{"id":32944,"date":"2025-12-30T01:34:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T06:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=32944"},"modified":"2026-01-02T17:40:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T22:40:32","slug":"no-other-choice-exclusive-interview-with-actor-lee-byung-hun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=32944","title":{"rendered":"“No Other Choice ” : Exclusive interview with Actor Lee Byung Hun"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a9<\/b>Courtesy of Neon\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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No Other Choice<\/strong> : When a man is abruptly laid off by the paper company where he has worked tirelessly for many years, he grows increasingly desperate in his hunt.<\/div>\n
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Director<\/strong> : Park Chan-wook\u00a0<\/a><\/div>\n
Producer<\/strong> : Park Chan-wook,\u00a0Jisun Back,\u00a0Mich\u00e8le Ray-Gavras,\u00a0Alexandre Gavras<\/div>\n
Screenwriter<\/strong> : Park Chan-wook,\u00a0Lee Kyoung-mi,\u00a0Don McKellar,\u00a0Jahye Lee<\/div>\n
Distributor<\/strong> : NEON<\/div>\n
Production Co<\/strong> : Moho Film, KG Productions<\/div>\n
Rating<\/strong> : R (Some Sexual Content|Language|Violence)<\/div>\n
Genre<\/strong> : Comedy,\u00a0Mystery & Thriller,\u00a0Crime,\u00a0Drama<\/div>\n
Original Language<\/strong> : Korean<\/div>\n
Release Date (Theaters)<\/strong> : Dec 25, 2025, Limited<\/div>\n
Runtime<\/strong> : 2h 19m<\/div>\n
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\"No<\/div>\n
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\u00a9<\/b>Courtesy of Neon<\/p>\n

Exclusive interview with Actor Lee Byung Hun<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

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Q: You worked with director Park Chan-wook, 25 years ago on a project called \u201cJSA\u201d, then short film called, \u201cThree Extremes\u201d. And about 15 years ago, you met director Park in L.A, he mentioned this project, but it was called The Ax\u201d, hand it was developed as an American project, I\u2019m curious that what was the elements that differed from American project, and what was your first impression of the script?\u00a0<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

Lee Byung Hun : I don’t know too much about the details of the American version of the project. However, when the script was Korean unified, there was so many hidden meanings hover in that first read, I thought it was extremely funny. It made me question, is this a comedy?<\/p>\n

Q : In my mind, when I heard this title \u201cNo Other Choice\u201d, I interpreted as current society prevent to have a free will in certain way, but I\u2019m curious to know what kind emotion that evoke you when you first heard the title and how did you interpret the meaning of the title after you done with the film?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lee Byung Hun : So the original story was titled \u201cThe Ax<\/strong>\u201d and we thought that this would be too violent of a title and almost too Park Chan-wook-esque film. And there are some people are really pushed away by that violence. And when I heard the option of the film being title \u201cNo Other Choice<\/strong>\u201d, I really love the title.And one of the other option of the title was \u201cA Thing to Do in the Fall”<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The phrase there’s \u201cNo Other Choice<\/strong>\u201d. It’s something that Korean sees very colloquially, like almost every day. And it almost sounds like a side that is coming out of your body. So in the Korean title, there’s no spacing between that phrase because it’s supposed to sound like an explanation.<\/p>\n

And the reality is, of course, people might really meet where they have\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo Other Choice<\/strong>.\u201d But in Korea that phrase can be used as an excuse or almost as a justification about what that person is about to do next.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/ins>\n

Q : In the film, your character Man-su, reminded himself that I have to protect my family, I think compare to Japan, in Korean, it has more patriarchal system that strongly remained in society, because of that , does it easy for you to slip into your character, because it was kind of relatable?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lee Byung Hun : In Korea, the system is now slowly disappearing. However, for a man at that age, it is very prevalent. So I’m sure that worldwide many people are able to relate to that. I need to protect my family mentality, but in Korea, specifically I think that is very prevalent sentiment during that time.<\/p>\n

\"No\u00a9<\/b>Courtesy of Neon\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q : It\u2019s been more than 20 years since you and director Park Chan-took worked together, what was the elements that differ and develop about his direction during the course of last 20 years?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lee Byung Hun :I think director Park has maintained a gentle disposition throughout all the years that I’ve known him and he never loses temper and all of that stay really consistent. However, in terms of what he requests of the actors of the crew is extremely detailed. It’s become even deeper, more complicated and more meticulous in terms of what he asked of us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: In the film, you character was fired from Solar Paper, Now in our current society, the emerge of AI that cut many people who does the physical labor work, and such, how the emerge of AI that affect in your country, Korea?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lee Byung Hun : The effective AI really depends on what kind of job you have, and I think we are really feeling it in our own industry as well, because with my colleagues will see videos floating around that we haven’t shot, but that has been AI generated. And I think while AI has been made to make life more convenient for us. I think without more stringent rules and regulations hasn\u2019t been placed yet, I think negative effects can exist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/ins>\n

Q : This film is selected for Korean entry for the Oscar, even since the film \u201cParasite\u201d won the Oscar, what was the elements that you think that has changed most in Korean film industry after \u201cParasite\u201d won the Oscar?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lee Byung Hun : The film, \u201cParasite<\/strong>\u201d gave Korean films industry a sense of hope and possibility. The Hollywood and the global stage felt far away, but it shortened that distance. When the trailer for \u201cNo Other Choice<\/strong>\u201d came out, it was compared a lot to \u201cParasite<\/strong>\u201d and people predicted that there would be a lot of similarities.<\/p>\n

But in fact when you watch the film, you’ll realize the mood and atmosphere is completely different. So, I think we never know what will happen with the rest of this festival circuit, but the film, \u201cParasite<\/strong>” was definitely able to open that door for us.<\/p>\n

Q : Well, good luck with your film, thank you so much for your time!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lee Byung Hun : Thank you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"No<\/p>\n

\u00a9<\/b>Courtesy of Neon\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you liked the interview, share your thoughts below!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Check out more of Nobuhiro’s articles.<\/a><\/p>\n

Here’s the trailer of the film.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n