not a matter of this award ceremony, but I'm the one who feels too much for such a position," he said.

"I've realized something more recently. In the past, I thought it was uncomfortable because I wasn't the main character to keep looking for a corner at drama dinners. But in the main character's work, I found the same corner. "If I can choose a seat no matter where I'm in, I always go to the corner," he said, shaking his head, "It was hard to breathe to stand in the middle of the stage where tens of thousands of people were watching."

In particular, Lee Joon-hyuk, who was also the main character of the "Antal Challenge," which became a hot topic at the awards ceremony, said, "In fact, I didn't know what the "Antal Challenge" was. "I thought of a nightmare where I was worried about being pointed out by my teacher in school when the camera went randomly," he said with a smile. "But in the past, I would have been scolded for 'Why can't I enjoy it', but now I think they understand that there are people like this and there are people like that." (Choi) Daehoon was enjoying it so much. I envy that," he said.

Lee Joon-hyuk made a special appearance as Prince Geumseong in the movie "The Man Who Lives with the King" (director Jang Hang-joon), which currently exceeds 6 million viewers. He said, "I had no relationship with director Jang Hang-joon, and Jang Won-seok, the CEO of the production company who worked with 'The Crime City 3', contacted me. For me, "The Crime City 3" can be said to be the turning point of life, and I'm grateful, so I'm trying to help what I can help."

"I started this job because I love movies, so I don't avoid things that are in contact with movies. "The Outlaws 3" is my first major film, and I had a hard time setting foot in the movie industry, but I'm sad that the situation has become difficult," he said. "It's a special appearance, but I'm glad that "The Man Who Lives with the King" seems to be receiving favorable reviews from many people."

Lee Joon-hyuk said that the smiling appearance of his "fellows" is more meaningful than the meaning of the box office performance itself. "I know how hard my colleagues have suffered, so it's very rewarding to be able to see them smile," he said. "I watched 'The Man Who Lives with the King' at the theater, and I was very surprised that Yoo Hae-jin acted like a human cultural asset." When I saw it, I thought, 'AI can't replace this kind of actor.' (Park) Ji-hoon did a great job, and it's a movie that's very valuable to me," he said.

He confessed honestly the burden of playing the real person, Grand Prince Geumseong. Lee Joon-hyuk said, "At first, I talked with the director, 'Let's go to the language of historical drama.' "I tried to set the tone by keeping the long and short notes thoroughly, but I excluded it because I thought it would go against the atmosphere of the whole movie," he said.

"The most regrettable thing was that I didn't see other actors acting at the time," he said. "When I watched the movie, it contained much more energy than I imagined (after watching the script). If I felt that energy together on the spot, I thought my acting would have changed a little bit," he added.

Lee Joon-hyuk said, "I looked for Geumseongdaegun myself, but there was not much data," adding, "So I think I focused on the cinematic fantasy of 'I want him to be cool.' The director also told me a lot that I should be cool. It is all the more regrettable that I did not see the main actors' performances on the spot at the level of human cultural properties because the role of Venus Grand Prince is functional and there are not enough three-dimensional narratives. It is also very regrettable that we have not been able to work together," he said.

In particular, this work had a special meaning for him personally as well. Lee Jun-hyuk said, "I'm Jeonju Lee. In other words, it's a story of our ancestors," he said with a smile. He said, "I got goosebumps all of a sudden. Fortunately, it was not Sejo's bloodline," he said, and then added, "Of course, it is not Geumseong's side, but it was strangely strange that he played the stories of his ancestors, who may have blood mixed in anyway. I thought, "I can't believe I appeared in the stories of my ancestors," he said.

In addition, there are inevitably limited parts of works participating in special appearances, and "I've done a lot of special appearances, but there are parts where you have to fully trust the director rather than the actor coming to the front." "I think I trusted the director 100% and acted with the thought of 'I should make it comfortable for me, too,'" he said. "The strength of director Jang Hang-joon is that 'Okay' is clear and cool." You don't leave an ambiguous feeling for the actor. I'm not satisfied with my acting, but I'm grateful that the director put it in a cool way."

Lee Jun-hyuk, who recalled the last scene of "The Man Who Lives With the King," said, "It's the ending of a character in the movie, but it was actually the first shooting. So it felt more difficult. But I tried to act as plain as possible just in case it would stand out. This is not my story, he said. "But looking back, I'm acting this kind of resolution a lot these days. Until now, I have mainly played sharp and bouncing characters like Dong-jae," he said.

The change leads to the Netflix series Lady Dua. In "Lady Dua," which was released on the 13th, Lee Joon-hyuk was the detective in charge of the "Sarakim" case and the person who observed the case the most closely. He played a role in leading viewers to approach the truth by combining the broken clues into a single narrative.

Lee Joon-hyuk, who previously identified "Lady Dua" as a challenge, said, "Mookyung had to set the pace because he had to work with the viewers. In a way, he thought of himself as a goalkeeper position. The goalkeeper is not very revealing, but it's a very difficult position, he said. "My original favorite position is to design the plate from the back, even as a striker. I think it's an actor to take turns in various positions. "It was my first time as a goalkeeper, but I had to block nine out of ten times and concede at least one goal," he said.

Lee Joon-hyuk emphasized that "there is 100% favorable feeling" about Sarakim, and said, "I thought this work was not a story of Mugyeong, nor a story of Sarakim, but a story of people who resisted the system. Mugyeong felt that he and Sarah Kim were in contact with each other, and he must have felt a kind of homogeneity in them," he said. He said, "Mookyung lives like a slave of the system, and Sarah Kim is the one who destroys it. Of course, it's a crime, but I thought I felt attracted and liked in that part," he said.

"Personally, I thought the melodrama would be emphasized a little more in the work, but I think the genre would have been different if it had tilted too much in that direction," he said. After various discussions, the work has been organized in the current direction, and I agree to a certain extent," he added.

Lee Joon-hyuk, who once again expanded his spectrum with "My Perfect Secretary," who first challenged last year, said, "Melo is still embarrassed, but I think, 'Let's not project myself.' There is a work I want to do, and there is a work I want the audience to see. It is difficult to separate it, but now I feel, 'There are people who like this', and I respect that taste. I don't have to stick to my taste alone," he said. It was recently reported that Lee Joon-hyuk will appear as the main character of the romance "Silent Lies."

Lee Joon-hyuk has finished filming "The Lotto 1st Place Is Going to Work" and continues his "Working Hard" move by starting filming "Gakseong." In particular, he will challenge the first occult genre with "Awareness". Lee Joon-hyuk, who waved his hands as if he was embarrassed when he expressed his expectation for the priest's uniform, said, "I like B-class genre more than private clothes. I like all genres, and it's open, so I go in with the mind of 'Shall we try it?' and it always hurts and it's hard," he said with a smile. He continued, "But there is no scene that is not difficult, so I am trying hard. When will I memorize prayers in Latin?"

As for the reason for running nonstop, he mentioned the change of the times. He said, "Actually, it would be nice to be able to rest, but it's different now from the times I saw when I was young. In the past, it used to be an era of "mysticism" that minimized image consumption, but now, two weeks after the work we do is released, we can move away from people's attention. He added, "There's something I'm disappointed about."

"It seems that the work of people living in the developed era will be easier, but there is an irony that it becomes more convenient. In the meantime, I'm grateful to have the opportunity to work, so I think I should work harder. However, it is a pity because it is an environment where it is difficult to pour out purified water after preparing for several years. In the past, I thought, 'If I do well, I'll prepare for about a year and go into the work,' he recalled.

"Recently, a neighbor said, 'Why aren't you working so much these days? I couldn't see it.' I can't take a day off from work," he said with a smile. "I'm just living hard in line with the times," he stressed.

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*This content was translated by AI.