Lee Byung Hun will be featured in G.I.JOE 2

After debuting in Hollywood last year with “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, actor Lee Byung Hun will be leaving for the U.S. again to begin filming for “G.I. Joe 2.”

Lee will be continuing his role as ‘Storm Shadow’, and is slotted to team up again with actress Sienna Miller. His role will also be expanded to become a pivotal character in the plot.

The movie itself has earned much success, as it recorded a staggering statistic of $302, 130,000 USD – the greatest Hollywood achievement made by any Korean actor who has gone overseas.

Lee will be preparing for his role starting May, and leave for the U.S. by June. The movie will be released by the summer of 2012.

Source + Photos: Joy News 24 via Daum

IRIS 2 Lee Byung Hun will be not participated

‘Athena: Goddess of War‘, is a spin-off of the highly popular and successful KBS2 drama series ‘IRIS’, in which Lee Byung Hun and Kim Tae Hee took main roles. Many netizens had been curious about whether these two actors will be re-cast in ‘IRIS 2′, and finally on the morning of the 31st, an associate of Lee Byung Hun stated that the actor did indeed receive an offer and was currently looking into the character role.

“We have never received a casting offer from the production company Taewon Entertainment, nor have we even read the synopsis of the drama.

In reality, we are not in a situation for Lee Byung Hun to be cast for this spinoff. The filming for ‘G.I Joe 2′ will start at the end of this year. Due to ‘G.I Joe 2′, there will not be any plans for him to star in other dramas or movies for a while.”

Lee Byung Hun interview with CNN [Videos]

Lee Byung-Hun interviewed with CNN

Full Press Release from CNN:

Dubbed the “James Dean of Asia”, Lee Byung-hun is one of South Korea’s favourite leading actors, starring in over twenty soap operas and more than a dozen films. He broke into mainstream Hollywood with his role as Storm Shadow in “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, and the Korean superstar soon won fans with his good looks and versatile acting skills. On this week’s TALK ASIA, CNN’s Anna Coren spends the day with Lee and joins him on the red carpet of the 14th Pusan International Film Festival’s opening night.

The Korean actor’s Hollywood debut, Stephen Sommers’ action flick “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” grossed over US$300 million worldwide. With a sequel already in the works, Lee reveals that he actually was not aware of the toy action figures and even initially turned down the role: “When I first heard about G.I. Joe from my agent, I didn’t know what it was. I refused it at first. But everybody told me to do it because it’s going to be so huge and it’s going to be a huge opportunity to go there. One of my very good friends Park Chan-wook, who made “Old Boy”, advised me if you really want to go to Hollywood, why don’t you do it? It will be a very good opportunity.”

Despite his fluent English, the thought of acting in western films never crossed the 39-year-old’s mind: “I actually didn’t think about going to Hollywood. A few years ago, nobody thought it would happen. Because it’s just a dream for Korean actors. Nowadays it’s not a dream anymore. It’s reality.” His performance impressed Josh Hartnett, his co-star from “I come with the Rain” as the American actor says: “I became a big fan of his on set because of his sort of amazing work ethic, his ability to be at once kind of a big movie star and an incredibly gifted actor.”

Lee’s popularity at home has not been diminished by his time spent in Hollywood as the TV drama “Iris” he recently starred in topped the ratings. TALK ASIA visits the set of “Iris”, Korea’s most expensive soap opera, where the star explains why the ‘Hallyu’ or ‘Korean wave’, has expanded rapidly worldwide and increased cultural interest in Korea: “The Korean drama still talks about the family thing, their love, their hate. They could feel the old emotions. That’s why the Japanese people and Chinese people love the Korean dramas.”

His career took off domestically with “Joint Security Area” – a box office smash about how a secret friendship is formed between the North and South Korean soldiers working in the DMZ, as he recalls: “We were surprised by the size of the audience. That movie made me so popular and famous in Korea. So I was very thankful to Mr. Park (Park Chan-wook).” Lee believes that the movie struck a chord with the audience: “It’s not about the ideology or something like that. It’s not about politics. That movie was based on the truth.” When asked if he sees a reunification between the North and the South in his lifetime, the South Korean replies: “personally, I hope so. Yes, it could happen I think.”

Often under the spotlight, Lee admits he misses being anonymous. He describes to Coren how he pretended to be a taxi driver once to enjoy those times: “Actually it was illegal because I don’t have taxi driver’s license. But anyway, I borrowed a taxi from my friend. He was the boss of the taxi company. I borrowed a taxi and I drove for a few days. It was so fun and such an interesting experience. (Coren: So you’re picking up people and taking them to destinations?) Yes, nobody recognised me because I was hiding everything. I thought they were scared because nobody does that with the mask, hat and glasses. No driver does that.”

Lee Byung-hun’s full interview will be available after the first airing online at www.cnn.com/talkasia.

Lee Byung Hun he was diagnosed H1N1 during filming IRIS

Jung Tae Won of TaeWon Entertainment, the production company of KBS 2TV IRIS, stated,

"Lee Byung Hun was actually declared positive for the H1N1 virus, but continued his filming regardless. To prevent from spreading, the staffs and actors were told to wear a mask."

Another representative revealed,

"Lee Byung Hun showed mild symptoms of cold on the day of Blue Dragon Movie Awards (December 2). He visited the hospital to receive the medications but received a checkup for the H1N1 virus just in case.

The day after the hospital visit, we were told the results were positive and immediately began to give Lee Byung Hun Tamiflu. He was only able to receive an hour of sleep that day and continued his midnight filmings. Luckily, Lee fully recovered after only a couple of days .

The team was filming the GwangHwaMun shooting scene where no close contact was needed, so none of the others were infected. That includes the staff, friends, managers and families. "

Lee Byung-Hun was selected as the most wanted boyfriend in Japan

Japanese monthly magazine CREA picked the No. 1 actor to date in Hollywood and Asia. Lee was chosen as the top actor among 40 Asian superstars. Among Hollywood actors, Zac Efron from the movies "Hairspray" and "High School Musical: Graduation" was picked as the best boyfriend.

The magazine introduced Lee's background in film and television dramas, his participation in UNICEF as a special delegate, his educational background and the languages he is fluent in (Korean, English, French and Mandarin Chinese). In addition, CREA announced that Lee's Japanese single album had received the "Best Asian Artist Award" in the 23rd Golden Disk Award Ceremony.

The publication noted that most of Lee's roles on screen were strong and manly, giving Lee his "poker face" image. However, at Cannes, Lee was moved to tears when he received a standing ovation for his movie "The Good, the Bad, the Weird." CREA mentioned this incident, revealing the actor's hidden inner warmth.

"The Good, the Bad, the Weird," along with Lee's other two movies "G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra," and "I Come with the Rain" are being released in Japan this summer. Lee will spend his summer promoting his movies.

Korea Herald

Well not for me i guess haha xD