[Soompi Spotlight] "Cold Eyes" Jung Woo Sung, Han Hyo Joo, and 2PM Lee Junho's Whirlwind Promotional Tour in Singapore

During the one-day whirlwind promotional tour in Singapore on August 30, the cast and director of the action thriller “Cold Eyes” not only met with members of the press, but they also attended a Meet-and-Greet session at Jurong Point shopping mall and graced the red carpet and gala premiere at Marina Bay Sands all happening on the same day! Lead actor and actress Jung Woo Sung and Han Hyo Joo together with director Cho Ui Seok arrived the night before while 2PM’s Lee Junho, who flew directly from Japan, touched down in Singapore mere hours before the press conference in the afternoon. 

“Cold Eyes” is the remake of 2007 Hong Kong film “Eye In The Sky,” which tells the story of a group of detectives from the surveillance team of a special crime unit who work together to take down a bank robbing organization. “Cold Eyes” was one of the hottest movie in Korea this summer, topping the domestic box office chart in its first week of release when it opened on July 3 and has since collected more than US$36 million in South Korea to date. The film has also been selected for the upcoming “Toronto Film Festival” in Canada taking place this month, which will be attended by the cast and director as well.

The movie opens September 5 in Singapore at cinemas island-wide.

Emcee Danny Yeo asked why Jung Woo Sung and Han Hyo Joo decide to participate in the movie even before reading the complete script.

“When I received the scenario, the plot was completed enough for me to decide what kind of character I might play, so that allowed me to decide ‘I want to do this’. I actually really like this character and that’s why I ended up taking on this role,” replied Jung Woo Sung.

“When I first read the scenario, I thought that the plot was very interesting, and it was definitely an opportunity that I didn’t want to miss. Looking at this particular character, it was something I had never tried before so I thought I could present more of my acting skills and give the audience a new perspective. That’s why I thought of taking up this role,” shared Han Hyo Joo.

So this being Jung Woo Sung’s first villain role, did he have any hesitation before deciding to play a villain for the very first time? Jung Woo Sung replied, “I had no hesitation at all, probably because I really liked the tension that the character James created in the movie. So I really wanted to try it myself how this character develops and I really wanted this particular role. In fact, the character played by Sol Kyung Gu was a more realistic role in the movie. The character James was unrealistic in reality so I didn’t have any hesitation on playing a villain in this movie.” 

This character is also very different from other movie roles that Jung Woo Sung has taken- is this a new development in his career or new direction that he likes to take when taking up acting roles? 

“Not only for my character, but I believe that in terms of the movie, it was a very big step forward in the Korean movie industry. From many aspects, it’s not easy to film a huge movie like this in the city of Seoul, which is very cosmopolitan and busy. This big initiative resulted in a good movie in the end so I’m very proud as an actor in this movie and also as a part of the Korean movie industry, I’m very proud that this movie is now available for all of you viewers.” This is certainly a huge breakthrough for the Korean movie industry as shared by Jung Woo Sung.

For a fighting scene in the movie, Han Hyo Joo said she attended action school regularly to pick up the basics so that she didn’t look clumsy portraying a policewoman, even though the scene was a short one.

It was Junho’s first major role in a movie, so how was it like participating in “Cold Eyes”?

“When I first received the scenario, this character in the movie was called ‘Daramjwi’ (squirrel). I really liked the character so I really wanted to do it. I’m very glad to be able to act out this role, and I am grateful for the help I received from my seniors, whom I’m very privileged to work with. I learned a lot from this movie ,which is my debut movie, and I’m very grateful to be here.”

So what has the cast learned from each other by working together in “Cold Eyes”? (this is question from Soompi by the way ^^) 

“I learned everything from my seniors, from the smallest details to all the good advice from the seniors. In this movie, I was on the set officially as an actor for the first time so everything was new to me. I think I learned every single little thing on the set so I asked myself how would I be like if I were playing the roles of the seniors they are playing in the film. It was a good learning experience,” shared Junho. 

“Instead of talking about wha tI learned from this film, it’s more like I really enjoyed working with these amazing people. I enjoyed every second spent on the set, especially my senior actors Sol Kyung Gu and Jung Woo Sung. They made me feel so comfortable and they made the atmosphere very easygoing for me so I can feel very comfortable in my acting. So I thought to myself I’ll be a cool senior like they are next time,” said Han Hyo Joo.

Han Hyo Joo continued, “Looking at Junho who is just starting with this film, I thought a lot about the pure passion as an actor who is just starting. He has a lot of curiosity and he probably felt the responsibility to give a good performance as an actor since he is new at this. All these things coming together made me look at the pure passion and freshness of the new actors. I reflected on myself and I realized I shouldn’t forget about the days when I was younger.”

Jung Woo Sung discussed the stereotypes that actresses face in Korea and Han Hyo Joo’s acting. “It’s like they think ‘I can’t do a lot of things because I’m an actress..I need to portray this particular image..’, so they confine themselves to this box, but I feel that Hyo Joo always steps out of the box. She wanted to perform not as a pretty actress but as an actor, thinking ‘I want to try this’, ‘I want to take new initiatives’, ‘I want to overcome my fears and challenge new thins’, so I think it is a good attitude for her to have, and I hope other actresses in Korea take on this attitude.”

Next:  Photos of “Cold Eyes” cast Jung Woo Sung, Han Hyo Joo, Lee Junho, and Director Cho Ui Seok at the Gala Premiere.

Director Cho Ui Seok with cast Lee Jun Ho, Han Hyo Joo, and Jung Woo Sung greeting the audience at the gala premiere.

Jung Woo Sung still looking great at the end of a long day of promotions.

Han Hyo Joo too was still full of smiles for her fans.

Introducing their roles in the movie.

Junho looks so smart and proud in this suit!

Jun Ho looking out for his supporters on the two-level theater.

Many thanks to Purple Plan for inviting Soompi to cover the press conference, red carpet, and gala premiere.

If you missed it, check this link for pictures from the red carpet.