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[INTERVIEW] Actor Baek Sung-hyun

Korean actor Baek Seong-hyeon [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

My name is Baek Sung-hyun.
I was born on January 30, 1989.
I currently live in Gwangmyeong-si which is in the Gyeonggi Province. It's a lot better living there now because I can drive but before Gwangmeyong was a kingdom in itself. You had to take care of everything within the city -- from daily necessities to enjoying a cultural life. It's kind of unfortunate that the distance keeps me from becoming close with my fellow actors. It's not a big deal going out to Seoul but after having a couple of drinks, getting back home becomes a problem. That is why I begged my mom if I can live on my own. If I get to live alone I think I would like to live in Sadang because it's close to Kangnam, the transportation is good and actor Hwang Jung-min lives near there too.
I would consider myself a heavy drinker. I heard that you inherit your capacity to drink from the person two generations above you. So I think I take after my grandfather because he is a heavy drinker as well. I can drink three bottles of soju and feel fine. I think I don't have any drinking habits in particular either. I just go home if I'm drunk. Sometimes I pass out from drinking but when I wake up I'm home. I have never lost my wallet or cellular phone from getting too drunk. I once even took a shower before I went to sleep even though I blacked out. I've made any mistakes out of drunkenness before but I once mistakenly fell asleep on the steps of an apartment because I was trying to find shelter from the rain. I could have just gone home but I only thought about going in to some building. From then on, I've been more cautious when I drink.
I played the role of Joong-won in the movie "Marathon" which I think I 'screwed up' on. Most of my scenes were omitted. My character was supposed to play a bigger role in the film but I didn't act well so a lot of my scenes got cut. I think it's because it's when I was frustrated what acting was about.
In the movie "Our School's E.T" I played a character that does boxing, so I trained like crazy for six months. That is how with just one punch, I once even broke the nose of my opponent. I'm the type that usually learns things for just about a month like guitar or working out but when it comes to preparing for a role in a drama or movie, I really focus on it.
The scene I am most disappointed about in "Blades of Blood" is when I aim my knife at Baek Ji (played by Han Ji-hye). I threaten her not to follow me even though I love her but I don't think I did a good job in showing my inner conflict with that. I think I should have shown that I am conscious of Hwang Jeong-hak (played by Hwang Jung-min) standing behind me.
Director Lee Jun-ik said that "Cha Seung-won is like sports car running on the asphalt with the correct directions and Hwang Jeong-min is a wild horse-like SUV racing off the road". I think that it is true and I hope to acquire both characteristics in myself.
It was my idea to have my mustache grow out. As the story develops, my character Kyeon-ja's mustache becomes darker. When it first began to grow, the hair was thin and sparse but became dark by the time I was fighting with Lee Mong-hak. I wanted the mustache to show that Kyeon-ja had matured. And if he was too clean-cut, I think he would have given off less of the vibe that he was desperate.
I would like to try playing the role that Viggo Mortensen did in the movie "The Road". How a father sacrifices himself for his son even when he is in an extreme situation. If it was me, I would have hit my son and said "Hey! Get your life in order!"
I would like to become close friends with actors Lee Joon-gi and Jang Keun-suk who have worked with director Lee in his previous productions. I wish I had a chance to meet them in person to say hello. Hopefully, after they read this article they will consider meeting with me.

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Basketball is the most important and fun thing in my life outside acting. I go to the indoor gym in Gwangmyeong to play almost everyday if I don't have work. It's the place where the best basketball players come to play. My friends and I get together and we'll split up into two teams: A level and B level. I barely made it into the A level team. The people that I play with are so good that I realized basketball is a stressful game. I think I'm currently the lowest ranked person on our six-member team. I am the shooting-type and when we practice, I get all my shots in but just not when we're actually playing a game.

Actor Baek Sung-hyun [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

Actor Baek Sung-hyun, who will appear in film "Blades of Blood" due out April 29, poses during an interview with 10Asia.

Actor Baek Sung-hyun [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

Actor Baek Sung-hyun, who will appear in film "Blades of Blood" due out April 29, poses during an interview with 10Asia.

Actor Baek Sung-hyun [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

Reporter : Wee Geun-woo eight@
Editor : Jang Kyung-Jin three@, Lucia Hong luciahong@
Photographer : Lee Jin-hyuk eleven@
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