How Lee Jung Jae Got In Shape For 'Big Match'

Lee Jung Jae has come a long way since his debut as a fashion model but his body may now be in even better shape since he's playing a fighter.

It has been two decades since Lee made his acting debut in the 1993 drama "Dinosaur Teacher" but his star power was recognized almost immediately. His successful debut was followed a year later with an appearance on the bigger screen in the film "The Young Man."

His most recent films, "The Thieves" with Kim Soo Hyun and Jun Ji Hyun, "New World" with Choi Min Sik, and "The Face Reader" with Song Kang Ho, were all box office hits. And they were critically acclaimed.

He won a Best Actor Award for his 1999 film "City of the Rising Sun." He recovered from a lull in his career with the 2010 film "The Housemaid," which competed for top honors at the Cannes Film Festival.

Altogether he has been in dozens of films, but he's not an actor to rest on his laurels. His most recent role is playing Choi Ik Ho, a professional fighter in the action film "Big Match."

At 41, getting in shape for such a strenuous role required some training. In an interview with the Korea Herald, Lee talked about the training he went through to play the fighter. He had to train every day for six months before the film started and then for the first five months of filming, he kept training.

"For about a year, I would wake up in the morning, eat, work out, eat, work out and go to bed," he said in the interview. "That would be my routine."

He usually works out and watches what he eats but staying in shape does not consume his entire life.

"Since my role was as a professional fighter, my body had to resemble them, which required intense training," he said.

Even though the training was intense, he wanted to do the role because at his age he might never get the chance to play an athlete again.

The training did not prevent an on set injury. He tore his rotator cuff while filming and although doctors recommended surgery, he did not want to opt out of the film. All the work he had done to date would have been for nothing.

He kept fighting and filming despite the pain.

In the film Choi Ik Ho's brother is kidnapped. To save his brother Choi Ik Ho becomes a pawn for a high stakes gambler. He is forced to play the gambler's game.

Singer BoA makes her Korean debut in the film. She was also eager to try an action role and had to train for it.

"I liked the strong character and wanted to perform stunts," said BoA at the films' press conference.

To prepare for the film, she went to action school and practiced boxing with Lee Jung Jae, who by then was in excellent shape.