‘Assassin(s)’ Park Hae-il says he closely watched Yoo Hae-jin to learn his trade secrets

Park Hae-il said he closely watched fellow actor Yoo Hae-jin to learn his “trade secrets.”

Actor Park Hae-il discussed the film 〈Assassin(s)〉 during a roundtable interview on Sept. 10. Recalling how he first met co-star Yoo Hae-jin, he said, “In 1998, he moved from youth theater to adult theater, and Yoo Hae-jin was already a force onstage by then.”

He added, “We met again 15 years after 〈Moss〉, and I became curious about the secret to his longevity as an actor. So I watched how he prepared on set, and his script was packed with notes for every scene. Then one day, after filming ended, we were each heading to our accommodations in separate cars when he got out midway and ran about 5 kilometers to the lodging.” He marveled at Yoo Hae-jin’s passion, adding, “The very next day, I found a place to run near our accommodations and gave it a try,” drawing laughs.

The film 〈Assassin(s)〉 follows detective Chul-gu (Yoo Hae-jin), social affairs desk chief Jae-hwan (Park Hae-il) and rookie social affairs reporter Yeong-il (Lee Min-ho) as they investigate a 1974 attempted assassination of the president and the suspicions surrounding it. The film opens Sept. 23.