Actor Lee Min-jae (25) revealed that his SNS followers increased after the release of 'Weak Hero 2'.
The movie 'Boy in the Pool', which will be released on the 14th, is a coming-of-age story about a girl named Seok-young who loves swimming and a boy named Woo-joo who has webbed feet. It is the debut feature film of rookie director Ryu Yeon-soo, featuring dance crew HOOK member Hyo-woo and rising actor Lee Min-jae playing Seok-young and Woo-joo, respectively.
Lee Min-jae made his debut in the 2018 film 'The Remaining Child'. He gained recognition through dramas 'Crash Course in Romance', 'Hyde', and the film 'Jeon, Ran'.
He recently played the role of Ko Hyun-tak in the Netflix series 'Weak Hero Class 2'. Notably, 'Weak Hero 2' gained attention by reaching the number one spot in the global non-English category on Netflix just three days after its release.
When asked if he feels the popularity, Lee Min-jae replied, "I caught a cold around the time 'Weak Hero 2' was released and was bedridden. So I didn't really feel it because I was only looking at my phone. I wasn't that busy either."
He continued, "What's interesting is that my Instagram followers were about 200,000, but they increased to 850,000. There were many comments in foreign languages. I'm grateful. But because I was sick, I couldn't enjoy it. Of course, it's good to have more followers, but at some point, I realized that I didn't like being swayed by these numbers. They are just numbers, and I wanted to focus on the essence. I want to have a healthy long career," he confessed.
When asked which character is more similar to his real self, between Woo-joo from 'Boy in the Pool' and Ko Hyun-tak from 'Weak Hero', he answered, "Ko Hyun-tak is more similar to my real personality. Most of it, more than half, is probably similar."
He added, "So far, most of my temperament has been bold and very much like Hyun-tak. But I think Woo-joo is deep inside me. I find it interesting to discover that with each project. I feel like I'm getting to know myself through my work."
Additionally, he confessed, "I used to be an ENFP. I liked people, talked a lot, and was very curious. But I recently took a test and it came out as ISTP. It's fascinating."
Having practiced Taekwondo for 11 years, he said, "I'm not a former athlete. I started Taekwondo when I was 5 years old. I thought about becoming an athlete in elementary school, but the training process was different from what I enjoyed, so I thought this isn't for me."
He expressed his confidence, saying, "I believe I have good athletic ability. My dad was a judo athlete, so I think I inherited that. I can follow along well after seeing something once. I'm confident I can do action well," showing his passion.
How did he start acting? He said, "My grandmother, who was watching the drama 'Descendants of the Sun' with me, told me to try acting. That's how I started. My family enjoyed watching 'Weak Hero 2' too. But there were many scenes that hit close to home, so they felt sad. My grandmother said I did well," he joked.
Now in his eighth year since debut, Lee Min-jae is set to continue his active career as a detective named Dokgo-cheol in the Genie TV original drama 'Precious My Star'.
He smiled, saying, "Through 'Boy in the Pool', my perspective on reading scripts has broadened, and after filming 'Weak Hero 2', I started to think about the exact position I need to express when I take on a role in a script. I'm still lacking, but at those moments, I feel like I've grown. I'm currently filming 'Precious My Star', and I want to act well, which I love."
[Yang So-young, Star Today Reporter]
