Lee Si Young Talks About Putting On Muscle And Learning Jiu-Jitsu For New Action Film

Lee Si Young, star of the upcoming movie “Unni,” spoke in an interview about the film and her efforts toward the action scenes, which she did without a double.

“Before filming, I decided I needed to put on weight,” said Lee Si Young. “I first put on about 8 to 10 kilograms (17.6 to 22 pounds) and then lost the fat. I ended up putting on about 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds) of muscle. Doing any more than that was hard.”

It’s a method that she used when she was an amateur boxer to make her weight class. “Because I had the experience from when I was an athlete, I thought it would be beneficial to have more strength, so I worked hard to get into shape. It was like preparing for a match.”

In the upcoming movie, Lee Si Young plays In Ae, a former bodyguard that goes against a criminal organization to save her kidnapped sister Eun Hye.

Wearing a red dress and high heels for the entire movie, the actress said she had thought a lot about whether the costume was right for her character.

“I talked a lot to the director about it. Honestly, wearing a dress and heels, action scenes aren’t going to look that great. I brought my concern to the director about why my character needs to wear clothes that make her seem delicate and gentle.” The director told her he wants a character that seems like she’s weak and can’t do anything, but doles out punishment to the bad guys.

In order to create more believable action scenes in which her character goes against larger men, Lee Si Young turned to jiu-jitsu. She said, “Even if I do have experience boxing, this is a case when a woman needs to physically overcome a man. I worried a lot about whether viewers would think the action was plausible, so I learned jiu jitsu. There are a lot of techniques with which women can physically outmaneuver men.”

Lee Si Young, after filming a car chase scene, said she wants to try learning it in a more official capacity. “Rather than fancy angles and action scenes that fly by with rapid cuts, I like action where you can see exactly what’s going on. After doing action with depth in ‘Unni,’ I want to do more before I get older.”

“Unni” premieres on January 1.

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