Cho Jin-woong is a 'Dead Man' in Ha Joon-won's directorial debut film

Actor Cho Jin-woong returns to the silver screen in the upcoming film "Dead Man" as a man who sells his name to shady businesses in return for payment — until his name gets used in an embezzlement scheme worth billions of won.

From left, director Ha Joon-won, actors Lee Soo-kyung, Kim Hee-ae and Cho Jin-woong pose for photos at a press conference for the film ″Dead Man″ at Megabox Seongsu in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, on Friday. [NEWS1]

Actor Cho Jin-woong returns to the silver screen in the upcoming film "Dead Man" as a man who sells his name to shady businesses in return for payment — until his name gets used in an embezzlement scheme worth billions of won.

Coming to theaters on Feb. 7 , “Dead Man” is the directorial debut of Ha Joon-won, who co-wrote the screenplay for director Bong Joon-ho’s 2006 film “The Host.”

“It took me more than five years to research the material for ‘Dead Man,’” Ha said during a press conference for the film at Megabox Seongsu in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, on Friday. “People who sell their names as figureheads would not reveal themselves easily, and it was also dangerous trying to get ahold of them doing business overseas.”

“I felt that the premise, story and script were very well structured when I first received it,” Cho said during the press conference. “You can really tell that the director spent a lot of time researching the story and that a lot of effort was put into this. The characters are very alive, and the setting and plotline feels real. It’s kind of tragic, too, that people have to go to the lengths of selling their names to make a living.”

Lee Man-jae, the man who sells his name out to businesses in return for payment in “Dead Man,” played by Cho, goes through an emotional rollercoaster throughout the film, according to the actor.

Main poster for ″Dead Man″ [PLUS M ENTERTAINMENT]

“Man-jae’s situation changes overnight as he becomes a figurative ‘dead man’ because his name is killed off in Korea, and he has to go to China to escape,” Cho said. “I tried to play him with the aim of throwing myself 100 percent into that kind of situation — how horrendous and scared a person would feel if they were in Man-jae’s shoes.”

Actor Kim Hee-ae, who plays a supporting role as a political consultant in “Dead Man,” said that Man-jae brought out the very best in Cho.

“'Dead Man’ will be the work that shows the real charms of Cho as an actor,” Kim said. “He shows how you can get dragged into a situation against your will and how desperate you can feel, and it’s an impeccable performance. You can bet that Cho will show everything he’s got and it will come out spectacularly.”

Kim also talked of her own character, political consultant Ms. Shim, whom Man-jae contacts after becoming a “dead man” in hopes of clearing his name from the embezzlement crime.

“My character is nothing like you’ve seen before for a middle-aged woman in Korean film,” Kim said. “She is sure of what she wants and is very powerful, inside and out. A point to watch out for would be whether Ms. Shim is on Man-jae’s side or whether she has other items on her agenda. Because Ms. Shim was such a colorful character, we had to spend a lot of time and effort on her appearance as well, with the wardrobe and makeup departments. It was a lot of fun.”

Director Ha showed the script for “Dead Man” to Bong before it went into production, and the auteur was adamant that the story would do well as a film, Ha said.

“Bong is very clear when he reviews scripts and says concretely whether a film will be accepted by audiences or not,” Ha said. “With ‘Dead Man,’ he was sure that it would be the former. I was of course ecstatic to receive that feedback. I hope audiences will be equally entertained by ‘Dead Man.’”

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