Lee Byung-hun first heard of ‘No Other Choice’ 17 years ago, now leads Venice entry
Actor Lee Byung-hun attends the red carpet of the movie "No Other Choice" presented in competition at the 82nd International Venice Film Festival, at Venice Lido, Friday. AFP-Yonhap
VENICE, Italy — Actor Lee Byung-hun said his collaboration with director Park Chan-wook on “No Other Choice” has been nearly two decades in the making, recalling that he first heard about the project 17 years ago while filming in Hollywood.
The film, which had its world premiere in competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on Aug. 29, features Lee as Man-soo, a middle-aged man laid off after 25 years at a paper mill.
Struggling to protect his family and home, Man-soo devises a desperate plan to eliminate potential competitors for a new job. The role demanded Lee’s signature balance of restraint and intensity, producing what IndieWire praised as a performance that “anchors Park’s tragic yet comic tone with elegance.”
Lee said his first conversation about the project dates back to around 2007, during the filming of “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.”
“Director Park was in the U.S. with director Kim Jee-woon, and over dinner he mentioned the story,” Lee recalled in an interview on Lido Island the morning after the premiere. “I half-jokingly told him, ‘If you ever need a Korean actor, call me.’”
At the time, Park was working to adapt Donald Westlake’s novel “The Axe” into an American film. But as the project stalled, Park later decided to relocate the story to Korea, eventually offering the role to Lee.
“I loved it immediately,” the actor said. “When I read the script, I thought it was very funny, with a sharp sense of black comedy.”
The film marks Lee’s first collaboration with Park since “Three... Extremes” in 2004.
Cast member Lee Byung-hun takes a picture with fans on the red carpet for the screening of the movie "No Other Choice" in competition, at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, Venice, Italy, Friday. Reuters-Yonhap
Building Man-soo’s face
For Lee, the key challenge was making Man-soo’s extreme actions both believable and at times darkly comic.
“It’s a character who commits crimes, yet he’s an ordinary middle-aged man,” he said. “I wanted the audience to stay convinced, not uncomfortable, so I focused on restraint and credibility.”
The transformation included experimenting with looks. “At one point, I had curly hair and a thick mustache that made me look like a cartel boss,” Lee joked. “We even tried something like Mads Mikkelsen’s flowing hairstyle. Eventually, the mustache stayed, because it reflected Man-soo’s fragile confidence.”
For Lee, Venice was also a reminder of how far Korean content has traveled. Walking the red carpet, he was met with fans chanting “Lee!” in unison.
“You might think K-culture is still niche,” he said, “but here, it feels like it’s becoming mainstream. Seeing that kind of reception in Venice was both surreal and overwhelming.”
“No Other Choice” is Lee’s first film role in years that blends his flair for complex antiheroes with Park’s signature mix of satire and sorrow — a collaboration that, by his account, has been 17 years in the making.
Lee Byung-hun, left, poses for photographers on the red carpet for the film 'No Other Choice' during the 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Friday. AP-Yonhap
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.