Killer Role

Highlight Quote: "The nationality doesn't matter to me. I don't have a girlfriend now and that makes me so sad. I'd want to walk in the streets with my girlfriend, very soon." -Rain

Korean heartthrob Rain plays a deadly assassin for hire in his first Hollywood leading role in Ninja Assassin.

NINJA Assassin would not have been made without Rain. This was echoed by director James McTeigue and producers Joel Silver, Grant Hill and the Wachowski brothers – Andy and Larry.

The Korean pop star may have only had a supporting role as top race car driver Taejo Togokhan in his Hollywood debut in the Wachowski brothers' Speed Racer, but he made such an impression on them in his very first scene that they started to plan their next film with him in mind.

"Speed Racer may not have been as much the blockbuster hit we wanted for it to be, but it was my first exposure to Hollywood and opened many doors for me," said Rain in a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, recently.

The Wachowski brothers gushed about Rain's natural on-screen charisma to Silver while McTeigue (V For Vendetta) raved about his physical abilities and the 27-year-old actor was well on his way to his first Hollywood starring role in Ninja Assassin.

Rain remembers clearly how Larry and Andy approached him and asked if he would be interested in being a ninja. "How could I say no to that? I told them, 'Tell me where and when and I'll be there.'"

Roping in legendary stunt choreographers Chad Stahelski and Dave Leitch who have worked with the producers since their The Matrix days, the filmmakers visualised stunning martial arts sequences with Rain as the central character.

The film production was conducted at Babelsburg Studios, by far Europe's largest film studio, which is a short drive from Berlin, Germany.

In the movie, Rain plays a ninja named Raizo who is one of several deadly assassins for hire. Plucked from the streets as a child, he is trained to be a cold-blooded killer by the Ozunu clan, a secret society considered to be a myth by many.

However, he is continually haunted by the merciless execution of his childhood friend Kiriko by the clan. So, he decides to break free from them and make it his life mission to stop their evil plans.

The movie also stars Naomie Harris (Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End) and Sho Koshugi (Revenge Of The Ninja).

The veteran Japanese martial arts star portrays the sensei of the Ozunu clan, while Harris plays Europol agent Mika Coretti whose investigation leads her to uncover an underground network of assassins from the Far East who would take out political leaders for a hundred pounds of gold.

During the hour-long press conference to promote Ninja Assassin in Seoul, the room was packed with media and the cameras never stopped flashing and fingers were heard tapping on keyboards throughout.

Such was Rain's appeal that every smile he beamed and every move he made prompted a frenzy of clicking by all the photojournalists present.

At the round table interview which followed, he was ever the charmer and continually entertained international journalists with a cheeky sense of humour and a disarming smile.

After making Speed Racer last year, Rain did not have any problem adjusting to the American filming styles in his first Hollywood starring role.

"In the beginning, I was a bit nervous because it was my first time and I thought it would be really grand. But it wasn't difficult at all because the process was really well-organised. All I needed to do was follow the steps, so it was quite enjoyable.

"I had a coach to help me with my lines all the time. But, the major concern of director James and producers Andy and Larry were my facial expressions and internal acting.

"I was asked to work a lot on facial expressions, like raising my eyebrows, and showing my feelings."

Working with the renowned Wachowski brothers, Rain said what impressed him most were their excellent powers of imagination and also that they could create what they imagined.

Korean media pointed out that the story of Ninja Assassin included several elements of Korean culture, among them the assassination of the last Empress of Korea and some period TV dramas.

"During pre-production and filming, I talked to them a lot about Korean culture and told them about some interesting Korean TV series. But, I actually didn't know of any Korean elements until I saw them during the first screening of the movie," Rain exclaimed.

Lucky breaks

The lanky actor made his film debut in Korean romantic comedy Ssaibogeujiman Gwaenchanha (I'm A Cyborg But That's OK, 2006).

The wacky film directed by Park Chan-wook won the Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2007 while Rain won the best new actor award at the 43rd Baek Sang Awards for what remains to be his only Korean film.

Born in Seoul as Jung Ji-hoon, Rain came to be known as Bi (the Korean version of his stage name) when he made his singing debut in 2002. He has since released five Korean albums and one Japanese album.

"Everyone has three lucky breaks in life," Rain offered.

For him, the first was meeting his former manager and mentor Park Jin-young who helped launch his music career and make him a big star in Asia. The second was meeting Wachowski brothers, who offered him his first Hollywood leading role in Ninja Assassin.

A sequel is said to be on the cards but Rain said he is unable to comment as much of the information is classified but added that "everything depends on the response to the movie".

Calling his ninja assassin persona a sexy character, Rain said he loved playing the tough Raizo.

For the actor who has wanted to be in a martial arts movie since he was a kid, Ninja Assassin was a dream come true.

"I grew up watching movies by Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. I loved Police Story and Enter The Dragon. I also loved watching Korean-style action movies as a kid.

"An example is Janggunui Adeul (The General’s Son)." The early 90s actioner was an award-winning trilogy directed by Im Kwon-taek and produced by Lee Tae-won.

Though he is greatly inspired by Hong Kong action stars like Chan and the late Lee, Rain is eager to carve out his own path as a martial arts star. "I can't be a copy."

Like his fellow Korean stars – Jun Ji-hyun (Blood: The Last Vampire), Jang Dong-gun (The Warrior’s Way), Lee Byung-hun (GI Joe: The Rise Of Cobra) – who have similarly made their Hollywood debut in action movies, Rain is happy to further his film career as an action star yet hopes to expand his range. “Given an opportunity, I would also like to star in a romantic comedy."

Fast, furious action

The action in the movie was fast and furious and the actor had ample opportunities to showcase his killer bod which, though covered in scars, showed how much work he put into body conditioning.

"I trained really, really very hard – eight hours a day for eight months and I learnt a lot of martial arts."

This included Taekwondo, kung fu, movement training, weapons training and sword training.

"I performed most of the stunts and action scenes. Wire action was kept to a minimum and only used to help maintain balance and to avoid injury."

As a ninja assassin, he wields all manner of weapons – shuriken, nunchaku, wooden staff, double swords and chain whip.

Which one of the weapons did he like best?

Without any hesitation, the peace-loving star declared: "I hate all of them."

As his character is armed with oriental weapons and has miraculous self-healing powers, he is like a modern superhero.

When probed further on which weapon he would choose if he had to, he replied: "I loved the chain, which is a very different type of weapon. It’s a new style."

Then he added excitedly: "Did you see that, in my movie? How was it?" When the media replied it looked cool, he beamed: "Thank you."

And yes, for an actioner as furious as Ninja Assassin, scrapes and bruises were inevitable. "I'm lucky that I didn’t break any bones. I had some cuts but I prefer to think of them as cuts of honour."

In the movie, he even had to do handstands on a bed of nails and everyone was curious whether he did it for real.

"That was so hard," Rain teased, "but no, it was not real. It was just a green box and computer graphics. But, I practised standing upside down for a few months for that scene.

"Nothing was easy about shooting the film as we couldn't waste any time. Everything had to be done as scheduled."

Yet, when asked what was the hardest part of making the movie, Rain spoke of his bland and boring diet.

"The hardest part was the food. I never ate any sugar or salt for eight months. It was really hard. I really craved for Korean food, spicy stuff. It was horrible.

"I had to make my body light like Bruce Lee and reduce my body fat to almost zero. I ate only chicken breast and vegetables," Rain shared.

But, don't feel too sorry for him. Right after filming wrapped, he headed for McDonald’s. “I had hamburgers, french fries and Coke. It was heaven."

But Rain's super-intensive training meant that his body changed so much that dressing him posed a problem to costume designer Carlo Poggioli.

Although the initial fitting was only a few months away from the start of filming, Rain had bulked up so much that his clothes had to be made a lot bigger.

And, due to the number of stunts, the costume department, which initially planned some 12 to 20 ninja suits, had to eventually make up to 200 pieces – using up at least 100 for blood-spattered scenes alone.

Life's a roller coaster

As with all healthy young Korean men, Rain is due to report for a two-year compulsory military service, but he prefers not to think too much about it.

"As of now, I'm involved in so many important things. I want to concentrate on them.

"When the time comes, I’ll go with the flow."

Like his character in the movie, his own life was a roller coaster and he had to make difficult choices.

"When it comes down to that, I try to be positive and look on the bright side. When I make a decision, I go for it."

The time he spent trying to make it in Hollywood was tough. Several times he felt as if he had reached his limit. "I felt like I wanted to go back to Asia and resume work on my music and acting there."

But the tenacious entertainer persevered. It was his late mother and his promise to his fans that kept him going. "Four years ago, I promised my fans that I would do something truly great."

The long hours of filming – starting at 7am – were difficult for Rain but thoughts of his loving mother made him work harder.

"She would wake up at daybreak, work hard all day, come home at midnight and continue working till 2am. She did all this for my sister and me. Just thinking of her kept me going."

His mother passed away in 2000, when they were very poor.

"If my mother were still alive today, I'd give her all the comforts in life that she never got to enjoy."

Rain says he hasn't decided on his next film project but is now on his Legend Of Rainism concert tour which includes stops in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China and Las Vegas.

Earlier this year, he was named goodwill ambassador by the Korean Ministry of Agriculture, and serves as the global publicity ambassador for the city of Seoul.

After leaving JYP Entertainment two years ago, he set up his own entertainment company, J Tune Entertainment (formerly Rainy Entertainment).

His company recently signed on a five-member boyband named MBLAQ, which made its debut at his Legend Of Rainism concert last month. One of the band members, Joon, plays the teen version of Rain’s character in Ninja Assassin.

Rain launched his own fashion label Six to Five (which some say refers to his birthdate June 25) last December and he even designs and models the clothes.

The dashing star, who once dated a Korean model, is now unattached.

So, does he have a preference for Korean girls or would he date foreign girls?

"The nationality doesn't matter to me. I don't have a girlfriend now and that makes me so sad. I'd want to walk in the streets with my girlfriend, very soon."

By SETO KIT YAN
Source: star-ecentral