The Face Genius Actor

Episode 161

“Sacred: Prelude to Chaos” had similarities with “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” in that it was based on the concept of ‘exorcism’.

However, Yerom and Yeon were completely different characters.

While Yeon gave the impression of a transcendent immortal, Yerom felt like a degenerate full of decadent charm who couldn’t let go of alcohol and cigarettes.

Personally, I found it easier to act characters like Yeon, and the reason was simple.

There were similarities with my original personality.

On the other hand, Yerom’s personality differed from mine in many ways.

If I had to compare, my brother’s personality was more similar to Yerom’s.

Of course, that doesn’t mean my brother is like a degenerate.

As I mentioned before, when my brother was active as a model, he was noted for his excellent decadent charm.

My brother’s innate decadent charm was overwhelming enough to instantly capture the attention of the high fashion world.

Jean-Drulot Meyère’s fondness for my brother was also due to this decadent charm.

But I was born as someone far from decadent charm.

For this reason, I found the role of Yerom quite challenging.

It was natural since I had to cover all aspects of Yerom’s expressions, gestures, and speech patterns with acting.

So, to digest the role of Yerom, I used the method mask more frequently than when filming other works.

It felt just like when I first got my hands on the method mask.

Recently, I hadn’t been using the method mask as much as before.

It wasn’t because my passion for acting had cooled.

It was because the range of acting I could do without necessarily using the method mask had broadened.

Innate personality, living environment, relationships with surrounding people.

Even if all of these were different, as long as we’re human, we tend to use similar patterns of expressions, speech, and behavior.

This was a characteristic of the human species, and I had somewhat internalized these patterns while using the method mask so far.

As a result, even when taking on a new role, I could prepare for acting more easily than before.

Naturally, the frequency of using the method mask decreased.

However, Yerom was an unfamiliar character and also had a very different disposition from the characters I had acted so far.

He was also a character who showed relatively little of the ‘social language’ that could be considered a characteristic of the human species.

As a result, I needed a lot of practice, almost to the point of living with the method mask on.

There were many unfamiliar aspects to that extent.

‘Fortunately, in the case of this work, there’s enough time to practice.’

If I had to take on a role like Yerom while writing the script and directing myself, it could have been problematic.

The fact that movies have absolutely less filming volume compared to dramas was also a reason for having more time.

Anyway, thanks to sufficient practice, the filming went better than I had worried.

Frank Borodvin’s edited version, which I checked before the sudden ‘Gwichamdoe merchandise signing session’, was also satisfactory.

It was a result that made me realize anew why Frank Borodvin is a globally recognized blockbuster film director.

Although he seemed to lack a bit of confidence for someone of his caliber.

“…How did you find it? Actor?”

“It’s good. Even though Frank is a director who mainly deals with blockbusters, he seems to arrange visual elements beautifully. The details of the props are excellent.”

“Thank you for the compliment. Were there any points that needed improvement?”

“Not particularly. I couldn’t find anything to point out as it felt like the mise-en-scène was emphasized within a straightforward editing that fits the flow perfectly. But if I had to say one thing… The scene where Yerom is lost in thought while drinking could be slowed down a bit. So that the audience can read the emotions through the screen.”

“I think I didn’t pay attention to that part while trying to edit naturally around the script. I’ll try to adjust it.”

However, Frank Borodvin’s edited version was excellent to the point where my criticism seemed trivial.

So much so that I couldn’t understand why he was showing me the script in this way.

‘Is he unsure about the quality because it’s a work he’s been pondering for a long time? Well… that could be the case…’

Thus, the filming of “Sacred: Prelude to Chaos” was going smoothly.

The response from people was also very good after the casting confirmation article was released.

The Q&A style interview with the New York Times seemed to have been effective.

[Q. After the release of ‘Toema Hwan Ya Dam’, your name became one of the most mentioned globally. It seems the pressure for choosing your next work would have been great because of that. How was it?]

[A. It would be a lie to say there was no pressure. However, I didn’t want to take a long break because of that. For me, that would have been escape, not rest, and I believed that if I found a good work as much as I felt pressured, things would resolve in a good direction.]

[Q. Hearing your story, it seems the expectations for ‘Sacred: Prelude to Chaos’ are growing. May I ask what attracted you to choose this work?]

[A. There are usually various factors considered in the process of choosing a work. It was the same for this work. But if I had to pick the ones that had the biggest influence on choosing this work, there are two main ones. One is that Yerom is a character I haven’t acted before, and the other is that Frank Borodvin, whom I first met in Burbank, was a person with a more flexible mindset than I thought.]

[Q. The expression ‘flexible mindset’ is impressive. You didn’t write the script or direct this time. I’d like to hear the reason why. Also, I want to ask if the reason a flexible mindset was required from Frank Borodvin was to be involved in the work.]

[A. Not writing the script or directing myself was to solidify my image as an actor. After consecutively presenting ‘I Am Not a Villain’ and ‘Toema Hwan Ya Dam’, I felt like my image as an actor was somewhat weakening. This part gave me a concern and became a decisive moment to decide to participate in my next work only as an actor. In this respect, I didn’t talk much about the work to Frank Borodvin either. I did suggest changing some parts of the script before the appearance contract, but it was at a usual level. After the appearance contract was confirmed, I hardly mentioned anything related to this.]

The interview with the New York Times was roughly like this.

Afterwards, the New York Times reporter asked if I felt a bit tired of writing and directing works myself, and I honestly answered that I did.

It was possible because it was a form of interview where honest answers wouldn’t be problematic.

The New York Times reporter conducted the interview in this way, as if they could write an interesting article just by asking sharp questions that penetrate the essence.

That was impressive.

Aside from some controversies, this was a part where I could understand why the New York Times had received the most Pulitzer Prizes among news organizations.

‘They said they would release the first teaser video on YouTube next month, right?’

It seemed that the attention on “Sacred: Prelude to Chaos” would increase even more by then.

And that also meant that the release of “Sacred: Prelude to Chaos” would be in full swing.

‘I hope everyone’s efforts won’t be in vain…’

With these thoughts, I snapped out of my reverie.

It was time to focus on acting practice once again, wearing the method mask.

* * *

John Doe, a term referring to an unidentified male or male corpse.

When I first heard the news that John Doe had escaped from the morgue, I didn’t pay much attention.

Among mixed-blood demons, there were cases where they faked their death to cover up their crimes.

But as soon as I arrived at the morgue, I felt an ominous energy.

And the moment I confirmed the object found on the corpse through Shaia, the coroner I had known for a long time, I could be certain.

The fact that John Doe was a sacrifice for the pure-blood demon summoning ritual.

“…How many days did you say your fellow coroner hasn’t come to work?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I think we need to go there. Before it’s too late.”

Although it was late at night, I got the address from Shaia and went to the fellow coroner’s house.

As expected, the goat-like stench symbolizing demons stung my nose.

When I forcibly opened the door and entered, the smell got worse, and when I entered the living room, suspicious creatures pounced on me.

It was a group of mixed-blood demons who had lost their reason to desire.

I put the cigarette I had in my mouth on the table so it wouldn’t go out, and pulled out a gun and a dagger, holding one in each hand.

Both weapons had golden crosses engraved on them.

“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Thus, the real battle began, and I moved efficiently, shooting the gun and swinging the dagger.

There were more of them than I thought, but they were all just small fry.

‘It’s impossible for such a large number of mixed-blood demons to act collectively… There must be a leader.’

After defeating all the attacking mixed-blood demons,

The darkness outside disappeared, and what seemed to be the leader of the mixed-blood demons appeared, breaking through the wall.

It was where the bedroom had been.

“I’ll put you back to sleep.”

Indeed, the leader of the mixed-blood demons was no ordinary opponent.

Even with bullets lodged in his shoulder and a dagger stabbed in his thigh, he kept attacking.

But I responded calmly, even knowing I couldn’t land an effective hit.

Shooting, stabbing, slashing, stabbing…

With each accumulated attack, dangerous moments came, and my actual body flew through the air, but I didn’t mind.

And finally, I discovered an important symbol on his body.

It was a symbol revealed as his pants were torn near the ankle by the dagger.

“Right. Got to keep up with the trends.”

The symbol was that of a pure-blood demon, and with it, I could roughly gauge the level.

It was also possible to identify the identity.

‘It’s definitely one of Solomon’s 72 demons.’

I engraved the symbol in my mind and pulled out a golden grenade from my inner pocket.

Then I immediately jumped on his shoulder and shoved it into his mouth.

The creature struggled fiercely, perhaps a picky eater, but I forcibly fed him the golden grenade.

Boom!

With a tremendous explosion, the body of the mixed-blood demon leader disappeared into light.

I turned away from that sight and looked for my cigarette first, but it had already burned down to the filter.

“…It’s dead.”

As I took out a new cigarette and started flipping through my notebook, the phone rang.

It was Shaia.

-I know the identity of the demon you’re chasing.

I also found a symbol in my notebook that matched the one I had confirmed.

-Alloces.

The same word Shaia had said was written above the symbol I found.

‘A warrior who sets fire to the hearts of the righteous with the red eyes of a lion…’

Ranked 52nd, Alloces was a tricky fellow known as the Great Duke of Hell.