Yoo Hae-jin finds first love in rom-com 'Honey Sweet'

Veteran actor Yoo Hae-jin is 53 and "still single," but that has not prevented him from meeting the love of his life or having a heart-wrenching breakup. While filming the new romantic comedy "Honey Sweet," in which he plays the lead role of...

Actor Yoo Hae-jin [MIND MARK]

Veteran actor Yoo Hae-jin is 53 and "still single," but that has not prevented him from meeting the love of his life or having a heart-wrenching breakup.

While filming the new romantic comedy "Honey Sweet," in which he plays the lead role of Chi-ho, Yoo says he was able to reminisce about his innocent first love as well as painful breakups. In the film, Chi-ho meets and falls in love with Il-young, played by Kim Hee-seon.

“I am too old and have gone through too much to feel that fluttering feeling of first love, but taking part in this film has made me look back on those days with fond memories," Yoo said during a group interview on Wednesday.

Main poster for ″Honey Sweet″ [MIND MARK]

Chi-ho is a researcher at a confectionary company who knows nothing outside of his job of developing the next hit sweets or snacks. Yoo loved this part of the character, having a sweet tooth himself, and was able to deliver many of the lines involving sweet ad-libs.

“I think with this kind of lighthearted film, we actors have to find our own way of making the characters come alive and making each scene more entertaining and funnier,” he added. “It is not just with our lines but our facial expressions and how we react to each other’s acting.”

Yoo Hae-jin plays Chi-ho, the protagonist of ″Honey Sweet,″ an upcoming romantic comedy film about a confectionary company researcher who falls in love for the first time [MIND MARK]

Although Yoo admitted that “Honey Sweet” is a romance between two middle-aged people, he confessed that he does not want it to be labeled as such as he hopes the audience will watch it without any preconceptions.

“If we say that the story involves a middle-aged romance, I worry that younger people will not see the film,” Yoo said. “And it does technically involve a middle-aged man and woman but it is ultimately about first love, which I think transcends all ages.”

Though the pressure is on as "Honey Sweet" opens in theaters on Aug. 15 and competes against a handful of domestically produced blockbusters, Yoo said smaller films such as his need to be released and do well for the overall health of the film industry.

Yoo Hae-jin, left, as Chi-ho, who falls in love with Il-young, played by Kim Hee-seon, right, in the new romantic comedy film "Honey Sweet" [MIND MARK]

“We need a lot of different types of films in theaters,” he said. “If it is all blockbusters and big-budget films I think people will grow tired of going to the cinema. Smaller to middle-budget films such as ‘Honey Sweet’ also need to be made and do well so that more investors will support such films and more of them can be made. I urge everyone to support smaller films in theaters.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]