The identity of the extremely vile character in the movie turned out to be actor Kim Byung-oh, a former basketball player. Making a shocking impression in the latter part of the movie 'Exhuma,' he boasts an overwhelming presence as tall as his 220cm stature.
His appearance is said to be contributing to the success of the film. The movie 'Exhuma,' released on the 22nd of last month (directed by Jang Jae-hyun), surpassed 7 million viewers in just 16 days (as of March 8). It has become the highest-grossing occult genre film in Korea, surpassing director Na Hong-jin's 'The Wailing' (6.87 million viewers).
Kim Byung-oh laughed, saying, "These days, my friends are sending me a lot of messages saying, 'Let's eat sweetfish.'"
"People around me often call me the '6 million actor' or '7 million actor,' but it's quite embarrassing. It's a bit awkward to be called an actor, but I feel good when I hear that people enjoyed the movie. Just the day before yesterday, I was eating sashimi when my friend said, 'Shouldn't you eat sweetfish?"
The scene where he emerges from the grave and chews on a sweetfish is what made Kim Byung-oh's portrayal of the Japanese ghost in the movie even more eerie.
"The sweetfish that came out of the ground and was squeezed by hand was actually alive. It had a strong smell. However, the sweetfish that I chewed on was actually jelly prepared by the art team."
In fact, Kim Byung-oh's presence symbolizes the 'realism within unreality' that director Jang Jae-hyun portrays. By filling in things that can be expressed with CG with actual objects, it added a sense of weight to the viewing experience. Kim Byung-oh mentioned, "When I was cast, I thought, 'Why do they need me? It could be done with CG,'"
"'Avatar' and similar movies have CG that can make small people look like they're 3m to 4m in size, right? So, when I was cast, I wondered why I was needed. However, as I watched the movie, I understood. Ah! This is it! It took 6 hours to put on makeup on my hands, feet, and face, and 2 hours to remove it. That's how much effort was put into the direction."
Director Jang Jae-hyun cast Kim Byung-oh, a former basketball player who holds the title of second tallest person in Korea, to actually realize the charismatic 'vile' tall figure. The goblin fire that appears with the Japanese ghost in the latter part of the film was also not CG but an actual object.
"That goblin fire was real too. It was something big hanging on a crane and spinning around, and the cold set became warmer."
'Exhuma' received heated attention with the passionate performances of actors such as Choi Min-sik, Kim Go-eun, Yoo Hae-jin, and Lee Do-hyun. The behind-the-scenes stories with them are also interesting. Kim Byung-oh said, "Watching the actors' performances gave me goosebumps."
"There is a scene where I approach menacingly and Kim Go-eun starts to tremble and sob, but as soon as we said 'action,' she suddenly immersed herself in the scene, and it gave me chills. I thought, 'It's cool, I want to try acting too.'"
Senior actors Choi Min-sik and Yoo Hae-jin treated rookie actor Kim Byung-oh with warm consideration.
"It was tough to act barefoot and barehanded on a cold day in the mountains, and Choi Min-sik even brought me a portable heater, and Yoo Hae-jin came to me alone, spoke to me warmly, and took care of me so that I could feel comfortable on set."
-Hul... So the fire was real
-So it was a former basketball player who turned into an actor...
-He must be bigger than a door
-It's even more surprising that the fire ball was real...
-220cm...??? Really...?
-The friends who told him to eat sweetfish are so meanㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-It must've been really hard for him to act barefoot in such weatherㅠㅠ
-The character also used two different voice actors. One Japanese voice actor for the Japanese lines and one Korean voice actor for the monster noises.
-The body was Kim Byung-oh's, the face was Kim Minjoon's, and the voice was Morita Takayama's. He's a famous Japanese actor who starred in Detective Conan.
-Both the article and the comments here are really informativeㅋㅋㅋ
-It was filmed in the middle of winter and he acted barefootedㅠㅠ It must've been toughㅠㅠ
-It didn't look like CG anyway...
-He worked so hard... It's a relief that the movie turned out really well.
-It was actually jelly? That's cuteㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-I naturally thought he was a CG... I didn't expect him to be a real human...
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