Lee Dong Hwi's Method Acting: Relatable Korean Film

Suho, a member of the group EXO and an actor, attended a GV (Guest Visit) session to support the film "Method Acting," starring Lee Dong-hwi. At the event, hosted by film journalist Jang Sung-ran, Suho engaged in an in-depth discussion about the movie with actor Kang Chan-hee and director Lee Ki-hyuk. Despite his busy schedule, Suho attended to support his close friends Lee Dong-hwi and director Lee Ki-hyuk, stating, "I was impressed by how vividly the experiences I've had on set and my thoughts while acting were captured in the work." He added that he wanted to share these reflections with the audience.

Suho candidly shared his concerns and philosophies as an actor. He remarked, "It was heartbreaking yet bittersweet to see the subtle emotions an actor feels in the gap between aspirations and reality," and conveyed, "I believe completing the given task is also my duty, and I am doing my best every moment," earning the audience's empathy. Suho further elaborated that he was enthusiastically promoting the film not just to support a friend, but because he genuinely believes it is an excellent movie and hopes many people will watch it.

For actor Lee Dong-hwi, the film "Method Acting" holds significance beyond just a role he played. It is the first outcome of "producer Lee Dong-hwi," who developed a friend's idea from a short film into a feature and participated in its production. Just as the character in the film seeks to break free from a fixed image as a comedy actor, the real-life Lee Dong-hwi completed this project with a desire to become "someone who creates opportunities."

The film began with the trust between two friends, actors Lee Ki-hyuk and Lee Dong-hwi. By adding the universal keyword "family" to the professional specificity of the short film, the story took on the framework of a mainstream film. Lee Dong-hwi explained that he chose "Method Acting" while developing another story director Lee Ki-hyuk was preparing into a feature. He noted that while the short film focused on the on-set atmosphere, the feature expanded to gain universal empathy through the keyword of family. He added that although he thought acting a character close to himself would be easier, every day of filming felt like homework, and he had to continuously build layers subtly, much like in a documentary or observational reality show.

Lee Dong-hwi experienced moments of confusion between his immersion as an actor and his distance as a producer. Amidst the precariousness of blurred boundaries between life and acting, he found himself immersing himself more thoroughly in the "role." The king's monologue scene in the historical drama "Gyeonghwasuwol" was a point where producer Lee Dong-hwi and actor Lee Dong-hwi clashed and reconciled. At 4 AM, with the rising sun and production budget pressures, he found the "king's face" in just two takes. He revealed that as a producer, extending the shooting time would incur further costs, so his priority was to complete the task within the precise opportunity rather than indulging his desire as an actor to shoot more.