On the morning of the 10th, a presentation of the production for Netflix The Moonlighter was held at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. Director Kim Joo-hwan and the two main actors, Kim Woo-bin and Kim Sung-kyun, attended the event and shared various stories.
The Moonlighter is an action film that follows Lee Jeong-do (Kim Woo-bin), a martial arts expert with a 9th Dan in Taekwondo, Kendo, and Judo. He teams up with probation officer Kim Seon-min (Kim Sung-kyun) to monitor criminals under 24/7 electronic surveillance in order to prevent crimes.
During the event, Kim Woo-bin introduced his character, saying: “He is someone who enjoys playing and training with friends, and is a 9th dan in Taekwondo, Kendo, and Judo. He accidentally helps a martial artist who is being attacked by a criminal, which leads probation officer Kim Seon-min to suggest that he try out as a substitute.”
He explained further, “I thought the emotional and mental changes of the character were the most important. It’s fascinating to see how a character who was chasing fun changes after meeting real work, and I analyzed that process carefully. I think I created the character step by step while discussing it with the director.”
Kim Woo-bin also pointed out: “Since the character had to excel in martial arts, I learned Kendo, Judo and Taekwondo from a martial arts director and trained for three to four hours a day.”
Kim Woo-bin surprised everyone by revealing that he intentionally gained weight to prepare for the role, stating“I thought it would be better if I looked strong and able to overpower others, so I gained 8 kilograms.”
He added, “Since the character loves exercise and lives a happy life, I wanted him to look solid and a little bit bloated, not like someone with a sculpted body, but someone with a little bit of mass. I wanted to show a new side of myself.”
In the meantime, The Moonlighter will be released exclusively on Netflix on the 13th.
Source: wikitree