Hollywood Calls for Rain

Rain speaks at a press conference held to announce a strategic partnership between his agency J.Tune and the William Morris Agency of the U.S. at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Wednesday. /Yonhap

Korean pop idol Rain has snagged his first leading role in a Hollywood film. The singer and actor told a press conference at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Wednesday that he has been cast as the hero in the action movie "Ninja Assassin".

The movie is to be produced by Joel Silver, the producer of "V for Vendetta," and the Wachowski Brothers, the directors of "The Matrix."

"It’s such a huge opportunity that I feel like I’m dreaming," Rain said. "I’m not only working out to lose weight and training to build the perfect body, I’m also studying English hard."

This won’t be Rain’s first Hollywood movie. He recently shot a supporting role in the Wachowski Brothers’ "Speed Racer", which is scheduled to open in theaters in May.

"You’ll see Korean characters appear in some scenes in the movie," Rain said with a grin. "That’s because I lobbied and sometimes pressured the producers to feature the Korean language."