Lee Min-ki: “I want be in a relationship with a woman in her mid-30’s…”

by sassychef

He sure is pretty…or is he too hot to call pretty? Lee Min-ki even admits, “As far as looks go, I don’t have a complex over it.” I guess that self-confidence does add a certain je ne sais quoi to his image. Adding to his looks is his adorable southern dialect that manages to be urbane and innocent at the same time. It’s charming. And delish.

The actor who once delighted us as Kang Tae-bong in his last drama, Dal Ja’s Spring, sat down for a quick interview to give his fans a quick low-down on his latest activities. With his 2009 blockbuster movie Haeundae, Lee showed the audience he has the star power to act on the big screen and solidified his bona fide movie star status with his latest action packed movie, Quick, which had a staggering budget of 10 billion won for its production. Lee’s charismatic yet quirky persona seemed to be tailor-made for the role he plays in this action comedy movie.

I rode a motorcycle to my heart’s content. As a matter of fact, I’m starting to get the itch to ride again these days.

And we thank you for those bike-riding skills…because from the trailer I’ve seen, he’s downright sexy as hell. In the movie, Lee’s character is a quick serviceman that makes his living delivering things on his bike. “I even went up to 170-180km on that bike. Knowing that the danger of an accident on a bike is high made me really nervous, but thankfully, there weren’t any accidents. I’m also so grateful to the stuntman who helped out with all the dangerous scenes.”

Lee, who hung up his riding helmet in his early 20’s, found his daredevil instincts surfacing again while shooting the movie. “I find myself thinking about it again these days. I wanted to ride a bike so badly that I even went to look for one at a motorcycle shop with my friends recently. I would love to go on a road trip with my friends on a bike”.

Lee’s character in the movie is entrusted to deliver a bomb, which of course means there are lots of scenes in the movie where things get blown up…and blown up some more. “For one of the scenes, we had to start getting the bomb sequence ready the night before…and around 3 a.m., we shot the scene. I hid behind a tree that had fallen about 200m away to watch the filming of the scene… I have never seen such a huge explosion before and it was thrilling. There really was a mushroom cloud!”

Lee reminisced about the scene in awe and adds that he was pretty tense while watching the shooting of the scene.

Quick 2? Of course, I’ll do it!

Quick is a reunion for the entire crew from Lee’s previous movie, Haeundae. His love interest from Haeundae, Kang Ye-won, shares the screen with Lee once again in this movie. The comedic relief is once again provided by Kim In-kwon, also a Haeundae co-star. So while this movie is a reunion for the three stars, instead of a tsunami wreaking havoc, it’s massive explosions. I can dig that.

It’s pretty unusual for a team of staff and actors to reunite for another movie. But the synergy among everyone involved was so great that we all have met occasionally which I think led us to do Quick together…but I guess we can’t be fortuitous enough to do a third movie together? Unless Quick 2 does happen.

Lee was also swift to nod his head “yes” when asked if he would reprise his role if a sequel were to be made, but did seem to ponder how challenging it was to shoot the movie.

The world is full of beauty, but I find myself feeling so lonely at times.

Lee seems draw older women like a moth to a flame when it comes to his co-stars. Kang Ye-won (Haeundae), Kim Hae-soo (A Day For an Affair), Chae-rim (Dal Ja’s Spring), Eugene (I Really Really Like You).

However, surrounded by all those beautiful women, Lee confessed, “I do get very lonely. I would love to be in a relationship. The other day, I felt so alone at home, I found myself wishing I was in a relationship with a woman in her mid-30’s. Age doesn’t really matter to me.” I guess all the years of working with those older co-stars have rubbed off on him. Smart boy.

Lee goes on to say that even though he is surrounded by great friends, they’re all dudes and haven’t ever experienced a real relationship, so he spends most of his time going to the movies, watching dramas or listening to music. (I’d bet there’ll be a plethora of women pounding the streets of Seoul looking to fill that girlfriend slot. I’m thinking my chances of winning this bet are pretty good).

I want to be an actor that can move around

Lee mentions he once received a text from a number he didn’t recognize: “I just saw the trailer for Quick while watching TV. It looks awesome!” Lee goes on to say, “Come to find out, the text was from the ajumma at the quick delivery office. So I replied back to her saying she should make sure to see the movie. I was so touched and felt energized.”

Lee admitted to feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility he felt for the success of the movie once filming wrapped and press releases began. Since his debut in 2004, Lee has been steadily building his portfolio for the past 7 years by taking on various different roles. Lee says, “Rather than playing similar characters all the time, I want to tackle different roles with each new project. I’m still learning about myself, and I want to learn more through the characters I play in different projects.”

Lee seems to be taking all the right steps to do just that, as evidenced by the roles he has played in his recent films, like Haeundae and Quick. I’m totally on board with his method of self-discovery as long as he keeps being awesome.

Via NTN Seoul

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