Kim Soo Hyun Gets Ready For His Role In 'Real'

What's next for Kim Soo Hyun? After winning the 2015 APAN Star Awards prize for Best Actor on November 28, he's getting ready to play a tough guy.

It's not his first criminal role. He made his big-screen debut playing a thief in the film "The Thieves," with co-stars Jun Ji Hyun, Kim Hae Sook, Shin Ha Kyun, Lee Jung Jae and Kim Hye Soo. But in his next movie, "Real," he will play an even darker character. In "Real" Kim plays Jang Tae Young, the hard-hearted man criminals ask to solve their problems. He does whatever it take to resolve their problems and never hesitates. He dreams of building a casino hotel and of becoming a powerful man in the city he lives in. Each assignment brings him closer to realizing that dream.

"I am preparing to become a strong man," the actor told the Korean media outlet Sports Donga.

'Real" will be his first film in three years but there is no doubt that his presence in the film will be a box office draw. His last film, the spy story "Secretly Greatly," broke the opening day box office record for Korean films.

Kim's merciless problem solver character will be a dramatic change from the lovelorn newbie producer he played in the drama "Producer." The 27-year-old actor not only won the Grand Prize for his "Producer" role at the APAN awards, but also won the Grand Prize at 8th Korea Drama Awards. And he won a Popularity Award at the 52nd Grand Bell Awards.

His previous dramas "You Who Came From The Stars" and "The Moon Embracing The Sun" also won him a variety of awards. Both dramas made him even more popular in China.

It was Kim's international popularity that prompted Alibaba Pictures, the film investment arm of the Chinese e-commerce site Alibaba, to invest in his upcoming film. Zhang Qiang of Alibaba spoke to the American entertainment publication Variety about the reason for their investment.

"We're investing in 'Real' because the Korean film industry is arguably the most influential creatively in the region at present, and the hugely popular Kim Soo Hyun is the embodiment of that," said Zhang.

No other casting news has been announced for the film.

Lee Jung Sub, who wrote the screenplays for "Romantic Island" and "Lost in Love," will direct "Real." The film is scheduled to be released in the latter half of 2016.