Here’s a fast fact: Choi Woo-shik first worked on “Time to Hunt” before he did “Parasite.”
One can imagine how busy his days were early this year when promotions for both films and awards season overlapped. “Parasite” made history at the Academy Awards on Feb. 9 when it won in four categories, including Best Picture.
“Time to Hunt” premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival two weeks later. Lee Je-hoon, Ahn Jae-hong and Park Jung-min attended the international premiere in Germany, but Choi couldn’t.
“I was jealous. I was working on another film at the time so I couldn’t make it,” he said. “I wished I could have been there with them. The venue where they screened the film looked amazing. I felt so sad that I couldn’t be there.”
Mob hits
Choi plays Ki-hoon in the dystopian film written and directed by Yoon Sung-hyun. His character is one of four robbers who hit the mob casino. Things get messier when the mob hits back by sending a ruthless hunter to track them down.
Working with the director for the first time was exciting for Choi. The actor confessed that he loves the crime thriller genre.
Choi talked about the things that impressed him during filming. What was new to him was the use of non-natural light during filming. Lights were manipulated all the time to set the tone and mood.
He couldn’t even see his face clearly when he was checking the monitor. Choi said the end result looked fantastic.
“The lighting creates a dominant mood, especially when the camera spins during the speedy planning and preparing scenes. I think there were many amazing shots that haven’t been seen anywhere else,” he said.
He chose to do the film because being part of it would make him happy.
Choi said that he has a lot of similarities with Ki-hoon. However, he said that he could relate more to Sang-soo (played by Park Jung-min).
“I’m always a little passive and can come across as being pathetic,” he said with a laugh. “Meanwhile, Ki-hoon doesn’t have any problem expressing himself to others. I only do that with people I’m comfortable with, which is why I think I’m more similar to Sang-soo.”
Choi said that Ki-hoon is rebellious, but he always takes care of his friends and family. Choi finds this characteristic sweet and admirable.
Spoiler
Interestingly, he named Han the villain (Park Hae-su) as the role he would like to portray among the other characters.
“He possesses such a powerful presence. I probably won’t be able to achieve that level of charisma in real life, so if given a chance, I would love to play the character,” he said. “I’d like to create a character that is completely appalling, that it would make the audience tremble.”
There was a point when Ki-hoon had to choose between saving his family and going to paradise with his friends.
Super K asked Choi what he thought about the choice his character made. He said that friends are important to Ki-hoon. However, his presence only makes up 30 percent of the trio’s relationship.
He said that Jang-ho (Ahn) is closer to Joon-seok (Lee) and that the two’s friendship is the 70 percent. This is how the actor saw it, thus he feels that the two will be okay even without him.
“My character chose his parents. I was happy with the choice. If I were in that situation, I would have to say that family is really important. So I think Ki-hoon made the right choice,” he said.
“Time to Hunt” is streaming on Netflix. Follow Super K for updates.
