[Interview] ‘Thief’ Kim Nam-gil “I don’t have the burden of anti-Japanese work, I’m afraid of maggots so I can’t make soybean paste”

Kim Nam-gil (43), a trustworthy actor, became the leader of a group of thieves this time.

The Netflix series ‘Thief: The Sound of the Sword’ (hereinafter referred to as ‘The Thief’), which was released last month, is set in 1920 in Gando, a lawless land where the land of China, money from Japan, and people from Joseon gathered together to protect their precious people and their home. This is an action drama that they engage in. It represents a Korean-style western action film with entangled fate and intense and spectacular action that begins in the sandy wasteland of Gando.

Director Hwang Jun-hyuk, who directed the dramas ‘Squad 38’, ‘Bad Guys: City of Evil’ and ‘Black Dog’, and director Park Hyun-seok, who directed ‘Secret Forest 2’ and ‘Hometown’, ‘Vampire Prosecutor’, ‘Squad 38’ and ‘Bad’. Writer Jeong-Hoon Han, who wrote the screenplay for ‘Guys: City of Evil’, teamed up. Actors Kim Nam-gil, Seohyun, Lee Ho-jeong, and Yoo Jae-myeong appeared.

In ‘Thieves’, Kim Nam-gil played the role of ‘Lee Yoon’, who goes from a slave to a Japanese soldier to a leader of a group of thieves, choosing to live a life so that he will no longer be deprived and suffer.

When asked about his thoughts after the release, he said, “I enjoyed watching it. Everyone goes through a hard time while working. So, rather than the hard work I went through, I have curiosity and anticipation about how people will receive it. It was refreshing that ‘The Thief’ was set in the 1920s and featured a Western genre. It could be said to be a period drama, but we wanted to combine the Eastern and Western periods. Instead of telling a story about a special event, I created a story that could have happened by reflecting fantasy elements in the period. “That part was fascinating,” he said, expressing his affection.

When asked if he had any concerns about how Japanese fans would view this work, which contained an anti-Japanese message, he immediately responded, “There were no such concerns.”

He added, “I am not an idol and my fans think of that as a separate matter. There are political issues, but culture is viewed according to culture. I’m not talking about something that didn’t happen, but I’m talking about events that happened in the past. Don’t make soybean paste because you’re afraid of maggots. The fans all understand. Even when the Dokdo issue arose in the past, cultural exchanges were active. “I think culture should be a tool for reconciliation even if we fight politically,” he said, expressing his thoughts.

Kim Nam-gil, who is known for his good action skills, steals attention with various actions using various tools such as guns, swords and axes in ‘The Thief’.

He said, “This martial arts director is the same person who worked with me on ‘Island,’ and he said he would like to try a new long take action in ‘Thief.’ To make the action easier, divide it into cuts to make it faster and look more realistic. If it doesn’t go well, you can just stop and go, but long takes are tiring. However, I decided to express being tired as a natural thing. He said, “There was a burden of not being able to hide behind expedients, but it was rewarding to be able to do a new long take action.”

He continued, “I used a tool that I had never used before. In modern dramas, if you load the gun and pull it, it goes out automatically, doesn’t it? “But here, you have to calculate the number of bullets every time you shoot,” he said. “When using a gun on a horse, there were times when I hit the horse’s head because it had a Winchester gun, and it was difficult to keep my balance. The total weight is about 15 to 20 kg, so it is too heavy. If you do it wrong, your finger will go out. All the veins burst. “When calluses form, they don’t hurt, but if you turn on a rainy day, the skin softens and tears,” he said, sharing his story of hardship.

He mentioned Jung Woo-sung, who starred in the movie ‘The Guardian’ and showed off his spectacular long-gun action in the Western genre film ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Weird’.

He said, “Woosung’s advice was of no help. I also feel sad about doing the action myself, but it is really difficult and dangerous for the horse to run backwards. Just passing through the words is not easy. He told me how he filmed it, but he told me not to do it because it was dangerous. They said they would do better, but it was dangerous. I did it once and quit. Fortunately, the one or two times turned out well. “No matter how much advice Woosung gave me, I don’t think it helped in that sense because the people giving it are different,” he joked.

Kim Nam-gil confessed that he felt a lot of pressure as ‘The Thief’ was released during the Chuseok holiday, following the global hit ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Suriname’, which gained popularity last year.

He said, “I did my best to create a work, but I don’t know what the result will be, whether it will be chosen or not. These days, I can’t seem to figure it out. I didn’t know when ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Suriname’ were released, but then I heard that ‘The Thief’ is also a work that Netflix is ​​pushing during Chuseok. All of my previous works have been successful, so I hope that ‘The Thief’ will be understood and chosen by the public, even if it is not as successful. I saw ‘The Thief’ for the first time when it was released, and my throat got lumpy. My throat was all lumpy and it hurt so much. “I felt that much pressure,” he confessed.

He expressed his wish more strongly than anyone else for the production of Season 2 of ‘The Thief’, which ended with an open ending, and emphasized, “Please write that filming will begin next fall.”

He said, “I wish I could tell more of the story I had been saving. Initially, it was planned to be 20 episodes. I said that everything should be included in Season 1. He said that if this goes well, there will be a season 2 and season 3. Since I don’t know when or what will happen, I told them to throw away all the good things. Isn’t it only possible to do season 2 if there is a response to season 1? First of all, my hope is that season 2 will come out. I don’t know if we filmed season 2 together, but if it takes too long for season 2 to come out, you won’t remember season 1. If you want to resolve the questions and regrets that are present and present it with completeness, you need to do it quickly. “Please put pressure on Netflix,” he said again, drawing laughter.

He, who continues to work hard like a cow in numerous dramas and movies, as well as the recent MBC road documentary ‘I Will Leave Anything’, said that he wants to continue to challenge himself in the future.

“I’ve done a lot of action scenes, but I also want to try a variety of genres because they can be standardized. There are a lot of melodrama and romantic comedy stories, but they are not being produced, so I hope those genres are produced as well. There are a lot of things I want to try. Ever since I discovered the fun of acting in the movie ‘The Shameless,’ I wanted to utilize the fun I felt on set. I want to do a lot of work and experience a lot of different things. In the past, seniors used to say that if you learn a job, you should produce a lot of works. I also want to accumulate a lot of filmography like my seniors. The more I act, the more I improve. I find something new in it and my horizons broaden. Knowing that there are many good actors in the field is also a new stimulus. “I want to do a lot.”

[Reporter Yang So-young, Star Today]