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Hwang Jung-min: 'I Acted Comfortably with My Eyes Closed'

"I did not just want to act the role of a blind man; instead, I wanted to act comfortably while I just closed my eyes", said actor Hwang Jung-min, who appeared in the movie "Blades of Blood" and demonstrated realistic acting as a blind character. He played the legendary blind swordsman Hwang Jung Hak in the movie, which was filmed against the backdrop of the middle of the Chosun dynasty. The character is a friend of Lee Mong Hak (Cha Seung-won), who has been dreaming of creating a whole new world and instigating a rebellion, but in the end they end up going their separate ways due to different ideologies regarding the uprising.

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In a recent interview held in a café located in Gangnam, Hwang Jung-min said, "Instead of trying to be a blind man, I tried my best to act as natural as possible suitable to the storyline and the character. To prepare for the role, I went to a school for the blind, participated in a class and talked a lot with classmates. But basically, I thought that just trying to imitate those blind people was not important. The character Hwang Jung Hak is a blind man, but the more important point was to understand the inner side of the character, and I tried to approach this internal perspective when I acted".

In the movie, the character always walks about slightly hunched, but shows agile movement as a swordsman. Hwang added odd laughter and a pleasant Jeolla-do dialect to the character, and these aspects have caught the attention of viewers.

Hwang said, "I performed with careful attention to fencing and I repeatedly listened to the Jeolla-do accent after recording. Other features such as word additions and postures actually automatically emerged as if I had lived as the character Hwang Jung Hak".

Actors are sometimes so immersed in a character that they can deliver somewhat exaggerated acting. In addition, as the role played by Hwang Jung Hak is a blind man, it was possible for actors who previously took on the role to play the character primarily using facial expressions because acting with the eyes was impossible. But actor Hwang Jung-min revealed balanced acting in the movie while he expressed the character's emotions without giving a dull performance. He said, "The important point that I emphasized as I acted is to maintain the emotion of the character from the beginning to a certain point and then release the emotion all at once. Actually, maintaining the emotion was the most difficult part for me. I did not care too much about facial expressions".

About the harmony with other actors, Hwang said, "I worked with Cha Seung-won for the first time, but the harmony between us was perfect. As he is an excellent actor, we made a good team and the filming progressed quite fast".

Hwang Jung-min is one of the actors who are always busy doing many things in many different areas. Last year, he appeared in movies such as "Private Eye" and "Five Senses of Eros" and in the drama "The Accidental Couple". He also performed in theater works and played the leading actor in the musical "Wedding Singer" and the play "University of Laughs". He said with smile, "When actors take a rest, they are soon out of a job, so I feel a sense of relief when I act because I can say, 'I am living as a member of this society'. Sometimes, when I have to write down my job at the airport for immigration purposes, I am embarrassed to fill in the blank with 'actor'. How can I say that I am an actor when I just rest at home without doing any work? So, I always try to do my best in acting".

He is currently filming the movie "The Unjust" directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, and he has already reportedly chosen his next work. He briefly introduced that next work by saying, "Basically, a journalist will lead the story. A certain group is trying to overthrow the country, but a leading character who is a journalist resolves the situation".

Hwang said, "To prepare for my next role as a journalist, I am planning to experience being a city desk reporter for a month. I cannot tell you details of the movie since I am the only person who has been cast so far. It is a movie directed by new director".

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