Become a Star

At the end of the day, the actual Prince Myeong-Hwan and Red Enemy’s Lee Hoo were both Chae Woo-Jin. Woo-Jin had always looked at his past lives objectively before evaluating and sensing them. However, Red Enemy’s Lee Hoo was not such a person. He was very sensitive and empathetic. And while he had a rational mind, he was also impulsive and had a great sense of aesthetics.

Red Enemy’s Lee Hoo painted a picture in his head and went on an adventure in the imaginary world he created. What would he think of Prince Myeong-Hwan from Woo-Jin’s past life? How did the 18-year-old view the situation in which he asked his older brother to kill him, while making it seem like he was on his way to pay his mother a visit? They shared the same name and were in the same situation, but they each had a slightly different personality, so the actual Prince Myeong-Hwan seemed more immature and weaker. What if Lee Hoo couldn’t hold back his tears after perceiving that the actual Prince Myeong-Hwan was someone who was more pathetic than himself?

“Damn it…” Director Yoon heard Woo-Jin swear unintentionally next to him. He gently patted Woo-Jin on the back.

“This only happened because you looked at the character with empathy and kindness.”

“But I’m getting way ahead of myself. Prince Myeong-Hwan sympathizing with Prince Myeong-Hwan.” After hearing what Woo-Jin said, DIrector Yoon quickly understood what happened, even though it was slightly different from his original expectations.

“Perhaps your version of Prince Myeong-Hwan thought he was different from the actual Prince Myeong-Hwan?”

“Yes. Red Enemy’s Lee Hoo is a little different from what I imagined Prince Myeong-Hwan to be.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. More importantly, if your version of Prince Myeong-Hwan felt that way, wouldn’t it mean that half of the battle is won?”

“Half of the battle is won?” Woo-Jin fiddled with the wet handkerchief as he muttered weakly. Before he began acting, he was worried that the actual Prince Myeong-Hwan’s personality would surface, but he didn’t expect the other prince to act on his own discretion.

“Maybe your version of Prince Myeong-Hwan will be the first audience member of our movie.”

“Audience member?”

“He has knowledge of all the facts and we made him cry, so all that’s left for us to do is to move the hearts of the audience members, no? Regardless of whether or not they like our movie, I want them to feel the same emotions.”

Director Yoon pointed to the old tree behind them. The tree must have lived on for hundreds of years; its trunk was thick and solid. “It’s beautiful, right? Even people who don’t like this tree would be in awe when they look at it.”

“Are you trying to tell me to be like a tree?”

“No. What we’re going to do right now is to look at the tree and take a break.[1] Isn’t it tiring to search for the hidden lessons to learn in everything that we see? We’re just going to just relax for a bit and enjoy the shade and beautiful scenery that Mother Nature provided us.”

After hearing DIrector Yoon’s words, Woo-Jin closed his eyes and calmly inhaled the fragrant scent emanating from the tree. He could smell the scent of young saplings and the scent of soil emanating from the ground, etc. It smelled just like the scent of spring.

“This is nice, but why am I feeling increasingly uneasy?”

“Because you have a lot of unfinished assignments.” And for actors, their assignments were ultimately directly related to acting. Director Yoon said that acting was similar to that tree. The tree must have fought intense battles over hundreds of years in order to survive, but it was aesthetically pleasing to the people who looked at it and brought them comfort.

“There are several answers when it comes to acting, and the answer differs from person to person.”

“Isn’t it because there isn’t a correct answer?”

“The correct answer is different for each individual. If there isn’t a correct answer, doesn’t it mean that the answers they found were all wrong?” Even the same person’s answer changes from time to time. Whenever people changed, it was only natural for their acting style to change as well.

“Im Ji-Young is well aware of this. She knows that there are a lot of correct answers, but since she doesn’t know who it’ll come from, she always has the tendency to listen to people and observe them. Some people say she has no self-respect as an actress because of that, but her acting has never once disappointed anyone.”

Director Yoon Seon brought it up as he recalled Woo-Jin pointing out Queen Moon-Jin’s tone during the table read. If there was a clear basis in the other party’s words, Im Ji-Young was not embarrassed about taking advice from them regardless of who they were. She was an actress who felt that making an error in acting or making an inaccurate representation for the sake of protecting one’s pride was shameful.

On the other hand, if it had been Kwak Eun-Hyuk, then even in the same situation, it never would have happened. In the first place, he wouldn’t have asked Woo-Jin for his opinions about what he had done wrong after looking at Woo-Jin’s facial expression. That said, it didn’t mean that his acting style was bad nor wrong.

“Kwak Eun-Hyuk has his own acting style. Just like what you’ve seen earlier, his rendition of the king’s look of anguish was very impressive." Even without seeking advice, Kwak Eun-Hyuk’s acting was flawless. His fingertips were trembling as though he was looking at the real Inyeoung-Gun.

“You don’t have to decide on an acting style right now. Just act accordingly to what you feel is right. If you make a mistake like just now, I will reject the scene and help you out. Follow your heart’s desire and do whatever you want. Trust me and don’t be too afraid of bad takes.”

Chae Woo-Jin was famous for having very few bad takes. In the beginning, he did have dozens of bad takes for one scene in City of Shadows, but once he got the hang of it, he barely received any bad takes. For actors like Woo-Jin who had barely gotten any bad takes, at some point when their scenes started getting rejected, they’d wonder if there was something wrong with their acting; or if their acting had gotten worse; or that the director was picking on them. Just because an actor barely received bad takes, it didn’t mean they were a good actor. Similarly, just because an actor received a lot of bad takes, it didn’t mean that they were a terrible actor.

“To be honest, nobody knows the emotions of a particular character in the show as well as the actor portraying it. There’s a flow that a writer or director looks out for, but there are times when an actor gets carried away by emotions and their acting turns out to be unexpectedly good. It’s on the production crew to evaluate it objectively.” It was a stage for actors to act to their hearts’ content, and it was the production crew’s responsibility to tweak, organize and direct the stage. Because their roles were clearly divided this way, the actors could immerse themselves in their roles.

“If your version of Prince Myeong-Hwan thinks that the actual Prince Myeong-Hwan looks pitiful, then isn’t that how he looks? And that is also the emotion that our audience members will see and feel. As the first audience member of our movie, you’re probably the only one who can best express that feeling and mood.” After hearing what Director Yoon Seon said, Woo-Jin’s mind cleared up, as though he was hit by a cool breeze.

He decided to not think too much about bad takes. Even if Red Enemy’s Lee Hoo got carried away with his emotions, Woo-Jin decided to take it as part of the process of perfecting his acting. After getting a couple of bad takes, he would eventually get it right.

‘After all, I’m an actor who has not reached his full potential.’

Just because he picked the wrong answer out of the many different ones, didn’t mean that all the other answers were wrong too.

After deciding to become Prince Myeong-Hwan, Woo-Jin’s mind never felt lighter. He felt as though he kind of knew what it felt like to trust the director and focus on acting.

After the shoot ended, the actors and the production crew gathered around and looked at the scenes they had shot and shared their thoughts. Kwak Eun-Hyuk watched his scene with a cold gaze with bated breath. Kwak Eun-Hyuk was extremely engrossed in it. Soon after, he combed his hair back with his fingers, looking very pleased with himself.

“My skin looks clear and there aren’t any wrinkles around my eyes.” Even though his comment had nothing to do with his acting, it was Kwak Eun-Hyuk’s own way of expressing it.

“Even though the second attempt was better, the initial scene with the bad take was rather good too.” Kwak Eun-Hyuk liked the scene where Woo-Jin teared up and got a bad take. Perhaps Director Yoon felt the same way, he called Woo-Jin and came up with a plan.

“I agree, it wasn’t bad. Lee Hoo, cry for real the next time around.”

Woo-Jin’s first attempt at acting revealed the emotions of the character, and his second attempt subconsciously drew out the audience’s emotions. Even though the second attempt was better, the first one was not necessarily bad. Director Yoon swore to himself that he would get Woo-Jin to cry in one of the future scenes.

“The thing I liked about this scene is the blank look on his face as he cried without realizing it. It leaves a lingering imagery. He looks so beautiful when he cries.”

In order to accurately portray his roughed-up appearance after kneeling in the snow for two days while groveling for forgiveness, they used makeup on him to make his skin look chapped with dry patches on it. When tears rolled down his cheeks, he looked neat and beautiful instead of looking like a mess.

“I’m going to switch over to the beauty parlor Woo-Jin goes to.” Contrary to his skin in his first movie, Chae Woo-Jin’s skin was improving. The beauty parlor he frequented was thriving with new clients. Of course, their skin did not improve as drastically as Chae Woo-Jin’s did. Nonetheless, be it a placebo effect or not, they had gotten quite a number of good reviews.

“Hyung-nim[2], you have good skin too.”

Just like their relationship in the movie, Kwak Eun-Hyuk wanted to call Woo-Jin by his name. Thus, Woo-Jin called him ‘hyung-nim’. Even though it was hard for him to call Im Ji-Young ‘mother,’ it was easy for him to call his senior ‘hyung-nim’.

“Of course it’s good. I spent so much money on my face. By the way, what kind of beauty products do you mainly use?” As soon as they were done reviewing the footage, Kwak Eun-Hyuk’s interest shifted to skincare. Even while they were talking, he was tapping his cheek in an upward motion with his palm to lift it. Immediately after the shoot ended, he quickly removed his makeup to allow his skin to breathe. Kwak Eun-Hyuk cared a lot about his skin.

“Umm… I’m not so sure. I simply use what my stylist gives me.” Woo-Jin could easily remember his lines just by glancing at the script, but he couldn’t remember the brands of the beauty products he used. All he had to do was to write the number on the bottles and apply them in numerical order after washing his face. When Woo-Jin hesitated, Kwak Eun-Hyuk exclaimed with a look of disbelief on his face.

“As an actor, how can you be so indifferent about skin care! The most important thing to actors is acting skill, but self-care starts with caring for your skin!” Kwak Eun-Hyuk then went on about how one had to constantly take care of their skin regardless of how young they were because skin damage is irreversible.

“I have a sheet mask that I really like, I’ll give you a few so try it out.” At some point, Kwak Eun-Hyuk dragged Woo-Jin away. Woo-Jin had to go through a lecture about the functions and ingredients of the beauty products. In return, Woo-Jin received an armful of sheet masks and samples of beauty products.

Some actors carried all kinds of dietary supplements everywhere they went and gave them out to the people around them. However, in Kwak Eun-Hyuk’s case, he seemed to be giving out beauty products instead of dietary supplements. While organizing the beauty products that Woo-Jin had received from Kwak Eun-Hyuk, Hwang Yi-Young was lost in admiration because all the products he had given Woo-Jin were high-end ones that were known for their effectiveness.

“So you’re saying that Kwak Eun-Hyuk’s bag was filled with beauty products like these?” asked Hwang Yi-Young.

“For some reason, I feel like you would run over and steal his bag if I said yes.”

“Hmm, why don’t you start taking an interest in beauty products from now on?” Hwang Yi-Young repeatedly said that it wasn’t a suggestion that she made out of self-interest. Woo-Jin responded positively and asked if he should do it earnestly.

1. The Korean word used was 힐링 which is ‘healing’ written in Korean. ‘Healing’ refers to physical wellness, mental health, freedom from anxiety, and life satisfaction. ☜

2. A more polite way of addressing a ‘hyung’ ☜