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Korean actor Lee Je-hoon open to working on PH project

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Jaehwa Bernardo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="South Korean actor Lee Je-hoon during a press conference in Taguig on March 2, 2023." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/03/05/lee.jpg"/><figcaption>South Korean actor Lee Je-hoon during a press conference in Taguig on March 2, 2023.</figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — Despite having bagged numerous awards, Lee Je-hoon refuses to rest on his laurels, believing he still has more to offer as an actor. And that, he said, entails a willingness to take on projects outside of his home country South Korea.</p><p>&quot;I [still] dream of showing my good acting skills either through dramas and movies,&quot; Lee said via an interpreter at a press conference for his recent fan meet at the New Frontier Theater, organized by Live Nation Philippines and streaming platform Viu.</p><p>&quot;It doesn&#x27;t even have to be [a project] in Korea. If there are good projects here in the Philippines, I&#x27;m willing to join the project. I will take the opportunity,&quot; he added.</p><p>Lee, 38, began his career by starring in short and indie movies, leading to his breakthrough in the 2010 coming-of-age film &quot;Bleak Night,&quot; which follows a father&#x27;s search for answers following his son&#x27;s death.</p><p>At the press conference, Lee said his most memorable role was the manipulative alpha-male Gi-tae from &quot;Bleak Night,&quot; which won for him the best new actor prizes at the prestigious Blue Dragon Film Awards and Grand Bell Awards in 2011.</p><p>&quot;I was 28 but I was wearing a school uniform because I was playing a high school student. I learned how to smoke [for the role] even though I was not a smoker,&quot; he recounted.</p><p>Lee continued to prove his versatility as he went on to star in critically acclaimed and commercially successful projects. His other notable roles include a criminal profiler in the series &quot;Signal&quot; and an ex-convict who became a trauma cleaner in the Netflix original &quot;Move to Heaven.&quot;</p><p>Currently, Lee portrays a soldier-turned-vengeful cabbie in the hit series &quot;Taxi Driver,&quot; which premiered its second season last February 17.</p><p>&quot;I think &#x27;Taxi Driver&#x27; is loved because it gives people the opportunity to release their stress,&quot; Lee said when asked about the show&#x27;s appeal.</p><p>&quot;Fans wait for more episodes of &#x27;Taxi Driver&#x27; because the stories are based on true stories of crime, so people feel joy because of the revenge against the bad guys in the episodes,&quot; he said.</p><p>Lee said he and his character, Kim Do-ki, &quot;are both warm-hearted and respectful of others.&quot;</p><p>&quot;[But] personally, I think Kim Do-ki is much better than me,&quot; he said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/03/02/23/lee-je-hoon-wants-to-visit-manila-bay-during-ph-stay">Korean actor Lee Je-hoon wants to visit Manila Bay during PH stay</a></li></ul><div><strong>Indie roots, cameo roles</strong></div><p>Even with his stature, Lee is still open to doing short and indie films. &quot;I was able to overcome all my hardships and struggles through my accumulated experiences through those small films,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;I think I was not able to have good acting skills if I was in big, famous projects first. I still want to be in a short or independent film because it doesn&#x27;t give me pressure compared to big projects,&quot; he added.</p><p>Lee is also not shy of taking on cameo roles, the actor said, as he fondly looked back on his first cameo in the 2019 TV drama &quot;Hot Stove League.&quot;</p><p>He recounted that the staff of &quot;Hot Stove League&quot; asked if he could appear on the last episode after he posted a scene from the show on his social media account.</p><p>&quot;I was really a fan of &#x27;Hot Stove League&#x27;... I thought it would be fun to be there. I&#x27;m actually friends with the actress <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/10/27/22/atty-woo-park-eun-bin-shines-in-first-ph-fan-meeting">Park Eun-bin</a> so I thought it would be really nice and fun to have a project with her,&quot; Lee said.</p><p>Lee teased that he would make cameo appearances in other upcoming projects.</p><p>Asked what other Korean shows he would have wanted to be a part of, Lee said, &quot;The first thing that pops in my mind is &#x27;<a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/list/tag/squid-game">Squid Game</a>,&#x27;&quot; referring to the phenomenal survival drama.</p><p>&quot;They&#x27;re preparing for season two and I really want to audition, but since my schedule is already full, it&#x27;s kind of hard for me to audition,&quot; he said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/06/13/22/squid-game-coming-back-for-season-2">&#x27;Squid Game&#x27; coming back for season 2</a></li></ul><p>&quot;But I can [play] a role who dies in the first episodes,&quot; he added in jest.</p><p>For more news and features on K-pop, K-drama, and K-stars, visit the <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/kcontents">Hallyu Corner</a> microsite.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2486501" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

'If there are good projects here in the Philippines, I'm willing to join the project,' says award-winning Korean actor Lee Je-hoon.

Korean actor Lee Je-hoon open to working on PH project

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Korean actor Lee Je-hoon open to working on PH project

Jaehwa Bernardo,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 05, 2023 07:58 AM PHT

Read More:

Korean celebrities

Lee Je-hoon

fan meet

Taxi Driver

Move to Heaven

Signal

Bleak Night

K-drama

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