The Face Genius Actor

Episode 089

Ji Jung-hyun’s acting hadn’t changed dramatically.

The overall feeling remained the same.

But there were clear differences in the details.

That alone drastically changed the feeling of scene 15.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who felt this way, as Director Kim Pil-sung looked surprised in the back.

The other staff members were the same.

Everyone couldn’t hide their surprise and had their eyes wide open.

But for some reason, Director Kim Pil-sung didn’t give the NG sign.

And I soon realized why.

‘It’s too subtle to give the NG sign.’

That was it.

Ji Jung-hyun’s acting didn’t deviate from scene 15 as written in the script.

It was just subtly different.

The overall feeling hadn’t changed.

The differences were minor, like Ji Jung-hyun standing in place and narrowing his eyes while staring at my location instead of hiding behind the telephone pole as expected.

Or Ji Jung-hyun approaching first while aiming at me, when I thought he would naturally hide his gun to conceal his identity.

Even these actions didn’t stray far from Director Kim Pil-sung’s directions.

All the emotions of the character Yoon Woo-sung that Director Kim Pil-sung described were incorporated into the acting.

No, some aspects were even brought to life thanks to Ji Jung-hyun’s acting.

‘Right. Come to think of it, this is what Yoon Woo-sung is like.’

In the movie, Yoon Woo-sung was a character born with strong convictions.

As a child, when a teacher made them say “I am Japanese” in Japanese, he stomped hard on his classmate’s foot when they tried to repeat it.

Also, there was a famous anecdote about him seeking out Kim Gu of the Provisional Government after the Manchurian Incident, saying there was no place left to die.

A person who laid down his life for a greater cause.

Certainly, such a character would move first to kill the enemy rather than hide behind a telephone pole.

He would aim at the enemy’s direction first rather than hiding his gun.

Thus, I had to admit that Ji Jung-hyun’s acting was far better than what I had analyzed.

The fact that the NG sign still hadn’t come was proof of this.

I slowly emerged from the shadow of the stone wall and faced Ji Jung-hyun, who was quite different from what I had experienced through the method mask.

Although the details were slightly different, almost everything else was the same, so there was no problem with acting.

Moreover, the role I had to portray was Kim Sung-yeon, not Yoon Woo-sung.

“Are you a conman playing the role of a justice advocate?”

When I asked this while holding guns in both hands, Ji Jung-hyun replied.

“Your gun-holding form looks plausible. Though dual-wielding is a bit funny.”

“Two are more convenient for hitting the target than one.”

“The target seems to have fallen from my gun.”

“I hit it too. A bit late. Two shots to the chest and shoulder.”

“If it’s two shots, isn’t that two shots late?”

“……”

“…Was that not funny?”

“No. Very much not.”

As Ji Jung-hyun and I were tightly gripping the handles and slowly pulling the triggers,

Bang, bang!

At that moment, gunshots were heard not far away.

Ji Jung-hyun and I exchanged glances once before urgently escaping through the alley without anyone taking the lead.

“Cut! Okay!”

* * *

After filming scene 15,

We shot scenes 16 and 17 in succession.

Scene 16 was a scene where Yoon Woo-sung and Kim Sung-yeon eat beef soup together with their guns wrapped in cotton cloth on the table.

It was quite tense, as they could grab their guns at any moment.

Scene 17 was a scene where Kim Sung-yeon sneaks out first after seeing a Japanese policeman enter the soup restaurant while Yoon Woo-sung is distracted.

Yoon Woo-sung left his seat by pretending to pay for the soup, deceiving the Japanese policeman.

Then he suddenly became angry when he realized he had paid for Kim Sung-yeon’s soup as well.

While was fundamentally a heavy story, it didn’t lose its humor in between.

And I thought this was one of ’s strengths.

It would allow the audience to become attached to the characters more quickly.

After filming these three scenes where both of us appeared,

We each shot one scene where we appeared individually.

We had some time left because we finished the three scenes without a single NG.

Afterwards, the actors and staff moved to the dinner venue.

Director Kim Pil-sung was famous for having dinner gatherings every single day throughout the filming period.

It must be an expression of his desire to have as many conversations as possible with the actors and staff.

Of course, this style was bound to be liked by some and disliked by others.

I neither particularly disliked nor liked these gatherings.

However, I was curious about how it would feel to have these gatherings ‘every day’ throughout the filming period.

‘Is this day 1 of the challenge?’

It would be physically demanding as we got to the latter part.

Thinking that this was close to a challenge, I entered the restaurant.

“Thank you both for your hard work in today’s filming.”

Director Kim Pil-sung said with a bright expression as he passed around drinks.

He seemed satisfied that the first day of filming had gone smoothly without any particular difficulties.

“I wish every day could be like today. Really.”

“You mean shooting five scenes a day?”

“If we hadn’t held the ceremony today, we would have shot six.”

“I’m sure. But it won’t be easy. We’ll have to shoot gunfight scenes.”

Indeed, gunfight scenes couldn’t be shot comfortably.

It took several days just to prepare the set.

Also, during the day, we had to finish shooting before sunset, and at night, before sunrise.

For this reason, shooting sometimes extended for several days.

In the case of , there were quite a few scenes of crossing mountains or rivers.

For these shoots, we first had to scout for suitable locations.

Even after finding locations, there were many variables.

There were permit issues, and above all, weather issues.

So naturally, it consumed a lot of time.

It wasn’t for nothing that it took months to shoot a movie that wasn’t even two hours long.

“Still, since we got through today well, I think there won’t be any problems with other shoots.”

“That’s right. Shall we have a toast for the first round? Director, would you say a few words?”

“Certainly. Please shout with me! For the success of !”

Everyone shouted “Cheers!” and emptied their glasses.

I followed suit and emptied my glass, but I thought the soju tasted a bit more bitter than usual.

It seemed like alcohol wouldn’t go down well today.

As I was about to pick up some side dishes, Ji Jung-hyun spoke to me.

“How was today’s shoot?”

I put down my chopsticks and answered Ji Jung-hyun’s question.

“It was fun. There was a lot to learn too.”

“It was quite impressive. You came well-prepared for the role of Kim Sung-yeon. Isn’t that right, Director?”

Director Kim Pil-sung nodded excitedly and spoke.

“Of course. Even when you made a mistake last time, I thought you acted really well. Today was perfect. It was exactly the Kim Sung-yeon I had imagined.”

I was quite satisfied with my acting too.

It was natural since I acted just as I had practiced with the method mask.

But I felt some kind of inexplicable thirst.

I had clearly acted well, but Ji Jung-hyun had shown even better acting.

I couldn’t even understand how he could show such acting.

‘Did I analyze the script of too casually? No. That wasn’t the issue.’

I was quite confident in my script analysis.

Before my regression, I was just weak in practical application because my body couldn’t keep up.

I thought my ability to analyze works was second to none.

In fact, I was recognized for my ability to analyze works when I appeared in , , and .

The reason I had been evaluated as an actor with excellent acting skills since my regression was because of this ability.

‘But Ji Jung-hyun far surpassed what I had thought.’

It wasn’t just scene 15.

In scenes 16 and 17 as well, he pulled off acting that I hadn’t thought of.

The analysis was similar, but it felt like the results were derived differently.

‘How could this happen? Was I too arrogant?’

While I was deep in thought about this as I received praise from Director Kim Pil-sung,

Ji Jung-hyun suddenly smiled and asked the director.

“How was my acting today?”

“You mean Actor Ji Jung-hyun?”

“Yes. I’m curious about how you saw my acting.”

“Well…”

Director Kim Pil-sung trailed off, thinking about something for a moment.

Then, with an even brighter smile than when he praised me, he continued.

“It was excellent. To be honest, I felt strongly that you were acting out parts that I hadn’t even thought of.”

“Was that not good?”

“No. Everything you acted today was good. If there’s anything I don’t like, I’ll let you know, so I hope you’ll continue as you are now.”

“I understand. I’ll do that then.”

From their conversation, I could tell that Ji Jung-hyun had acted out parts that Director Kim Pil-sung hadn’t thought of.

It wasn’t just me who hadn’t thought of it.

It was shocking.

Even more so when you consider that Director Kim Pil-sung was the one who wrote the script for .

Ji Jung-hyun had performed acting that surpassed the original creator’s thoughts.

Until now, I had thought that Ji Jung-hyun had invested in to increase his understanding of the work.

That’s why he could showcase excellent acting that made the presence of his co-star feel faint.

But this wasn’t simply a matter of understanding the work.

Ji Jung-hyun was going beyond becoming the character in the work, he was recreating the character of Yoon Woo-sung.

Even more perfectly than the original creator had created.

Logically, this should have been impossible.

But Ji Jung-hyun had done it, and I felt uneasy.

I felt like my presence might become faint, like the actor who played Kim Sung-yeon before my regression.

‘Objectively, I’m performing better acting, so it won’t be that bad.’

But I couldn’t help feeling anxious.

And this anxious feeling didn’t disappear until I safely finished the dinner and arrived home.

‘What aspect created this difference?’

I was still caught up in this thought even as I changed clothes and washed my face.

The thoughts continued even as I lay in bed.

Maybe because of the alcohol and thinking too much, my forehead felt hot.

‘How can I…’

It was a part that couldn’t be filled even with the method mask.

I kept pondering and pondering.

Then I dozed off.

* * *

On the surface, the filming of was proceeding without any problems.

The only problem was myself.

‘It’s good now too. You’re doing well. But the character of Kim Sung-yeon shouldn’t stop here.’

That thought wouldn’t leave me.

It was a problem that couldn’t be easily solved.

I even started to think that this might be my limit.

A month passed like that.

Finally, I realized how Ji Jung-hyun was able to recreate the character of Yoon Woo-sung.

‘That’s it!’