Late Lee Soon-jae, despite delirium symptoms, practiced acting and even asked nurses to do it [Celebrity Illness Death]

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Soon-jae's passion for acting, which continued until his final moments, has been revealed.

The episode of KBS 2TV's "Secrets of Celebrity Illness Death," airing on the 12th, focused on "Lee Soon-jae, the eternal active actor." Earlier recordings featured actors Park Hae-mi and Park So-dam as storytellers.

During filming of the 2023 drama "Gaesori," Lee Soon-jae experienced blurred vision and was diagnosed with cataracts at a hospital. He underwent immediate surgery, and fortunately, the results were successful. Although the production team suggested resuming filming three months later, he firmly rejected the proposal.

So Sok-sa (CEO) stated, "When I or my manager read the lines for him, he would mimic them as if he were on set, acting as though he were actually there. If he felt frustrated, he would ask for the text to be printed in extremely large letters. I remember printing about 20 characters on a single A4 sheet. Even at 92 years old, he had never used reading glasses. But at that time, he was wearing them. To be honest, he was also wearing a hearing aid. He always removed it during filming because he was concerned it might be visible on camera. So he acted while carefully observing his co-actors."

After "Gaesori," he appeared on stage in the play "Waiting for Godot," which became his final performance.

The representative said, "He scheduled too many events without considering his health. Performing three or four times a week while in poor condition was not easy. His coughing worsened, and he was diagnosed with pneumonia. The hospital told him, 'Given your age, a full recovery is difficult; you must be careful.' Yet he insisted on continuing performances. I told him at the time that, following the doctor's advice, we could not proceed further. From then on, he remained in the hospital."

MC Jang Do-yeon shared that the late actor thought only of acting until the end. "We heard him muttering in his hospital room, reciting the line, 'You who are facing this harsh wind and rain.' From some point on, he practiced acting day and night, and delirium symptoms began to appear."

Specialist Lee Nak-jun remarked, "Delirium is a state of confusion that occurs when cognitive functions collapse. Due to reduced frontal lobe function, individuals often display violent or immediate reactions. The fact that he continued practicing acting shows how deeply sincere and immersed he was in his craft. It is truly remarkable."

So Sok-sa (CEO) said, "He would practice acting even without sleeping at dawn. Since I wrote the lines, he even asked the nurses to act them out. It seems he wanted to keep acting despite his illness and hardship. Even when sick, exhausted, and losing muscle mass, the fact that he continued to act seems almost inhuman."

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*This content was translated by AI.