The star of 'Lobby', Kang Mal-geum, revealed an episode in which she couldn't put down her e-cigarette.
On the morning of the 27th, an interview with Kang Mal-geum, the lead actress of the movie 'Lobby', was held at a cafe in Jongno, Seoul.
'Lobby' (directed by Ha Jung-woo, produced by Workhouse Company and Film Momentum, provided by Michigan Venture Capital Co. and WYSIWYG STUDIOS Co., distributed by SHOWBOX) depicts the story of Chang-wook (played by Ha Jung-woo), a startup representative who knows nothing but research, as he starts his life's first lobbying golf game to win a 4 trillion won national project. This is Ha Jung-woo's third directorial work, coming ten years after his second, 'Huh Sam-kwan' (2015), following his debut with 'Roller Coaster' in 2013.
Ha Jung-woo plays Chang-wook, a startup representative who knows only research and wishes to succeed purely through technology, while Park Byeong-eun takes on the role of Kwang-woo, the rival company head who secures business through lobbying. Kim Eui-sung plays Choi Sil-jang, a veteran civil servant and a political heavyweight, Kang Hae-rim plays Pro Golfer Jin-pro, Lee Dong-hwi plays journalist Park who facilitates lobbying, Choi Si-won plays the beloved public actor Ma Tae-soo, Cha Joo-young plays the golf club lady, Dami, Gwak Sun-young plays Director Kim, who supports Chang-wook, and Kang Mal-geum takes on the role of the ambitious and corrupt Minister Jo, who has no interest in practical work.
Kang Mal-geum is also showing a remarkable presence in the Netflix series 'Falling for You'. She played the innkeeper Geum-ja, who first taught the harshness of the world to Ae-soon (played by IU) and Gwan-sik (played by Park Bo-gum), who fled to Busan. She is active in both film and OTT.
Minister Jo's signature prop is an e-cigarette that she always holds, and Kang Mal-geum noted, "It produced a lot of smoke, almost like the mythical creature Yong-gari. Smoke came out from my nostrils like a turtle ship. (laughs) I smoked like crazy throughout the shoot. There were so many fun scenes where I had to keep blowing out smoke."
She said there was no harm to her health, explaining, "It was a cigarette with almost no nicotine. When we were shooting at the shade house, it broke when I put it down. That day, the production team went to Sokcho and brought back the same product," recalling that moment.
In response to a question, "Isn't it hard to keep smoking even if it's an e-cigarette?" she added, "I was a smoker. I had smoked once 10 years ago. Since I know how to smoke, the e-cigarette smoke wasn't too hard to handle."
Kang Mal-geum, who worked with director Ha Jung-woo for the first time, said, "I felt he was a bigger person than me. I've played strong roles before, but when acting as 'Eul', he transformed right into that role. I realized that I didn't need to worry much during the initial filming. I felt, 'This person truly embodies the perspective of Eul.' The moment the shoot started, he completely let go of that pressure." She expressed gratitude, saying, "As a director, he surprised me as well. I'm an actor with many flaws, but he never made me feel like I was being judged. If an actor was not in good condition or was underprepared, he would watch the monitor with me and suggest, 'How about this?' That felt warm. He looked at the monitor with a gaze of affection. When we filmed something successful, he was so happy and joyful. That aspect was the most empowering for me."
Meanwhile, 'Lobby' is set to be released on April 2.
[Photo] Provided by SHOWBOX
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