The star learned English to take part in the Star Wars series The Acolyte: she made the right decision

Cultural News The star learned English to take part in the Star Wars series The Acolyte: she made the right decision

A South Korean Jedi Knight

Before traversing the known universe to reach a distant galaxy so famous in popular culture, Lee Jun-jae made himself known to the general Western public with a Netflix series that swept all of its sequels. In 2021, the SVOD service with 260 million subscribers will air the first season of Squid Game. Watched by millions of people around the world, this K-drama quickly becomes a social phenomenon and catches the attention of one actor in particular. The protagonist of the series becomes an international star overnight.

Two years later, Lee Jung-jae came through the front door of the Star Wars franchise. In The Acolyte he plays one of the main characters and the driving force of the series: Jedi Master Soul. However, to land this important role in English, he had to learn the language in response to his colleagues. According to our colleagues The Hollywood Reporter, Lee Jung-jae worked for months to learn and then improve his pronunciation. The actor further mentions Entertainment Weekly Intense combat training to realize his character’s martial skills. Fortunately for him, his previous roles in South Korean action films allowed him to be present during and before the filming of The Acolyte.

I did a lot of action in my previous projects in Korea, so when I started the two-month training camp, I noticed that the fight dancers were starting to teach the basics. Part of me said, “Oh, I already know.” (…) But as the training went on, I realized that these fundamentals that we practiced over and over helped me perform stunts and fight dances on the plateau. -Lee Jung-Jay

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A bright future ahead for Lee Jung-jae

Lee Jung-jae made his mark on the history of the 7th art in 2022. In fact, The South Korean actor became the first person from his country to win an Emmy Award for Best Actor in a “Drama” during the ceremony named after his performance in Squid Game. Season 2 should be released on Netflix in late 2024, with Lee Jung-jae set to take on the role of Seong Ki-hun. At the same time, the latter directed his first film in 2023. Hunt is a spy thriller whose plot follows the assassination of President Park by the Korean CIA in 1980. Finally, learning English will no doubt open doors in Hollywood for Lee Jung-jae. 51 years old, his career in the West is just beginning.

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