I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 382

When this year’s Best Actor was announced at the Grand Bell Awards.

“Best Actor Award!! Congratulations! Kang Woo-jin of ‘Leech’!!”

Kang Woo-jin, rising from his seat and the focus of countless cameras, maintained a calm expression. It was the same as handshakes and congratulations poured in from the surrounding actors and staff. With an indifferent look, Woo-jin walked calmly onto the stage.

“……”

He felt detached. His eyes were dazzled, his ears were ringing, and his throat was dry. Adrenaline surged through him, a tingling sensation spreading through his hands and feet. His heart raced, and his vision narrowed.

However, his concept remained solid.

As he walked onto the stage, Kang Woo-jin realized.

‘Two years—no, it’ll soon be three years. I, who knew nothing, have come this far. Best Actor Award? It still feels a bit surreal… but standing here isn’t difficult.’

He had grown accustomed to this jungle-like entertainment industry. It felt like only yesterday he was an ordinary citizen who never even glanced at a script. Now, this magnificent stage, the dazzling lights, and the praise from renowned actors didn’t feel awkward. He had adapted. He had overcome so much and pushed himself so hard.

But Woo-jin didn’t lose his initial mindset.

It was possible because he had a separate core.

‘Still! Ugh—it’s so embarrassing because all the super famous actors are staring at me. Will I ever get used to this in a few more years??’

Somehow, the domestic major film festivals felt more awkward to Kang Woo-jin than Cannes. Overseas, they were world stars and global top actors, faces unfamiliar to Woo-jin. But here, there were so many actors he knew so well. The stars he used to see on TV or in movie theaters were now showering Kang Woo-jin with enthusiastic applause.

But the more it was like that, the more Woo-jin strengthened his resolve.

Before going on stage and even after going on stage, Kang Woo-jin’s poker face didn’t waver at all. Hundreds of actors who saw this were amazed.

“You don’t smile at all, Woo-jin. You were like that at the Blue Dragon Awards too, right?”

“Is he not satisfied?”

“Wow—after winning Best Actor at Cannes for the first time, he swept all the domestic Best Actor awards this year, not to mention two 20-million-viewer movies??”

“His mindset must be completely different from ours. Woo-jin had that kind of vibe even when he won Best Actor at Cannes.”

The aura of the anomaly in front of them was awe-inspiring. Even though he had made the impossible possible in just two years.

“I guess… is this what they mean by being on a different level?”

“It’s a fantasy, honestly. I can’t believe it even though I’m seeing it with my own eyes.”

“He’s already in a situation where he might go to Hollywood. Would domestic trophies even catch his eye?”

It seemed like Kang Woo-jin was aiming even higher now.

But this was a misconception.

After receiving the trophy and bouquet, Kang Woo-jin stood in front of the standing microphone.

‘Ha—Best Actor is nice, but I really want something sweet. I should just run away from the after-party.’

Without looking any higher, his mind was full of thoughts of going home.

A few hours later.

It was almost midnight when Kang Woo-jin arrived home. As expected after the Grand Bell Awards, the spotlight of hundreds of reporters was focused on Woo-jin. A barrage of questions and flashes. After responding to them appropriately, Woo-jin returned home immediately without attending either the Grand Bell Awards or the BW Entertainment after-party.

As soon as he entered the living room, he stretched out.

“Kkeueuk!!”

The concept he had been wearing all day was lightly erased. A smile spread across his face. He was looking at the trophies lined up on the shelf in the living room. Adding the Best Actor trophy from the Grand Bell Awards just now made it quite a sight.

“How many is this?”

It felt like medals of honor. Kang Woo-jin had been collecting awards since his debut. Last year, he had over eight, including rookie and supporting actor awards in broadcasting. This year, although the number was less than last year, they were all main lead actor awards. Among them, the Cannes Film Festival trophy was by far the most dazzling.

Soon, Woo-jin crossed his arms, looking at the incredibly increased number of trophies. His smile deepened as a bonus.

“I’ve conquered the domestic scene and Cannes—is the only thing left now really Hollywood?”

Woo-jin had already achieved incredible results, but he was not yet at the top. There was always a higher level above. The world’s most prestigious awards ceremonies were still ahead. A place where true titans gathered. He couldn’t guarantee the future yet, but right now, Woo-jin felt like he could do anything.

“Just like I always do, yeah. Simply.”

After speaking to himself, Kang Woo-jin, who had clearly established himself as the best actor in the country today, turned his body. Then, with a relaxed gesture, he took something out.

“First, let’s start with a bowl.”

It was a bowl of instant noodles.

Later.

After pouring hot water into the instant noodles he had chosen for a late-night snack, Kang Woo-jin picked up his phone.

“Let’s see, how is it going—”

He was curious about the current state of the media. He had experienced it last year, but this year the situation was different, wasn’t it? As expected, the internet was in an uproar with year-end and film festival news.

『In his second year, Best Actor at Cannes, Blue Dragon, and Grand Bell Awards… Kang Woo-jin’s unprecedented path』

『[Star Photo] Kang Woo-jin, called for ‘Best Actor Award’ at the ‘Grand Bell Awards’, calmly walks to the stage / Photo』

To be precise, it was Kang Woo-jin’s solo stage.

『Last year, Rookie and Supporting Actor Awards, this year, sweeping Best Actor Awards… Will Kang Woo-jin really advance to the Academy Awards next year?』

It was because Woo-jin had created an absurd record, a legend. From Cannes to the domestic major film festivals, he dominated the Best Actor awards. On top of that, the unprecedented results he achieved in between. He had done all of this in just one year, so the media had no choice but to go wild.

『From renewing ‘all-time Korean films’ to the first ‘all-time Korean actor,’ monster actor Kang Woo-jin who deserves the title ‘all-time’… He didn’t forget to make a bombshell declaration in his acceptance speech this year either』

The public opinion was no different. YouTube, social media, online communities, everywhere you looked, Woo-jin was the main topic. The moment he received the award, his calm acceptance speech, his leisurely walk on the red carpet, and the surprise declaration he didn’t forget this year. Currently, Kang Woo-jin was a hot topic just by breathing.

For reference.

『This year-end is a celebration party for the ‘double 20-million’ movies ‘Island of the Missing’ and ‘Leech’!』

As everyone expected, this year’s film festivals were dominated by ‘Island of the Missing’ and ‘Leech.’ The two films monopolized most of the awards except for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. But no one objected. Because they were two works that had rewritten the history of Korean cinema, going beyond just having great achievements.

Of course, at the center of it was Kang Woo-jin, who was about to enter his third year.

Meanwhile.

While the entire country was buzzing with year-end events and film festivals, a large film-related community was in an uproar over something else.

-[If the live-action ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is real, how are they going to make the Beast lolololol Will it be CG??]

-[If it’s Hollywood, they might actually catch a beast and make it an actor]

-[It could just be a rumor, but if they do a live-action ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ I hope they don’t change the story too much]

-[I agree with the comment below, the Disney live-action movies that failed were because they changed the story too much]

It was ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ which had suddenly been thrown into the mix a few days ago.

The starting point was a post from a netizen living in LA. It was a simple post saying, ‘I heard a rumor, and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is currently preparing for a live-action adaptation,’ but this post attracted a lot of attention. After gaining traction for a few days, most of the posts now being uploaded were related to the live-action adaptation of ‘Beauty and the Beast.’

-[Please… I hope the actors for ‘Beauty and the Beast’ have great synchronization]

-[No, it’s not confirmed yet, it’s just speculation lololol Why are you guys taking it as official???]

Of course, there was a possibility that it was just a rumor or nonsense, but the netizen who claimed to live in LA increased credibility by uploading a verification photo. It was a business card. It proved that they were working in the Hollywood film industry.

-[They verified that the rumor is going around in Hollywood ㅇㅇ]

-[Is this the first time this has happened and it turned out to be nonsense? lololol]

The live-action adaptation of ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ which had emerged as a hot topic, initially sparked arguments about whether it was true or not, but now it was flowing in a completely different direction.

-[My own ‘Beauty and the Beast’ virtual casting board.JPG]

Virtual casting boards related to the live-action adaptation of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ began to circulate in the community. ‘Beauty and the Beast’ was so famous, and everyone started arbitrarily assigning their favorite actors, including Hollywood and overseas actors, to the roles. There were completely different actors, but there were also many overlapping actors.

-[I saw the virtual casting lololol I was thinking of Miley Cara for Beauty Bella]

-[Honestly, Miley Cara is perfect ㅇㅇ Jack Pettyfer would be a good fit for the Beast]

-[Natalie Theron is better than Miley Cara]

-[No, no, but the Beast doesn’t really matter who plays him, but Beauty Bella has to be blonde]

-[My number one childhood animation is getting a live-action adaptation… my heart is pounding… I can’t wait for it to come out…]

-[No, it’s not confirmed lololol]

Who would be a good fit for the ‘Beast’ role, who would be perfect for the ‘Beauty Bella’ role. Top Hollywood actors with both singing and acting skills were mentioned. Among them, Miley Cara was often seen. But of course, no one mentioned the name of a Korean actor, and neither did Kang Woo-jin.

-[Will Asian actors not be able to join at all??]

-[lololol They might be able to appear as a villager 1 lololol]

Who could have predicted that Kang Woo-jin was secretly included in the ‘Beast’ role of ‘Beauty and the Beast’? It wasn’t at a level where predictions or speculations were possible. In the first place, in the live-action movies that ‘World Disney Pictures’ had produced so far, there were supporting roles and even lower roles, but there had never been an Asian actor in a lead role.

What’s interesting here is.

-[I heard that the rumor that ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is getting a live-action adaptation is going around in Korean film communities?]

-[Eeeeeh? Really?!]

-[I I I really like ‘Beauty and the Beast’! Is the live-action rumor real??!]

-[There’s no information in Hollywood articles? It seems like just a rumor]

The rumor of a live-action adaptation of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ had spread beyond Korea to Japan. It was mainly on communities and social media as well. It was more of an underground thing than a mainstream one, but ‘Beauty and the Beast’ was also popular in Japan. As it was a well-known work, it quickly attracted attention.

However, Korea and Japan were nothing compared to Hollywood. That is, the United States, including LA. The fact that rumors were circulating in Korea and Japan meant that it was already noisy in the United States. Moreover, the scale was naturally several times larger. In many American communities, they were already taking the rumor of a live-action adaptation of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ as a given, and the virtual casting was also rampant.

-Brad Depp must play the Beast, and Miley Cara must play Beauty Bella. It has to be them, no one else.

Of course, Korean actors were not mentioned at all.

December 21st, early morning.

A man wearing a long padded coat and a hat pulled down low entered a movie theater in Seoul. He was also wearing a mask. The colors were all unified in black. After the man, who had just gotten off the elevator, checked the time on his phone.

-Swish.

He scanned the movie theater lobby. Even though it was a weekday morning, there were quite a few people. There were roughly dozens of people visible in the lobby. People were chewing popcorn or watching commercials on the large TV.

“Wow—it’s my first time watching a Japanese movie.”

“But this movie doesn’t feel like a Japanese movie, does it? Is it because of Kang Woo-jin?”

“Kang Woo-jin will be acting in Japanese, right?”

“Of course, you idiot, he’s clearly speaking in Japanese in the trailer.”

“It’s really unique. A top-tier Korean actor starring in a Japanese movie.”

They were all busy expressing their feelings while waiting for the movie they were about to watch.

“I heard this movie surpassed 20 million in Japan?”

“Yeah, yeah, is it 23 million?”

“That’s crazy. The Japanese reviews are good. They seemed to have been heavily criticized at first—but in the end, they crushed it.”

“Did you see Kang Woo-jin’s acceptance speech yesterday when he won Best Actor?”

“I think I saw it in the news.”

“Ha—I really want to see Kang Woo-jin in a Hollywood movie soon.”

In the meantime, a few people glanced at the man in the black long padded coat, but they didn’t pay much attention. There were other people who had come alone like him, and it was common to wear a mask in the middle of winter.

Several tens of minutes passed like that.

The movie title to be admitted appeared on the monitor leading to the theater.

-‘The Strange Sacrifice of a Stranger’ / Theater 7.

It was an early morning movie, and the first showing of ‘Strange Sacrifice.’ It was natural. Today, the 21st, was the first day that ‘Strange Sacrifice’ was officially released in Korea. At this point, the man in the black long padded coat entered the theater alone. He let out a small exclamation as he looked at the hundreds of seats.

“Oh—”

Even though it was an early morning showing, more than half of the seats were filled. Slightly surprised, he soon found his seat. An end seat in the front of the middle. As soon as the man sat down, commercials began to play on the large screen. It meant that ‘Strange Sacrifice’ was about to be shown in Korea.

At that moment.

-Vroom.

The man’s phone in his long padded coat vibrated. The man took out his phone to check it, intending to switch it to silent mode. It was a message that had arrived.

-CEO: Woo-jin, are you resting well? I thought you might be sleeping, so I’m leaving a message. We just got confirmation from Columbia Studios.

-CEO: The audition and screen test are on January 25th, and we should leave around the 20th.

The sender was CEO Choi Sung-gun.

-CEO: And we got an email from Disney. The candidate actors for ‘Beauty and the Beast’ have been confirmed.