The actor Lee Je-hoon from the movie 'Big Deal' confessed on 'Morning Garden' about his journey to becoming a successful actor after overcoming the humiliation of being replaced in a role at a theater company in Daehangno.

On the morning of the 3rd, Lee Je-hoon appeared live on KBS 1TV's 'Morning Garden'. He met the viewers as the first guest on 'Tuesday's Invitation'. In this setting, Lee Je-hoon discussed the movie 'Big Deal', which was released on the 30th of last month. 'Big Deal' is a story set during the 1997 IMF currency crisis, where a finance director Jong-rok (played by Yoo Hae-jin) whose life revolves around the soju company and an employee of a global investment firm In-beom (played by Lee Je-hoon) face off over the fate of soju for the Korean people.

Lee Je-hoon remarked, "It's amazing and an honor to be able to appear on 'Morning Garden', a show I've watched since my childhood." He noted that "there are very few opportunities for live broadcasts," and said, "This moment feels like a dream. I wish it would last slowly." He added, "I usually wake up early, but, as you know, there are times we shoot late" referring to his senior Lee Gwang-ki and expressed his gratitude, saying, "I didn't expect such a warm welcome."

On this day, 'Morning Garden' was filled with enthusiastic applause and cheers. Even though there were only 15 audience members, they cheered for Lee Je-hoon's rare live appearance. In response, Lee Je-hoon said, "Every time I speak, they applaud. Can I come out every day?" He added to the cheers when he emphasized the message of the film for middle-aged men, saying, "I will live for 'Morning Garden' today."

Regarding the movie's line, 'Why are you living so hard?', Lee Je-hoon said, "I've watched many films since I was young, nurturing my dream of becoming an actor while wondering how happy I would be to come out on screen. Now that I'm actually here, I'm very happy and grateful. I hope the audience and viewers who love this time feel happy as well."

Lee Je-hoon's journey began in his childhood at a video rental store. He said, "I used to go there all the time and watched so many movies. Naturally, I grew a dream that if I became the owner of a video rental store, I could watch movies for a lifetime. I think I also had dreams of becoming an actor. When I reached my senior year of high school, I began to seriously consider my career path and thought about what I liked, and because I nurtured a dream of becoming an actor, I decided that I should go to theater and film school. When I told my family about this, they advised me, 'How can you become an actor? Anyone can't just do that. There's no qualification, and someone needs to choose you, so I hope you don't.' I agreed with that. I was uncertain of my skills. So during my school years, I somewhat put my dreams aside."

"I originally was a science student and ended up going to engineering," Lee Je-hoon revealed. He said, "In class, while listening to the professor's lecture, even though I knew in my head what I wanted to do, my heart wasn't moved. So I felt frustrated and dazed. Rather, before going to the military, I thought, let's do something I want to do for 1 or 2 years, so I went to Daehangno and worked hard at a theater group, doing odd jobs and learning from seniors and directors. I also did a lot of part-time work as a poster putter. I was given the opportunity to star in a new creative piece, and I was very happy about it and proud to share that experience."

However, after receiving the notice of his departure, he was shocked, saying, "It was a small role for an elderly person in their 80s. I went from being a main character to having a brief role. I have memories of being on stage for the first time. It seems that my desire for acting grew even greater after that."

Fortunately, after turning 25, the path for actor Lee Je-hoon opened up after he became a late freshman at the Korea National University of Arts, class of 08. About his experiences in school, Lee Je-hoon reflected, "I realized I was like a frog in a well. Seeing my friends excel made me feel the need to do better. So being with friends who had a great thirst for knowledge became an opportunity for me to develop as well."

Despite his humble remarks, Lee Je-hoon grew through successful projects such as the film 'Architecture 101', 'PARK YEOL', and the drama 'Signal'. What are his standards for choosing projects? Lee Je-hoon stated, "On one hand, I think I was lucky. When I think about why the public enjoys the scenarios I choose, I realize that I like reading interesting scripts as well. When those interesting scripts come out as visuals, I hope people remember them fondly, laughing and enjoying themselves."

Lee Je-hoon reflected on the characters he played, saying, "I think the elements of the characters that have come out are all me. They seem to have maximized small parts of me. Perhaps because my soul is somewhat contained in each character, to me, they are all parts of my soul, my bones and flesh."

"My biggest goal as an actor is to be remembered as a good actor even 30 or 40 years from now," said Lee Je-hoon. He added, "I haven't had the opportunity to appear in KBS dramas as an actor. If the KBS president is watching, I really want to appear. Please contact me. If I have the chance to do a KBS drama, I will come back on 'Morning Garden' again."

[Photo] OSEN DB, provided by KBS.

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