Kwon Sang Woo May Next Work In China
After his character untangles his "Temptation" drama love triangle with Choi Ji Woo and Park Ha Sun, Kwon Sang Woo may be headed to China.
His agency, Bel Actors recently told Newsen that the actor was offered a leading role in the movie "Jibi Jibi."
"It is a collaborative effort between Korea and China and will be directed by Zhang Yimo," said the Bel Actors representative.
If he takes the part, the actor will play An Jung Geun, the Korean independence fighter who assassinated Ito Hirobumi, the Japanese Resident-General of Korea. The assassination took place in 1909 at a time when Korea was about to be annexed by Japan. An felt the assassination was needed because Ito Hirobumi ordered the death of members of the Korean royal family as well as killing countless innocent civilians. This year marks the 104th anniversary of An Jung Geun's death.
But altoguht Kwon Sang Woo has expressed enthusiasm about working in China again, the agency cautioned that they have yet to see the screenplay for "Jibi Jibi." And even if they had, Kwon Sang Woo is too busy filming to make a final decision.
"We can't say exactly whether he'll be appearing in the movie," said the Bel Actors representative. "We're looking it over."
Kwon Sang Woo has previously expressed an interest in working in both China and the U.S. He speaks some Chinese but he's not too concerned about his fluency.
"There are so many regional variations in the Chinese language that films are usually dubbed," said Kwon in a 2011 Chosun Ilbo interview about his international plans. "So I just worry about conveying my emotions and performing well in the action scenes."
He's also interested in working in Hollywood but while he speaks conversational English, acting in English is different. He feels he needs to study the language for a while longer.
The actor has always felt an affinity to China, having seen many Hong Kong and Chinese-made films in his student days. The star of "Stairway To Heaven," "Queen of Ambition" and "Medical Top Team" has already played a leading role in his first Chinese action film. He acted with action film legend Jackie Chan and Chinese superstar Cecilia Cheung in the 2012 film titled "Chinese Zodiac." Also, known as "CZ12," it was the third highest grossing film in Chinese history.
Zhang Yimo, the director of "Jibi Jibi" is also a producer, writer, actor and cinematographer. He directed "Raise The Red Lantern" and "House of Flying Daggers."
