The inspiring journey of Lee Jun-young: Lee Jun-young talks about his role in ‘Brave Citizen’

Lee Jun-young discusses playing the antagonist in ‘Brave Citizen’ and his journey from K-Pop to acting

Actor Lee Jun-young (26) revealed in an interview held at a cafe in Sogyeok-dong, Seoul for ‘Brave Citizen’ on the 19th, “I cried when filming the movie, when I watched the movie for the first time at the premiere, and while acting as Shin, who tormented the grandmother, committed school violence, and had a final confrontation.”

‘Brave Citizen’ (directed by Park Jin-pyo, provided by ContentsWay (Co., Ltd.), produced by Studio N, distributed by Mind Mark Co., Ltd.) is a delightful story of the period teacher, So Simin (played by Shin Hye-sun), who pretended to have not seen injustice, pretended not to have a temper, pretended to be weak, and Shin Haneul (played by Lee Jun-young), the absolute power overlord who crossed the line.

Lee Jun-young played the role of Han Sook-kang, the school violence perpetrator. Lee Jun-young completed a different villain following Netflix’s ‘Masked Girl’ (2023) and ‘D.P.’ (2021). At this point, it can be said that he has recorded the ‘3 crown’ as a villain.

Regarding actress Shin Hye-sun, who played the role of So Simin, Lee Jun-young praised, “She is a very passionate actress. That’s why I felt that I didn’t want to lose to her passion. She practiced too hard. She practiced so hard that she sweated a lot. So, I thought, ‘I can’t lose either,’ so I worked really hard.”

Lee Jun-young also revealed about preparing for the action, “I prepared action based on Muay Thai, which is widely used in martial arts, for 6 months.” He continued, “I exercised 4 times a week, and I practiced differently with stunt actors every day.”

Lee Jun-young also talked about the ring action that decorated the end of the movie. “I wanted to go in one take, so I practiced a lot. I used terrain and used ropes,” he said. “I heard that I am not good at action, but I heard that I have an understanding of action. Director Heo Myung-haeng praised me, so I got strength. Although I got a little hurt during the preparation, I didn’t get hurt when I actually shot.”

“We shot the action for 40 seconds with one take, so both I and actress Shin Hye-sun got excited, so we did more action. In fact, we didn’t hit each other, but both of us got excited a lot.”

Regarding the action with the actress, Lee Jun-young said, “I put a lot of emphasis on the action with the female actress. I was worried that if I didn’t do well, I would get hurt, so I paid attention. If it was more than the promise, I deliberately gave an NG. Because it’s not good to hurt (Shin Hye-sun). I handled all the action except for the scene falling out of the ring.”

“Since I wanted to take it in one take, I prepared a lot. I wanted to show facial expressions that change in every moment. Although I was prepared two years ago, I regretted that I could have done better now.”

Although there is an 8-year age difference between Shin Hye-sun (34) and Lee Jun-young, Lee Jun-young said he didn’t feel the generation gap when having conversations. He laughed, saying, “Both my sister and I feel like ‘young old people.’ My sister also told me, ‘You look like an old man.'”

Regarding the school violence incident, he said, “I started my career after dropping out of high school, so I didn’t know it was this serious.” He also mentioned that he didn’t feel burdened, saying, “Bullying has always existed, but it has become more of an issue recently. So I felt more uncomfortable about it, and I wanted to convey the message of the movie well. I also have moments when I’m cowardly and don’t have the courage, just like anyone else, and if I’ve been hurt by those moments, I hope that our movie will be comforting.” He appealed to the audience.

Lee Jun-young has gained many fans thanks to the Netflix drama ‘Masked Girl’ (2023). “I kept running into someone who recognized me. They even said, ‘Why are you so bad?’ After the premiere yesterday, many people who didn’t know me well said that. I still don’t know how the results of ‘Brave Citizen’ will turn out, but so far, it seems successful. The best compliment for a villain is to get cursed at. I expect a lot of curses,” he said with satisfaction.

He compared it, saying, “In ‘Brave Citizen,’ Han Sook-kang is the worst person. Of course, it’s the same in ‘Masked Girl.’ ‘Brave Citizen’ will be able to move more viewers.”

Lee Jun-young, who debuted as a singer with the boy group U-KISS in 2014, celebrated his 10th anniversary since his debut in years.

He expressed his hopes, saying, “I’m not a person with big dreams. I’m curious about whether I’ll still be doing this job after 10 years and what my mindset will be like at that time. I want to continue working, but I don’t know what will happen in between. (Laughs) I’m always careful with my words. Nevertheless, I want to live well and have fun.”

Having transitioned from a singer to an actor, he said, “I’ve never regretted leaving my singing career. However, I like the word ‘singer-turned-actor.’ Anyway, it’s because it’s Lee Jun-young. I don’t hide that fact.”

He said, “I’m not a person with big dreams. I’m curious about whether I’ll still be doing this job after 10 years and what my mindset will be like at that time. I want to continue working, but I don’t know what will happen in between. (Laughs) I’m always careful with my words. Nevertheless, I want to live well and have fun.”

When asked if there are any actors he wants to resemble among the “actor-turned-singer” actors, he replied, “I like senior Lim Si-wan.” He continued, “He’s good at sports. He also said he likes it, and I like it, too. I would like to exercise together and work together someday.”

The movie ‘Brave Citizen’ will be released in theaters on October 25.

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