Lee Jung-jae: “It was very difficult for me to shoot The Acolyte in English”
Star of Squid Game, the South Korean actor dons the dress of Master Sol in the new Star Wars series. He explains his character and how he experienced his first shoot in Hollywood.
FIRST: You speak English very well in the series, but you prefer not to do the interview in English…
Lee Jung-jae (in Korean with a translator): In fact, I believe that to speak in depth about my character, find the right words to convey what we wanted to do on The Acolyteit’s simpler in Korean (laughs).
The Acolyte is your first American production. Was it difficult for you to film in English?
It was very difficult because my language is used to speaking Korean. My mouth muscles are not suited to speaking English. So every time I tried to say something, my teeth would get stuck in my mouth and it would seriously wear me out. It was so hard that during the first weeks of filming, I had trouble swallowing while eating. It took me a month to get used to it.
Star Wars is a phenomenon in South Korea, like in the Western world?
Yes, I saw the first installment when I was a child. In primary school, we also played Star Wars in the school yard.
Who really is Master Sol, the new Jedi you play?
It must be seen in two stages: there is the Sol of the past and the Sol of the present. His expression changes a lot between the two. He doesn’t react the same way after what happened on the planet Brendok. But above all, Sol is a Jedi who embodies good, but who suffers from great loneliness. That’s really what characterizes him deep down.
What is his place within the Jedi order, visibly dominated at this time by Master Vernestra Rwoh?
In fact, it is not quite the hierarchy that we know in classical human society. The Jedi Order has a slightly different form of hierarchy in my opinion. It’s more about colleagues supporting each other. There are Masters who excel more than others in the Force or the art of combat. But the notion of mutual respect is central. Jedi think of others first before thinking of entering into conflict with others. Master Sol always has this idea of benevolence, and that is why he is very respected in the Order.
At the end of episode 4 (this Wednesday on Disney +), Sol is confronted for the first time with the dark side. What is going through his mind?
Rather than showing Sol as a hero full of courage, I wanted to portray him as a Jedi very close to human being. So he’s scared! He is surprised by what he sees in front of him, he is afraid of this red lightsaber! The beautiful thing is that he will have to overcome this fear. Sol really has this close side to us. He has natural feelings similar to ours and at that moment he is really very nervous.
Star Wars: The Acolyte continues every Wednesday on Disney Plus.
