Actor Kwon Sang-woo

By Ines Min
Contributing Writer

Actor Kwon Sang-woo may soon be making his Hollywood debut with a role in the upcoming film ``The Green Hornet,'' Nate News reported last Friday.

Kwon is said to be up for the role of Kato, the Green Hornet's sidekick ― a role which was originally meant for Chinese star Stephen Chow. Chow was also supposed to direct the film based on the 1930s radio program-turned-comic book, but stepped down in December 2008 due to creative differences and pulled out of the role last July.

Kwon reportedly passed an English audition, attended by Seth Rogen and newly attached director Michel Gondry (``Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"). The final decision will be announced in a month.

Rogen, who co-wrote the script, will play the role of the Green Hornet. The film will be about a newspaper publisher who becomes a crime-fighting vigilante at night. The Green Hornet has already been adapted into a comic book, TV series and feature film. Kato's ethnicity changed over the years from Japanese to Filipino to Korean, depending on current political climates. Nicholas Cage has also signed on to play a villain, while Cameron Diaz will play the Green Hornet's love interest.

If Kwon claims the role of Kato, he will be the third Korean actor to co-star in a major upcoming Hollywood action film. Lee Byung-hun will play Storm Shadow in ``G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,'' to be released here Aug. 6, while Rain will fulfill the role of Raizo in ``Ninja Assassin,'' to be released Nov. 25.

The Green Hornet has scheduled a U.S. release date of July 9, 2010. The release date for Korea has not been announced.

seninim@gmail.com