Stormtrooper

By Genevieve Loh, TODAY | Posted: 25 November 2009 1252 hrs

SINGAPORE : Confession: I sooo don't like Rain. And after meeting him face-to-face at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul at the Asian junket for his latest Hollywood film "Ninja Assassin", I have to say I sooo like the K-boy even less.

Okay, he made the list of Time Magazine's 100 Of The World's Most Influential People three times in a row; he's arguably Korea's biggest pop superstar, and dubbed "Asia's Prince of Pop" and "Korea's Justin Timberlake".

And if winning numerous acting accolades for his TV performances ("Sang Doo! Let's Go To School" and "Full House") isn't enough, he's also the CEO of his own entertainment company, J Tune Entertainment and is the face hawking everything from Korean cosmetics to pizza chains to duty-free shopping.

Now, the boy who was born Jeong Ji Hoon looks set to become Hollywood's newest action star after playing Raizo, one of the world's deadliest ninjas who plots his revenge against the very clan that trained him to be a killer, in the latest Joel Silver/Wachowski Brothers' martial arts actioner, "Ninja Assassin". All with an assiduously-trained lean mean fighting machine of a body, no less.

What's more, the 27-year-old is as inoffensive as vanilla ice-cream, with no diva attitude whatsoever. Sure, he looked down at his feet one too many times during the interview, but I was told it's a cultural thing; a sign of respect. And when he does make eye contact with a touch of smile, you can see why teenagers, aunties, grandmas, mothers and even men everywhere go absolutely ga-ga.

So, why do I hate this guy sooo? Here is my torrential list.

He's the perfect assassin, I'm not even close to perfect.

Hmm, this K-Boy doesn't mind playing Japanese, admires Hong Kong martial arts stars and now has the perfect vehicle to flex those muscles he trained so hard for. Plus, in the epic martial art sequences, Rain has the sleekest of moves and coolest of weapons to fend off baddies. And apparently the filmmakers gave him carte blanche when it came to his character.

"Both the Wachowski brothers and Joel Silver really wanted to show the real essence of martial arts," he said in Korean. "People who like martial arts will like this movie. I learned a lot from martial art actors like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, who I always admired growing up. But also, I had to make sure not to copy completely and be exactly like them. I had to recreate my own action star." Which relative newcomer can get a sweet deal like that?

He's tight with the Wachowskis, they don't even know I exist.

"I believe everyone has three big chances in life. Mine are firstly, my collaboration with music producer Park Jin Young, followed by my Hollywood debut in the Wachowskis' 'Speed Racer' and consequent relationship with them, and now this role in 'Ninja Assassin'," he said. "We have a very good chemistry. And now it's led to more exposure ... This is a beginning of a new stage of my life and I cannot afford to be lazy." Dude, I've sent them script upon script and still no call. Our boy wonder meets them and - boom - it's hello Hollywood! Unfair or not?

He can diet successfully ... and I can't.

And he managed to still maintain it months after filming was over.

"Salt and sugar were strictly forbidden in order to build my body. I could only eat chicken breast and vegetables," he said. "Over 90 per cent of the action stunts were performed by me so I had to keep my body really light and reduce my body fat to almost zero. I trained hard.

"First thing I ate right after the last day of filming was hamburger and French fries," he added. "I really overworked my body for 'Ninja Assassin'. Now that it's over, I am more concerned about being healthy mentally and physically. When you're just focused on body-building, you make a lot of sacrifices and I don't think that's very healthy." Whatever. How come it doesn't work for us common folk?

He's a sensitive new age guy - and I'm not.

Do you know what he said when I asked him which director he'd most like to work with? "James Cameron. I really like 'Titanic'." Inconceivable!

He knows how to give clever answers.

When asked what made him unique from the rest of the Asian stars breaking into Hollywood, he said: "My big difference is that I'm much younger." (Read: I have more time to improve and make an impact than those old fogeys.)

When asked why he'd rather speak in Korean even though his English is good enough for interviews, he said: "I have been taking lessons and my English has been improving, but there are so many Korean journalists here today so I felt it better to speak in Korean and make myself be understood by everybody. And by using Korean, I can give more detailed information with different nuances." Somebody translate, please.

He's got more fans than I do.

Everyone from my male theatre friends, to my screaming pre-teen niece to the mak cik at my favourite mee rebus stall loves him. Why? "I think I work very hard and people can see that," was Rain's explanation. "Most Korean actors are considered sexy because they work very hard to have fit bodies, and I think that I'm one of them." I'm not even close to sexy yet, but I think the mee rebus mak cik ought to have given me a discount after I told her I had shaken Rain's hand.

He's nicer than I am

"Thank you very very much for all your support. I hope you enjoyed my film," the Korean hunk told me after agreeing to let me take a photo with him. Sigh! How can anybody be so famous and still be so nice? Even Seal refused to let me take a picture with his wife Heidi Klum - and he's not as hot as Rain.

Like I said before, how I can I sooo not like the guy? Who's with me? Anyone? Anyone? Phooey.

Ninja Assassins opens in cinemas on Thursday

Source:www.channelnewsasia.com