South Korean actor Lee Dong-wook has geared up to enthrall audiences with his upcoming action-fueled series, 'A Shop for Killers.' The star-studded ensemble, Kim Hye-jun, Seo Hyun-woo, Jo Han-sun, Park Ji-bin, Geum Hae-na, as well as director Lee Kwon, joined the actor at the press conference of the show on January 15 in Seoul.
At the press conference, the 'Tale of the Nine Tailed' actor shed light upon the action scenes he has performed, which include using guns, and how authentic and difficult they were to shoot. He said, "Since my character is a former mercenary, I tried to learn the actions used by real foreign special forces. The compliment of being an action genius… Well, I’m not a genius. The actions I did before were more fantasy-oriented. There were magic, swords and such. On the other hand, this time, I use guns and fight mainly in close combat. So, it’ll be more realistic." He humourously added, "Such actions were new and a bit annoying to practice."
For those unversed, Dong-wook will be playing the role of Jeong Jin-man, a retired mercenary who has since owned a secret shop in a shopping centre that deals with selling unimaginable weapons. The plot goes back and forth between the past and present as the story shifts to his character's niece Jeong Ji-an (played by Kim Hye-jun), who tries to understand his never-before-known profession following his unexpected demise.
The director Lee Kwon shed light on the casting process and described how he envisioned Jin-man to be. He explained, "'Jin-man’ in the original work was a really chubby bald uncle. Consequently, there was no actor who matched the synchronization with the original. Also, since Jin-man’s past was added to our work, we needed a good-looking actor." And that's how Dong-wook was cast.
In a previous interview with AsiaOne, Dong-Wook shared that he took on this role solely based on its wonderful script and narrative. He said, “While shifting timelines can often make a story feel too hectic or disorganised, this script was written in a way that made the transitions seamless. It was very impressive. Most of the action sequences I’ve performed on previous projects involved a significant amount of wirework due to the fantasy elements. I’ve also had quite a lot of experience with swords.”
Promising audiences with a unique storytelling and high-octane action sequences, 'A Shop for Killers' is set to premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on January 17 at 5 PM KST (1:30 PM IST), and will consist of 8 episodes.
