I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 390

The first official teaser for ‘The Benevolent Evil’ was released at the same time Kang Woo-jin arrived in LA.

-【Worldwide Release on February 3rd!】’The Benevolent Evil’ Official 1st Teaser Trailer ｜Netflix Korea

Woo-jin watched the screen of Han Ye-jung’s phone calmly, though he was inwardly surprised.

‘Oh? This is impressive.’

The first teaser, uploaded to the Netflix Korea official YouTube channel, had garnered significant attention in just 10 minutes.

‘110,000 views??’

Over 110,000 people had already watched it. It was clearly a powerful showing. Woo-jin composed himself, then nodded slowly, saying to Han Ye-jung,

“Yeah, I’ll watch it on my phone.”

Han Ye-jung, with her blue bob, took back her phone. Soon, everyone in the van was watching the first teaser for ‘The Benevolent Evil’. Woo-jin did the same.

-Swish.

Kang Woo-jin immediately played the teaser. It was about 30 seconds long. It began with a black screen and majestic music. Then, the image of Kang Woo-jin in military uniform slowly appeared, accompanied by his voice. Miley Cara’s lines followed immediately. The teaser didn’t linger on any single shot for long.

‘The teaser is incredibly fast-paced.’

Although many scenes flashed by quickly, it clearly conveyed the theme of ‘The Benevolent Evil’. The faces of the main characters, gunfights, explosions, action sequences, etc. It felt like the teaser was assaulting the viewers, with Kang Woo-jin, the male lead of ‘The Benevolent Evil’, as the central focus. His English lines were also prominently featured.

As they entered downtown LA, the team members around him began to express their admiration.

“Wow, the visuals are incredible! It’s amazing!”

“The moment Oppa [an affectionate term for older brother or male friend] appears, Miley Cara’s voice comes in—it’s chilling!”

“The quality is insane! What do you think, Oppa?”

“Yeah, it’s good.”

“Ehh? You really think it’s just good??”

As expected, the reactions were significant. Choi Sung-gun, with his ponytail, nodded in satisfaction from the passenger seat. At the end of the teaser, the title and information appeared in a rough, gray font.

-‘The Benevolent Evil’

-Worldwide Release on February 3rd

That was the end of the teaser for ‘The Benevolent Evil’. Though he had watched with an indifferent expression, Woo-jin inwardly gave it a thumbs up.

‘Yeah, it’s awesome.’

He felt the same as his team members. Moreover, Woo-jin had already seen the first episode of ‘The Benevolent Evil’, so he felt it even more strongly.

‘But if it got 110,000 views in 10 minutes—crazy, it’s a piece of cake to get millions of views, isn’t it?’

He was surprised internally. While it looked impressive, it was a natural phenomenon. Currently, Kang Woo-jin’s recognition had skyrocketed not only in Korea but also worldwide, including Japan. Many people around the world would be curious and search for Woo-jin, and YouTube would have provided the newly released first official teaser of ‘The Benevolent Evil’. Many people around the world were watching this video right now.

Actually.

‘The comments are insane.’

The teaser comments were already overflowing. Korean was a given, and there were Japanese, English, French, and many other languages. Several English comments caught Woo-jin’s eye.

-Is this Korean actor the same Kang Woo-jin who was rumored to be a candidate for the Beast role?

-You don’t fit the Beast role.

-Oh, I searched for Kang Woo-jin and his new work popped up? Is it a Korean production? I’ll have to watch it when it’s released on Netflix and give my opinion.

-I searched and found out that the Korean actor Kang Woo-jin won the Best Actor award at Cannes last year? He must be good at acting. I’m curious.

-Miley Cara? Why is Miley Cara appearing in a Korean production?

-It was great that Kang Woo-jin collaborated with Miley Cara on her last album, but Disney made the wrong decision with ‘Beauty and the Beast’.

-Why are you all jumping to conclusions? He hasn’t even been confirmed yet.

Positive, negative, neutral. There was no consensus in the thousands of comments. Everyone was saying what they wanted. Korean and Japanese comments were mostly filled with anticipation and praise. There were quite a few Miley Cara fans who were waiting for ‘The Benevolent Evil’, but as expected, more than half of the people were talking about Kang Woo-jin and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ together.

It was like there were a lot of curses and question marks, and an atmosphere of being ready to pounce.

The team members, who had checked the explosive comment situation, glanced at Kang Woo-jin’s stiff face. But he didn’t care much.

‘They’re freaking out, freaking out. The audition hasn’t even started yet.’

From the start, Woo-jin was completely unaffected by this situation.

‘Well, I’m going to take it anyway.’

After that.

Kang Woo-jin, who arrived in LA, began to adapt. At the same time, he prepared for the ‘Pierrot’ audition and screen test. Time flew by. Hollywood was buzzing. Just like in Korea, various issues were popping up. The ‘Pierrot’ audition was imminent, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ was quiet after the actor announcement, ‘The Benevolent Evil’ with Kang Woo-jin and Miley Cara was a hot topic, and other news.

Meanwhile, ‘World Disney Pictures’ was monitoring the global public’s reaction even during the production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’.

“Hmm—it’s still noisy about Kang Woo-jin.”

“That’s what we expected.”

“That’s true, but it’s too noisy.”

“It’s a surprising decision, but we have no choice but to push forward.”

“Hmm.”

“The actor hasn’t been confirmed yet, and even if Kang Woo-jin is chosen—in the end, it’s right to respond with the finished product and skill.”

It was a global uproar, but ‘World Disney Pictures’ was dealing with it calmly, as this was not the first time such a thing had happened. On the other hand, ‘Columbia Studio’ was slightly taken aback. They didn’t know about the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ news either. It was similar to how ‘World Disney Pictures’ was slightly surprised to see Kang Woo-jin included in ‘Pierrot’.

However, the audition was just around the corner, and ‘Pierrot’ was the starting point of a huge project. The ‘Cinematic Universe’, that is. Because it felt like a matter of life and death, opinions were slightly divided among the higher-ups at ‘Columbia Studio’.

“Didn’t anyone know that Kang Woo-jin was in talks with ‘World Disney Pictures’?”

“Even if we knew, nothing would change. We’ve already announced it. The audition is in a few days anyway.”

“It’s possible to reverse it, isn’t it? We’ve never had a situation where we’ve gone with the same actor as ‘World Disney Pictures’.”

“If the release times are different, there won’t be a big problem. Reversing it now is a matter of pride.”

There was also the issue of Kang Woo-jin’s physical condition.

“If he takes on two projects at the same time, both sides might suffer.”

But Director Ahn Ga-bok blocked this from the start.

“That won’t happen.”

“Hmm?”

“Kang Woo-jin worked on several projects simultaneously when filming ‘Leech’. He managed to handle that hellish schedule. I guarantee it.”

As a result.

“Let’s agree to hold the audition for now.”

The audition was more likely to proceed.

A few days later, on the 25th, in LA.

Around 10 a.m. Inside ‘Columbia Studio’, which resembled an amusement park or a city, in a medium-sized hall where various tests were conducted. A suitable stage with a screen, over a hundred seats, ceiling lights, etc. The hall felt like a small theater.

Foreigners were bustling in that hall.

“Table! Table over here!”

“Is the camera setup not done yet??!”

“The table is small! Get a bigger one!”

“Over here!! There’s a strange noise on the floor here, is there a problem?!”

At least 20 foreigners were moving busily, speaking loud English. Cleaning or checking the stage, setting up a long table and monitors on one side, setting up various cameras in different places on the stage, etc. The dozens of foreigners were moving frantically.

They were, of course, the staff of ‘Columbia Studio’. More precisely, they were the staff of ‘Pierrot’.

Everyone was very sensitive and passionate.

It was natural.

“Get it together! Don’t forget that today is our ‘Pierrot’ audition and screen test!”

Because the ‘Pierrot’ audition and screen test were starting here. Today, only the male actors among the leads were scheduled to participate.

About 30 minutes passed.

As the stage setup was almost finished, other foreigners, not staff, began to enter the hall one by one. First, a woman with slightly longer than bobbed hair and a strong presence. She was the general producer of ‘Pierrot’. She looked around the hall where the audition would take place and nodded.

“It’s fine, you’ve all worked hard.”

It meant that this setup was sufficient. Following her, the key staff, including the casting director of ‘Pierrot’, entered, and the executives of ‘Columbia Studio’ also appeared one by one. However, this time there were many. There were also executives who were seen for the first time. There seemed to be about eight of them.

Then came.

-Swish.

Director Ahn Ga-bok with his wrinkled face. The Korean director who would launch the starting shot of ‘Pierrot’ and the ‘Cinematic Universe’. Director Ahn Ga-bok looked at the rather large hall and let out a small breath.

“Hoo—it’s just the beginning.”

For a brief moment, Kang Woo-jin, whom he would soon meet, flashed through his mind.

After that.

After all the ‘Columbia Studio’ officials had arrived, it was the turn of the Hollywood actors. The Hollywood superstars who had been confirmed as candidates for the male lead in ‘Pierrot’.

“Hello—”

A recognizable Hollywood actor entered. The first actor was with four staff members. After greeting them appropriately, he took a seat on one side. After that, Hollywood actors arrived one after another. After exchanging greetings, they filled the empty spaces among the hundred or so seats. Most of the actors were with their team members.

The number of people gathered in the hall had already exceeded 50.

The reason was simple.

The audition and screen test being held today were open to the public. In other words, everyone here would see the actors’ performances.

It was at this moment.

-Swish.

The fourth candidate actor appeared alone. A Korean actor with black hair. As soon as he appeared, the ‘Pierrot’ production team in the hall, and even the executives of ‘Columbia Studio’, all fixed their gazes on him. The Hollywood actors turned their heads and muttered to themselves.

‘Is that the guy—’

‘Hmm, is he taller than he looked in the pictures? He has a unique vibe.’

‘The only Korean actor. My curiosity will be satisfied today.’

It was Kang Woo-jin. Woo-jin, who was the center of attention, did not bring many team members. Only Choi Sung-gun was with him. Woo-jin’s face was solemn. But inside, he was slightly flustered.

‘Whoa! What is this? The size is huge?? Wow—all those actors look familiar! It’s so cool!’

Then Woo-jin noticed.

‘Ah—I see.’

That his outfit was similar to those of the Hollywood actors sitting in front of him. Kang Woo-jin was wearing a red jacket and pants, a yellow vest, and worn-out brown shoes. Overall, it looked like old, worn-out clothes. He was wearing the same outfit as ‘Henry Gordon’ from ‘Pierrot’. And the rival Hollywood actors had the same idea.

‘They’re all wearing similar outfits, though slightly different.’

One actor even styled his hair like ‘Henry Gordon’ in the later part of the movie, with long hair swept back. Thanks to those amazing Hollywood stars, Kang Woo-jin’s heart rate increased. But it was okay. He had his habitual concept and ‘Beast Mode’.

While scanning the atmosphere for a moment, Choi Sung-gun whispered to Woo-jin.

“Let’s go.”

As Woo-jin nodded, a male voice in English suddenly cut in from behind.

“How have you been?”

When he turned around, there was a handsome man with brown eyes and a captivating gaze. It was Chris Hartnett, a top Hollywood actor and someone who had had an incident with Kang Woo-jin in the past. He smiled and extended his hand to Kang Woo-jin.

“Mr. Kang Woo-jin, you’ll remember my name today, right?”

Woo-jin grabbed Chris’s hand with a stoic expression.

“Hello, Chris.”

“I’m looking forward to your performance.”

“Likewise.”

“Hahaha, you’re still fun. Let’s go in.”

Chris Hartnett, who had released his hand, entered the hall first. Kang Woo-jin also moved his feet. Soon, all five candidate actors for ‘Pierrot’ were seated. The overall layout of the hall was like this. The general producer, Director Ahn Ga-bok, and the casting director were sitting at the table with the monitor on the stage. The executives of ‘Columbia Studio’ were in the first row of seats right in front of the stage, and the dozen or so key staff of ‘Pierrot’ were at the right end.

Behind them were Kang Woo-jin and Choi Sung-gun.

The rest of the Hollywood actors and their team members were scattered among the seats. The air in the medium-sized hall where the public audition and screen test would begin was a bit heavy. It was serious and quiet. At this point, all eight executives of ‘Columbia Studio’ signaled to the general producer on the stage.

It meant that they could start.

In response, the strong-looking female producer nodded and opened her mouth. It was, of course, in English.

“Shall we begin?”

Staff members were attached to each of the cameras installed on the stage, and the monitors above the judges’ seats were turned on. The lights were adjusted. The judges, including Director Ahn Ga-bok, unfolded the transparent files they had been given. They were the actors’ profiles. The female producer looked at the seats where the candidate actors were gathered and spoke again.

“We had previously shared that we would be watching both designated and free performances, but we’ve made a slight change. The actors only need to show us their free performances. However, the basis must be ‘Henry Gordon’.”

The Hollywood actors murmured slightly. Regardless, the producer continued speaking without much concern.

“In other words, please freely show us any performance as ‘Henry Gordon’.”