Lee Joon Ki-How He DIDN'T Want To Do "Two Weeks" and What's Next!!

Lee Joon-ki and Playing a Father But What's Next?

At first, Lee Joon Ki's thoughts were "I said I wouldn't take it. I'm not even married and how could I play a father?"

Lee Joon-ki, 31, an actor, declined the offer at first when he was asked to join MBC's "Two Weeks", a drama that ended at the end of last month. The role was similar to Son Hyeon-joo's hugely popular SBS's "THE CHASER. He changed his mind, however, after writer, So Hyeon-kyeong persuaded him.

Lee went to meet the writer to say, "I wont take the role but I talked with her over beer for four to five hours. My mind changed when So said, Ill make a differentiated character. You can grow into a good actor"

Shootings wasn't easy. As he was a fugitive for most of the drama, a majority of the filming had to be made outside. He crisscrossed the country for three months ranging from Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to Busan, Moongyeong, Danyang, and Boeun. His energy wore out while shooting runaway and action scenes. Emotional expression was even more challenging. 

Thoughts from LJK: When filming a phone call scene, I had to show different emotions sentence by sentence but my emotions were cut off. I hit the telephone booth with my fist several times. It was so challenging and I was mad at me.

Lee said he was so worried about his acting before the series was aired. He regained confidence after the first episode. He said, on the first air date, he was at the top of a mountain for outdoor filming and would sometimes checked news. What also helped was reading a review of Lee Joon-ki's fatherhood acting as being perfect. He said "I was so happy and my heart was about to burst".

Even though Two Weeks was considered to be an good piece thanks to good actors, writers, and director, the viewer rating was only around 10 percent because of its competitor SBS's "Master's Sun". Lee Joon-ki said, "I'm sorry about the rating but I gained a lot as an actor. This drama helped me walk the path towards a true actor."

He developed a close relationship with Lee Chae-mi, 7, who played as his daughter Soo-jin, as he this was the first time he has played a father. He said she was the biggest contributor in the drama. When he mumbled because couldn't remember his lines, Chae-mi would hit his foot and gave him a look like "Don't cut your emotions and keep going!"  She is a true actress.

For his next drama, Lee Joon Ki says he wants to play a sweet and light character in a romantic comedy. He plans to have a large fan meeting for his Korean, Chinese, and Japanese fans at the end of the year.

Lee Joon-ki says, "I try to not take such a long break but it's a minimum of a year for me. I want to start something early next year but it's rare for me to have done more than one project a year. I have gone around meeting producers here and there and asking for scenarios. It's my goal to come up with something within the year".

"My fans want me to star in a movie. However, it takes time for me to come out with the movie so I can't make up my mind since I'm impatient now. Dramas are not the best option for an actor but I think it suits well with me as the environment requires me to think about my role, from the moment that I open my eyes, until I close them".

He was asked about marriage and he replied, "I need a relationship first...even my fans want me to. The reason why I hesitate when it comes to romantic comedies is because I think I lack experience in that area. I don't think I'll seem natural. Actually, it is not because of the drama (or movie) but because I'm not dating. Right, I need to date somebody, ha-ha.

I'm quite sure there is a line of women who are willing and able to give him that "dating" experience. If only I wasn't so old.....

Source: English Donga, News Nate, Hancinema Article 1 and Hancinema Article 2