"I feel overrated." Eom Moon-seok's heartfelt words from the 'Hope' [★FULL Interview]

*This content was translated by AI.

"I'm feeling a bit anxious right now. I feel like I've been overrated, which puts pressure on me. People praise my acting, but it feels more like they're praising what the director created for me. Because of that praise, I end up going back to the acting practice room."

Actor Eom Moon-seok reached a turning point in his acting career with the film "Hope." Despite receiving praise for his performance, he appeared happy and composed rather than overly excited.

Recently, Eom Moon-seok opened up about the film "Hope" (directed by Na Hong-jin) and his journey as an actor.

"Hope" begins with a story set in a police outpost located in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), where the station chief, "Beom-seok," learns from local youths that a tiger has appeared. As the entire village goes into alarm, he encounters an unbelievable reality. Eom Moon-seok played the role of Yang-bae, a carpenter, delivering a powerful performance in "Hope."

Eom Moon-seok is receiving new acclaim for his intense performance in "Hope." His transformation was so radical that even viewers who saw the film could not recognize him as Eom Moon-seok. Director Na Hong-jin and Bong Joon-ho both praised his acting highly.

Eom Moon-seok said, "Perhaps because I've been active since I was very young, I don't feel too high or too low right now; I always try to stay in the middle. I hear it as a message that since I worked hard, I should work even harder and show an even better side. So I feel like I need to do more acting practice. It feels like starting over, and I think I must do better next time."

Regarding his character Yang-bae, Eom Moon-seok said, "When Director Na Hong-jin designed the Yang-bae character, he had a special tooth made for me. Even the tiniest details, such as the slight discoloration of the tooth, were crafted meticulously. After it was made, I trained wearing it for about a month. Pronouncing words while wearing that tooth is harder than expected. There's a sense of foreignness, and since I used my face extensively, I had to train in advance." He continued, "While acting with the fake teeth, saliva didn't stick to them, but as I performed, my lips kept curling upward. So, in the scene where I first meet senior actor Hwang Jung-min at the police station and deliver lines, my mouth kept drying up. The director even gave a direction to wipe the entire set of teeth at once. I truly acted based on that direction. I had no plan whatsoever; when Senior Hwang Jung-min looked directly at me, I immediately felt a surge of energy."

Eom Moon-seok added, "Just as Director Na Hong-jin intended, it was edited precisely around that point, so Yang-bae truly appeared as an odd character. There wasn't a single scene where I had any intention or plan. I simply tried to be real, like someone who just exists there."

On this day, Eom Moon-seok expressed special affection for his senior co-star Jo In-sung from the same film. He said, "Jo In-sung is only one year older than me. He's truly an amazing person. Even during the Romania shoot, whenever I saw him, I thought he was incredible. I am someone who works harder than anyone else, but when I worked with him for the first time this time, I thought, 'Is it possible to work that hard?' Honestly, I was shocked and reflected on myself."

Eom Moon-seok said, "He also told me, 'Moon-seok, you need to do more. You must work harder.' We shared the same accommodation in Romania, and he shared many wonderful stories with me. Although he is only one year older than me, when I was with him, he took such good care of me and treated me so kindly that I thought, 'I should become someone like Senior Jo In-sung.' His basic attitude and posture on set were incredibly professional. Even his horse riding skills were impressive. Not only was his visual appearance outstanding, but he also put a lot of thought into his acting. We talked extensively about acting, and we grew even closer by asking each other, 'What went well today?'"

Eom Moon-seok also mentioned the director's Q&A session (Director's GV) for "Hope," which he held alongside Director Bong Joon-ho. At that time, Director Bong Joon-ho praised Eom Moon-seok's performance as Yang-bae by saying, "He looks more alien than an actual alien."

Eom Moon-seok said, "I watched that scene more than 100 times. I was so grateful. Just the fact that he remembered my three-character name 'Eom Moon-seok' and even spoke it made me incredibly happy." He recalled, "Both Director Na Hong-jin and Director Bong Joon-ho talked about me for about five minutes? Maybe around five minutes and fifteen seconds."

Eom Moon-seok said, "I was truly moved, thinking, 'Is this really happening?' At the same time, I felt I needed to go back to acting practice. He told me, 'Moon-seok, don't become lazy; practice more.' That made me think I must do better in my next work and show a good side."

Finally, Eom Moon-seok said, "Now that people are loving me like this and talking about me so much, I sometimes feel proud of myself. It's the moment when I realize, 'I worked hard.' I recently returned after filming a movie in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It is based on a true story about someone going to save a person. I hope you will look forward to this work as well."

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*This content was translated by AI.