Late bloomer wins best actor award for spy film

By Kang Aa-young

Veteran actor Lee Sung-min, 49, won the Best Actor Award at the Grand Bells Awards ― better known to the Korean public as Daejong Film Awards ― on Monday for his performance in the critically acclaimed film “The Spy Gone North.”

Award-winning actor Hwang Jung-min, who played the South Korean spy codenamed Black Venus in the same movie, was also honored in the same category, showing the two actors were in a tight competition for the award and thus judges were determined to honor both actors.

The best actress award went to Na Moon-hee who played a survivor of Japanese wartime sex slavery in “I Can Speak.”

In the winning speech, Lee said he owes his success to fellow actor Hwang.

“There's no doubt the lead actor of this film was Hwang,” he said after winning the award. “I didn't do much. I think he fed me… I thank director Yun for giving me the opportunity to play the character.”

In a media interview earlier, Lee said “The Spy Gone North” directed by Yun Jong-bin encouraged him to look back on his past three decades of acting because his character was a departure from what he had done in past films.

In the film, Lee plays high-ranking North Korean official Ri Myung-un who is in charge of the impoverished country's earning of hard currency overseas. Ri is one of the henchmen of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. He rarely reveals his emotions but has warmth for poor North Koreans deep in his heart.

The actor said it was difficult to play the character but he learned a lot while shooting the film. “I feel like I played music without having a break,” he said.

While shooting the spy action film, Lee said he was uncomfortable because he couldn't present the character as described in the screenplay. “I struggled to breathe (because of the pressure for acting),” he said. “I thought my acting over the past 30 years was wrong and felt my performance in my previous works were dirty and redundant.”

Lee is a late bloomer in the film industry.

Though he got an award at the very beginning of his theater debut, his screen career didn't go so well. For 25 years after his debut, took on mostly supporting roles on TV and in films. He often played villains and comic relief.

However, his experience has shaped him into a credible actor. He has been constantly challenging himself across a wide spectrum of genres, building his reputation as “a scene stealer” over the years. He started to draw public attention for his remarkable performance in MBC's 2012 medical TV series “Golden Time” and the 2014 movie “Broken.”

He won the best actor award at tvN for his performance in the 2014 drama “Misaeng.” The hit drama helped him earn fame.