Confidential Assignment 2: International offers viewers great thrilling action with hilarious comedic moments. A perfect combination to watch during your leisure time! Before watching Confidential Assignment 2: International that premieres on 22 April at 9 PM (JKT) on tvN Movies, let’s see what the director and cast of Confidential Assignment 2: International think about the film.
Interview with CONFIDENTIAL ASSIGNMENT 2: INTERNATIONAL Director and Cast
DIRECTOR: LEE Seok Hoon
CAST: HYUN Bin (as Lim Cheol-ryung), YOO Hae-jin (as Kang Jin-tae), Lim Yoon-ah (as Park Min-young), Daniel HENNEY (as Jack), JIN Seon-kyu (as Jang Myung-jun)
Q: There were many action scenes as well as gun-shooting scenes. Which action scene did you pay the most attention to? This film reminds me of John Wick, and I was wondering if you kept that in mind.
Director Lee: Because the first film was praised for its great action scenes, I thought that the second movie should show action scenes as good as the first. Every scene was important, but I prioritized the importance of the scenes at the beginning of the film that can draw the audience into the film with higher trust. So, I put much effort into the action scene that took place in New York in the beginning. I feel that the film reminding you of John Wick is a compliment, so I’m glad to hear that. I wouldn’t say John Wick was a significant reference, but because I tried to show the best action in each scene, I did refer to John Wick as it was an outstanding action film.
Q: Just like the “tissue” action scene was a highlight in the first film, the “fly swatter” action scene seemed to be a signature scene that generated a lot of laughter in the 2nd film. Director, how did you come up with the action using the fly swatter? And how Hyun Bin tried to make such scenes funnier?
Director Lee: Because the “tissue” scene was an important scene loved by the audience in the first film, there was a repeated “tissue scene” when we were working on the scenario initially. But some thought it was too much repetition and relying on the first film, so we daringly gave up on repeating it. Yet it was difficult to come up with a substitute to replace it. So, until we were almost halfway done filming, we were still trying to come up with a better idea and finally decided to go with the “fly swatter” action.
Hyun Bin: I know there were a couple of scenes that the audience really liked in the first film, including the tissue action. But it was honestly tricky. There were limited things we can do to find an action we can do with household goods. So, we kept sharing ideas with the director and the martial arts director. While doing other scenes on set, my mind was filled with thinking about what other props can act as substitutes. We finally came up with the idea of the fly swatter. I just kept practicing the action sequence created by our action team and finally filmed it.
Q: How did all of you feel about working together again on a second film?
Hyun Bin: We worked together in the previous film, and I personally liked that harmony. Because we knew each other well through the first film, we could further build up our ideas in this film to make it more exciting. So, I really enjoyed working together again.
Yoo Hae-jin: If we had a role-role relationship in the first film, we have an actor-actor relationship in this film. We are more relaxed and able to bond more with one another now.
Lim Yoon-ah: This is the first film that I have participated in a series. I really had good memories of the first film, but as I met them again in the second film, I felt much more comfortable, like families meeting for the first time in a while over the holidays.
Q: Jin Seon-kyu’s character’s hairstyle was quite unique, and we can see you paid much attention to creating the image. Please share what did you focus on for this character.
Jin Seon-kyu: You have all seen that my hairstyle has changed a lot. I had many conversations with the Director to make a villain that can make the scale of Confidential Assignment that has become bigger and more international. As I already tried bald head in the past, I thought to try doing the opposite. I came up with the idea to have long hair that may seem like I am trying to conceal myself, and Director Lee accepted my idea. So, our styling and makeup teams started to create a style from facial hair. I also studied the Hamgyeong-do accent with a native speaker and finally made the character of Jang Myung-jun.
Q: Daniel Henney, the relationship between Hyun Bin’s and Yoo Hae-in’s characters is already tight from the first film. What thoughts did you put in when you joined them in a “triangular” investigation relationship?
Daniel Henney: I was a big fan of Hae-jin. And, of course, working with Hyun Bin… he’s a fantastic leader. When you do such a big project like this, the energy comes from the top down, from the leader down. He is really mature and an amazing actor. Of course, I was worried about joining this team, but they made it very comfortable and fun for me. I make many mistakes when I speak Korean, but they will always help me. It was a really great experience, and I’m grateful for it.
Q: The triangular “love” relationship between Cheol-ryung, Jack, and Min-young was quite funny. How was it to act out such a relationship together?
Hyun Bin: The filming itself was pretty funny. It was fun to show the emotions I couldn’t and wasn’t able to show in the first film for the first time in the second movie in Cheol-ryung’s point of view following Jack’s appearance. I felt bad about how quickly Min-young’s love could change. It was fun to film the scenes as we couldn’t see that side of Cheol-ryung previously, and I was excited to show a new image of him.
Daniel Henney: With Hyun Bin, I feel like we have the energy together. It is nice to see the reaction coming from his character Cheol-ryung. I felt terrible for Cheol-ryung. It’s hard for me to watch sometimes. Honestly, I didn’t have to do much, as Yoon-ah’s reactions were so wonderful. She is such a fantastic actress, and that’s why the scenes worked so well.
Lim Yoon-ah: I was so happy filming the scenes that made Cheol-ryung flustered, but I felt even happier seeing the two guys keeping each other in check to win over my love in the film. Thanks to Jack, I could notice such emotions from Cheol-ryung, and many moments made my heart flutter.
Q: Director Lee, what do you think is the uniqueness of this film that makes it more appealing to the audience than the first?
Director Lee: If you have watched my previous film, you will notice I tend to make humourous films. So when I got to direct Confidential Assignment 2, among all the things, comedy was my strength. In the first film, Cheol-ryung was fiercely avenging his wife. Thankfully he has let go a bit in the second installment. These changes allowed us to boost the comedy parts, making it even more suitable for families to watch.
Q: The air-action scene on the rooftop at the end of the film was impressive. How did Hyun Bin and Jin Seon-kyu feel while filming the scenes?
Hyun Bin: It was an important scene in which Cheol-ryung confronted Jang Myung-jun. We filmed that scene for more than 10 days. We shot on the rooftop, staircases, and gondolas. Now that I think of it, there were dangerous moments, but we managed to do it safely while helping one another.
Jin Seon-kyu: We practiced passionately during the film. The rooftop was really dangerous and very hot. Recalling now, I am thankful we completed it without accidents.
Q: Yoo Hae-jin, compared to the ambiguity of US and North Korean agents in the film, you seemed to have considered South Korea’s position. What was your role meant to reflect? This is your second time doing this movie series. Did the comedy burden you in any way?
Yoo Hae-jin: Honestly, the issues between the nations were not that a big deal to me because between the familiar Cheol-ryung and new FBI agent Jack, my role was more of a mediator. I think of comedy as a drama and mostly focuses on portraying the fun in each scene. So, the pressure of “It’s a comedy, it should be fun” was for the producers and not for me.
After hearing from the director and cast of Confidential Assignment 2: International, don’t miss its premiere on 22 April at 9 PM (JKT) on tvN Movies! And here’s the teaser:
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I’m intrigued to watch now hhmm