Lee to do best to impress "Rain" co-stars

Korean actor Lee Byung-hun said he will do his best to leave a good impression of South Korea on Hollywood actor Josh Hartnett and Japanese actor Takuya Kimura -- co-stars of their film "I Come with the Rain".

The 39-year-old actor made the remark on Friday during a press conference for their film "Rain" officially selected to show at the Gala Presentation category of the 14th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF).

The pic, helmed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung, the 1995 Venice Film Festival winner for "Cyclo" is set for release on October 15.

Below are responses from the press conference by Lee, who tended to his visitors Hartnett and Kimura as if he was their older brother.


Q: How do you feel coming to this year's PIFF?
Lee Byung-hun (Lee): The PIFF is a place where South Korean actors come to enjoy themselves after working hard on their films. But I'm quite pressured this time because I came to the fest as a host since I invited two friends from overseas. I feel the obligation to give them a really good impression. So I don't think I'll be enjoying a lot of the fun parties or events at this year's PIFF. I'll try my best, till the very end, to leave a good impression on them about Korea.

Q: What was the first meeting between you three like?
Lee: Josh Hartnett said I looked like an athlete when he first saw me but there's a reason I appeared like that. At the time I was going back and forth between Hong Kong and China to shoot "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" and "Rain". I had to go on a long flight from China from shooting "Good" ahead of my first meeting with Josh Hartnett so I had to be in comfortable clothes. So I was in those clothes because I went right to the set after arriving there. (laugh) Josh Hartnett was very friendly to me on our first encounter so I thought 'Why is he being so friendly?' but it turned out he had been watching my film "A Bittersweet Life". So I think he was happy to see someone he had just been watching on screen in real life. (laugh) I met Takuya Kimura while making a cameo appearance on "Hero". I thought he would be a very funny person before I got to meet him. But in person, he turned out to be charismatic. He seemed different from how I had seen him on TV. He has dual sides of attractiveness to him.

Editor : Lee Ji-Hye seven@10asia.co.kr
Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@10asia.co.kr
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr