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Korea Herald
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Interview: Lee Hye-young reclaims ‘Hedda Gabler,' says magic of theater makes age irrelevant
Lee Hye-young recently starred as a cold-blooded assassin in "The Old Woman with the Knife," and now commands the stage in the National Theater Company of Korea's revival of Henrik Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler," which opened May 16 at Myeongdong Theater in central Seoul. The titular antiheroine who refuses to be defined by men, marriage or societal expectations, is considered one of modern drama's most enigmatic female protagonists. Lee first took on the role in 2012 in a sold-out production that earned her Korea's top theater honors, including best actress at both the Dong-A Theater Awards and the Korea Theater Awards. Now 62, Lee reprises the role, and ticket sales once again reflect the excitement with the play selling out. 'Director Park Jeong-hee asked if I wanted to complete something that we couldn't finish the first time, and I said yes,' Lee said during a recent interview with reporters. 'I loved that we tore everything down and rebuilt it from scratch." Lee reflected on the 2012 production and spoke about her connection to the late playwright-director Kim Eui-kyung. She recalled Kim's encouragement when he first suggested the character. "I knew it had been staged in college theater, but it had never been done professionally. And I asked, 'Why is that?' Kim said, 'Because there hasn't been an actress like you.' And I believed him. That illusion gave me strength then — and still does.' The only real difference now, according the Lee, is "the years that have passed.' 'I'd be lying if I said I wasn't anxious about aging. I really focused on building my physical strength. I didn't want anyone to think, 'She's too old to play this role.' I treated every rehearsal as if it were opening night, to convince even myself that I am Hedda.' Lee added, 'On camera, my age shows as it is. But on stage, in this shared magic of the space where Hedda comes alive with the audience, I don't think my age matters.' Park, who helmed the 2012 production, returned to the work in her new role as artistic director of the National Theater Company. She chose "Hedda Gabler" as her first production in the position. In this revival, the story is set in the mid-1970s — a time of cultural upheaval and the hippie movement — with a psychedelic aesthetic. 'The play is often read as a narrative of female liberation,' Park said. 'But today, I see it more as a story about one individual, beyond gender, a human being grappling with existential despair.' Lee's Hedda is markedly different this time: a more languid, weary figure drifting through endless boredom. 'We've returned more faithfully to the original text. I wanted a more grounded, prose-like delivery. In 2012, we portrayed Hedda almost as a divine figure. This time, we approached her as a human being.' Originally scheduled for May 8, the opening was postponed for a week after actor Yoon Sang-hwa, who was to play Judge Brack, had to withdraw due to an unexpected health issue. Actor Hong Seon-woo stepped in. 'We were devastated, like defeated soldiers. We carried guilt and pain all week, and now it feels like a miracle that we're performing," said Lee. "It was a harsh reality — having to urgently cast a replacement while a fellow actor collapsed. Still, we were determined to give our best to the audience who came to see the show" The revival has also drawn attention for its overlap with another high-profile "Hedda Gabler" production — one starring actress Lee Young-ae at the LG Arts Center. When asked about comparisons, Lee replied, 'Different actors, different productions. It's not something that can be compared.' The National Theater Company's "Hedda Gabler" runs through June 1 at Myeongdong Theater. English subtitles are available on Thursday and Sunday.
Korea Herald
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Interview: A legend contemplates usefulness
At 62, veteran actor Lee Hye-young slays in her boldest role yet "I'm constantly thinking about uselessness," actor Lee Hye-young says in a cafe in Seoul's Samcheong-dong Monday. Her raspy voice projects an unmistakable charisma that commands attention. It's not exactly a confession that shakes the foundation of her stature -- a 62-year-old veteran actor whose four-decade career spans theater, classic films and TV dramas. But Lee, who has established herself as Korean cinema's symbol of resilient womanhood, now finds herself contemplating obsolescence. And this preoccupation with relevance saturates her latest film, "The Old Woman with the Knife," directed by Min Kyu-dong, which hit theaters today after a surprise run at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year. Lee plays a 65-year-old assassin nicknamed Hornclaw, whose deadly precision begins to falter as age catches up with her body. When a mysterious young killer called Bullfight (Kim Sung-cheol) enters her orbit, the film pivots into a high-octane, blood-soaked meditation on aging, revenge and the search for connection. Hornclaw must not only confront her deadly rival who hounds her day and night, but also the open contempt and betrayal of fellow hitmen who increasingly see her presence as a liability. "When I first read the novel, I couldn't picture myself as Hornclaw at all," Lee says. "She seemed too much like an old woman. I kept wondering why fans of the book wanted me for the role." That initial hesitation gave way to curiosity about the character's inner resources. "What made me finally say yes was wanting to understand her mysterious power. How does someone with a fading body still command such fear and respect? That question felt worth exploring." The film premiered at the Berlinale in February, where it received rave reviews. The experience has left Lee both buoyed and nervous. "Getting such positive feedback in Berlin was incredible -- I came home feeling unstoppable. But now that we're close to opening, I'm incredibly nervous." Min's adaptation transposes Gu Byeong-mo's best-selling novel into a stylish action-thriller punctuated by extravagant brutality. The film's fight sequences showcase Lee in remarkably physical performances, a challenge that took its toll. "I literally put my body on the line," Lee recalls. "On the first day of shooting, I cracked a rib against a sink during a fight scene. We kept going, and by the end, I'd broken three ribs total. Every day after filming, straight to the hospital." Equally demanding was Min's uncompromising approach. "Min has this iron-clad vision. He works from precise storyboards and rarely deviates," Lee says. "I'm used to a more intuitive approach, feeling my way through performances. Having to fit into such a controlled template opened up a whole new world." The film's visual aesthetic matches the director's precision -- crisp cinematography capturing both the blood-spattered violence and the sleek flashbacks that connect plot points. Lee's performance grounds the fantastical elements with a weathered dignity that makes Hornclaw's lethal capabilities credible, despite occasional seams showing in the stunt work. It is only in the final 30 minutes that the film jumps the rails, where the narrative strains to accommodate an increasingly convoluted, and brazenly sentimental, backstory. At the end of the day, Lee's steely-eyed commitment is the glue that keeps it from falling apart entirely. While critics have celebrated the film as a kind of feminist breakthrough -- an older woman stepping into territory usually reserved for men -- Lee seems decidedly uninterested in such framing. "I hadn't thought about the gender aspect. I just see Hornclaw as a human being with a particular history and set of skills," she says. Lee does credit her longevity in the industry partly to her refusal to be limited by conventional feminine roles, though. "I was never suitable for romantic leads," she says. "In the past, actresses who didn't fit the mold for love stories got pushed aside. But I survived because I could portray these strong, independent women. Now the industry has expanded to include so many different types of female roles." Her praise for co-star Kim Sung-cheol comes with a characteristic flirtatiousness. "Any appeal Hornclaw has as a character -- any hint of sensuality in our scenes together -- is entirely thanks to Kim's talent," she says, visibly animated. "He has this youthful earnestness that's irresistible. I was blessed to have such a beautiful boy as my scene partner," she laughs. Next month, Lee returns to the stage in Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler," reprising a role that won her critical acclaim in 2012. For Lee, the project represents a full-circle moment in her evolution as an artist. "Theater is where everything feels most alive for me," she says. "In film, everything is chopped up into fragments, but on stage, you experience the whole journey each night." As the conversation winds down, the actor's thoughts circle back once more to the idea of utility. After decades in the industry, what keeps her going? What allows her to remain relevant when so many of her contemporaries have receded from view? Lee considers the question carefully, her gaze drifting momentarily. "When I first performed Hedda Gabler, I thought it was exclusively mine. I was so certain of my unique connection to the character. Then, when I heard another actress would be performing it simultaneously, I was shocked -- 'What happened to my uniqueness?'" "Later I discovered many other actors had already performed it after me, but I'd never bothered to check. I was only thinking about Ibsen and myself, completely uninterested in what others were doing." Then she exclaims, almost bemused by her own insight: "I think it's my ignorance! I'm still so unaware of many things, still curious. Maybe that's what keeps me going forward." Ignorance, not quite; one-of-a-kind flair, truly.
Korea Herald
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Killer at sixty-one
Age meets action in 'The Old Woman with the Knife,' a Korean thriller that made an unexpected splash at Berlinale "I got the role because I haven't had Botox," said Lee Hye-young, sending the room into laughter at Thursday's press conference for "The Old Woman with the Knife" at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University. The 61-year-old actor, whose illustrious career spans four decades of Korean cinema, stars as a legendary assassin thrust into one last deadly chase in director Min Kyu-dong's action thriller. "There are plenty of good actresses my age in Korea," she added. "I kept wondering why they picked me. Now that we've wrapped, I'm finally getting those injections." Based on Gu Byeong-mo's bestseller, the film follows Hornclaw (Lee Hye-young), a veteran killer who's spent nearly 50 years taking out "society's worst" for a clandestine outfit. Her carefully ordered existence unravels when she crosses paths with Bullfight (Kim Sung-cheol), a young hitman who dogs her steps with a fixation that goes well beyond personal vendetta. The film's inclusion at last month's Berlin International Film Festival drummed up buzz. Getting picked for Berlinale's Special — one of the festival's most eclectic sections — was unexpected for a Korean action flick. Min reflected on how the festival's embrace of boundary-pushing cinema created the perfect launching pad for the film. "Screening at a festival that values deep perspective and artistic experiment before our Korean release was both thrilling and an honor," Min said. "When foreign viewers called it 'brutal yet poetic' and 'violent yet beautiful,' I felt they really got what we were going for." For Lee, whose relationship with Berlinale spans decades, the premiere was a homecoming of sorts. She first appeared at the festival with "The Blazing Sun" (1985), where she played the female lead in what would become a Korean cinema classic. She returned with "Passage to Buddha" (1993) and more recently in arthouse icon Hong Sang-soo's "The Novelist's Film" (2022) and "A Traveler's Needs" (2024), both of which won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize. "I read the book first and thought, 'How the heck are they going to turn this into a movie?'" Lee said. "The action scared me — you see, I'm not exactly in my prime anymore." She credited the stunt team for helping her through multiple injuries. "This isn't the kind of action where you bulk up and flex for the camera," she said. "It's just regular-looking people who snap into violence out of nowhere. That made it tough." Kim Sung-cheol recalled the director's exacting standards with a grimace. "I figured my first scene would take maybe five takes. The director wouldn't give me the OK, and we shot the thing 17 times," he said. The cast and director spoke at length about how the film upends expectations for the action thriller genre. Min said he aimed for something deeper than action alone. "The characters don't just fight with their bodies — they're grappling with their lives," he said. "Hornclaw has lived in isolation for nearly 50 years. Her work is clinical. It's almost a form of art." Bullfight, on the other hand, is "flashy, cocky, a showboat," Min said. "He wants to kill her, but he also needs her. It's like they're seeing versions of themselves in each other." When asked what audiences should expect, Lee didn't mince words: "It's Min's best film, honestly. I don't care much for his other stuff, like 'Antique,'" she said, referring to Min's 2008 Berlinale entry. "But this one's definitely Min's triumph." Min responded instantly, saying, "No, this film is Lee Hye-young's triumph." "The Old Woman with the Knife" will hit Korean theaters on May 1.
