[HanCinema's News] Shin Hyun-joon Talks About "Night of the Assassin"

Lead actor Shin Hyun-joon of "Night of the Assassin" recently had an interview where he discussed the difficulty of doing an action movie in his fifties, as well as how having a child at his age has likewise been difficult. The fifty-four year old actor surprised many with the announcement of the birth of his daughter two years ago. Shin Hyun-joon admitted some confusion at receiving congratulations for the event, as his wife seemed the more appropriate subject for that.

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Shin Hyun-joon discussed how he was filming "Night of the Assassin" when his daughter was still newborn, and how the worst times were when he came home after having done the bloody scenes, as the fake blood smelled quite bad and this smell could not be easily removed. Shin Hyun-joon felt apologetic for coming home to his daughter in such a state. Shin Hyun-joon said his mood was often bad juggling work with home.

Nevertheless, Shin Hyun-joon claimed he was unwilling to let any of this rub off on his daughter, who he described as like an angel. Shin Hyun-joon said that the role of bloodily killing people led to his having many bad dreams. Shin Hyun-joon also disliked having to look in the eyes of the actors he was working with, as he had to maintain a look that emphasized the powerful desire of his character to murder them.

The sentiment made him not want to come home, despite missing his daughter terribly. Shin Hyun-joon said that to improve his mood, he would spend a day looking at the river to clear his heart before inevitably having to go back to work. Citing his age, Shin Hyun-joon also said that "Night of the Assassin" was the first movie he filmed that was this difficult. However, Shin Hyun-joon said that since his earliest interviews, he had always wanted to do such a difficult project when he was older.

Shin Hyun-joon claimed that he did "Barefoot Ki-bong" when he did for similar reasons, as he could only do that kind of role with a face that looked like a forty-year-old. Consequently, Shin Hyun-joon was not resentful for the self-imposed challenge of trying to do an action film like this before he turned sixty. "Night of the Assassin" tells the story of a Joseon-era swordfighter. It releases in South Korean theaters on February 20th.

Written by William Schwartz

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"Night of the Assassin" is directed by Kwak Jeong-deok, and features Shin Hyun-joon, Lee Moon-sik, Kim Min-kyung-III, Hong Eunki, Choi Sung-won, Kim Byung-choon. Release date in Korea: 2023/02/22.