I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 404

February 14th, late morning, in Los Angeles.

Around the time the Television Academy of Arts & Sciences (ATAS) for the ‘Primetime Emmy Awards’ recognized ‘Beneficial Evil,’ Kang Woo-jin, completely unaware of this, was traveling in a large van. Having recently finished the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ audition, all the major official schedules in LA were completed, and now only moderately sized schedules remained.

‘Let’s see—today, I record in the morning and head over to Columbia Pictures in the afternoon, right? Being here, the schedule is relatively simple and comfortable.’

Woo-jin, wearing a hoodie and a hat pulled low, was on his way to a rented studio for recording and filming related to his ‘Kang Woo-jin’s Alternate Persona’ channel. After that, he would go to ‘Columbia Studios’ for a meeting. For reference, Woo-jin in LA didn’t neglect his ‘Kang Woo-jin’s Alternate Persona’ channel. As soon as he arrived, he rented a studio and continued recording and filming.

Therefore, even though the videos were delayed, they were still being uploaded.

The meetings with ‘Columbia Studios’ were expected to be frequent for a while. With the huge ‘Cinematic Universe’ project and the male lead confirmed, the movie ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ was now in full pre-production. Currently, other actors were being cast, and each team was busy.

Frankly speaking, there wasn’t much for Kang Woo-jin to do at this point.

‘Other actors would be giving their all to analyze the script at this stage, but—’

He already had ‘Henry Gordon,’ the ‘Pierrot’ character down. Of course, Woo-jin, who had grown in various abilities and as an actor compared to the past, still worked on enhancing the quality through ‘role synthesis’ or ‘role freedom’ while reading the script. However, even this was a much simpler task compared to other Hollywood actors.

‘Even if I do what Columbia requests, I’ll still have some time left. Tsk, it might be better if I get the ‘Beast’ role. When will I hear back?’

The ‘Beauty and the Beast’ audition had ended two days ago. It was impossible to hear back so soon. Either way, before filming started, LA was heaven for Woo-jin. Honestly, he was getting a bit restless. In Korea, every day was a hellish schedule.

Soon, Woo-jin looked out the window with a solemn face at the cars packed outside. Suddenly, the face of the giant Joseph came to mind.

‘That giant guy, he kept asking to see the script when it came out, but is it not ready yet?’

Joseph Felton, who had started working with ‘Universal Movies,’ another ‘Big Five’ film studio like ‘Columbia Studios,’ had met Woo-jin in Cannes in October. About five months had passed since then.

‘Well, script work doesn’t happen overnight.’

Especially in Hollywood, it might take even longer. Around this time, his team members were loudly celebrating ‘Beneficial Evil’ reaching number one on Netflix worldwide.

“Wow—the first Korean drama to be number one worldwide! Goosebumps!!!”

“The media in Korea, Japan, and even here in the US are going crazy, crazy!!”

“It’s probably similar in other countries too? It’s the first time a drama with the impact of ‘Beneficial Evil’ has come out in all of Asia!”

“Seriously, ‘Beneficial Evil’ feels like it’s going to do something beyond imagination! It already is!”

Kang Woo-jin agreed. There was no way an EX-class drama like ‘Beneficial Evil’ would stop here. In his heart, Woo-jin was happy enough to dance, but he couldn’t be reckless, so he nonchalantly picked up his phone.

-Swish.

He had already checked the domestic and foreign media and public opinion. This time, Kang Woo-jin accessed his ‘Kang Woo-jin’s Alternate Persona’ channel.

[Channel Name: Kang Woo-jin’s Alternate Persona]

[Subscribers: 47.71 million]

[Videos: 123]

The number of subscribers was nearing 50 million. Of course, it was still increasing rapidly.

‘It’s amazing, seriously. 50 million???’

It was real, but Woo-jin felt like he was in a dream. 50 million subscribers meant an undeniable influence, not only in Korea but also internationally. Globally, it was in the top 50, and in Korea, it was 4th. There were still many above him, but Kang Woo-jin was number one in terms of growth.

Woo-jin tapped on the most recent video.

Comments from subscribers who had joined late were flooding in. In various languages from around the world. 70% were positive comments like support, and 30% were negative comments, excluding hate comments. In particular, there were many related to ‘Beauty and the Beast.’

Hate comments had spread from Korea to the world.

But Kang Woo-jin was like.

‘These kinds of jerks are everywhere? Go ahead and talk all you want, you’re just hurting your own fingers.’

As always, he wasn’t affected at all. After briefly exploring his YouTube channel, he accessed another place this time. It was SNS [Social Networking Service].

-@Wooji_n

Posts 308

Followers 61.98 million

Following 166

The growth here was also explosive. Of course, there were many hate comments as well. Anyway, just looking at this, it was clear that Kang Woo-jin’s global recognition had skyrocketed.

It was then.

-Buzz.

A DM [Direct Message] arrived for Woo-jin. It was from Chris Hartnett, a top Hollywood actor he had recently connected with. Of course, Chris had sent the request first. Woo-jin chuckled inwardly at the DM from a top Hollywood actor.

‘I’m exchanging DMs with Chris Hartnett.’

Even so, he checked the content. Chris had sent a photo of himself watching ‘Beneficial Evil’ with a short message. Something like, ‘Your action is amazing.’

‘I’m more surprised that you sent me a DM, dude.’

Kang Woo-jin hid his amazement and sent a casual reply while thinking. It was about ‘Beneficial Evil.’

‘Ah—is it about time to start filming Part 2?’

Meanwhile, in New York.

In New York City, among the large buildings, there was one that stood out as the largest. This building was the headquarters of a major American broadcasting network. Inside a studio meeting room in that broadcasting building, about eight foreigners were gathered.

What was interesting were the photos on the meeting room wall.

They were clearly from a talk show format, with numerous Hollywood stars. There were more than ten of these photos.

The reason was simple.

These foreigners were the main production team of ‘Jamie Show,’ which boasted the highest viewership among the three major American talk shows. Miley Cara had also appeared in the past. Her photo was also on the wall. At that time, Cara was before the production of her new album, and she mentioned Kang Woo-jin on ‘Jamie Show,’ which made Woo-jin briefly hot in foreign and domestic media.

‘Jamie Show’ was a program that symbolized being a Hollywood star. It was also proof.

With a long history and tradition, many superstars had appeared on this talk show. However, unfortunately, no Korean actor had ever appeared on it. But that was about to change. The reason was simple.

The main production team of ‘Jamie Show’ was.

“Kang Woo-jin, we definitely need to book Kang Woo-jin now.”

“I think so too. Honestly, we should have moved faster. Rumor has it that other shows are already eyeing him.”

“There are many topics too. From the Cannes Film Festival to the recent ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ There’s also the relationship with Miley Cara, and ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ is an interesting source.”

They were craving a Korean actor for the first time. It was Kang Woo-jin.

“First, booking is more important than research. Let’s contact him right away.”

After that.

The booking request from ‘Jamie Show’ came to Kang Woo-jin the next day, the 15th.

“Woo-jin! ‘Jamie Show’ wants you! It’s ‘Jamie Show’!!”

Choi Sung-gun was jumping around.

In contrast, Kang Woo-jin was calm.

“Is that so?”

His tone was a concept, but his inner self was genuinely calm. He had heard of ‘Jamie Show,’ but he had never watched it much, so he wasn’t very excited. He only knew it was a popular American talk show. However, Choi Sung-gun was ecstatic.

“Yes, you idiot! No! It’s ‘Jamie Show’! Aren’t you happy?? It’s even a solo appearance! This is the place that confirms you’ve become a star here, you know? Your recognition will skyrocket too?”

“That’s good.”

“······If you’re so calm, I’ll feel weird. Anyway—it’s a waste of breath to explain, but it’s the number one talk show in the US in terms of viewership, and appearing on it is good timing in many ways. ‘Beneficial Evil’ is already insane, but it can gain even more momentum. The same goes for other movies. Will you appear? Of course, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

He said it like that, but Choi Sung-gun’s eyes were screaming, ‘Please! Please!!’ Woo-jin also thought it wouldn’t be bad to appear. It was his first experience, so it was also intriguing.

‘But—is a solo appearance okay?’

He was a little nervous. A solo appearance on the number one talk show in the US. Still, his curiosity overcame his nervousness. Woo-jin replied nonchalantly.

“It should be fine.”

“Oh! Okay! I’ll proceed right away!”

The news of Kang Woo-jin’s confirmed appearance on ‘Jamie Show’ broke the morning after.

Starting from Korea.

『[Star Issue] Kang Woo-jin Confirmed to Appear on ‘Jamie Show,’ Where Hollywood Superstars Have Appeared!』

『Already in the Ranks of Hollywood Stars? Kang Woo-jin to Appear as a Solo Guest on ‘Jamie Show’』

Even foreign media.

『LA TIME/Kang Woo-jin, the First Korean Actor Invited to ‘Jamie Show’』

The title of the first Korean actor to appear solo on ‘Jamie Show’ was not a minor issue. Woo-jin was already hot with several issues, and Kang Woo-jin’s brand power, who had achieved numerous firsts since his Hollywood debut, was strong.

Woo-jin had a meeting with the ‘Jamie Show’ production team on the morning of the 17th.

“Oh, hello!”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

Of course, the ‘Jamie Show’ team had come to LA. They seemed to be moving quite urgently. It was natural. They had to get on this amplified trend as quickly as possible. The meeting wasn’t very long. It lasted about two hours. Several things were decided that day, but the key was the recording date.

Confirmed for February 22nd, five days later.

Of course, Kang Woo-jin had to go to the ‘Jamie Show’ studio in New York. This news also spread quickly in Korea and foreign media.

And.

『’Beneficial Evil,’ Number One Worldwide, Still Exploding with Overseas Interest Even in Its Second Week!』

‘Beneficial Evil’ continued to maintain its number one position worldwide.

February 21st. LA.

The time was past 11 AM. Kang Woo-jin had just arrived at ‘spt Studios,’ a 50,000-pyeong [approximately 165,000 square meters] set complex where he had auditioned for the ‘Beast’ role. It was the place where the actual filming of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ would take place in the future.

Among the numerous warehouse-type stages, Kang Woo-jin got off at.

-Thud!

The stage with the set banquet hall.

“······”

Kang Woo-jin looked up at the huge warehouse-type stage without a word. His concept was strong, but inside, he was curious.

‘Why did they call me here again?’

In fact, the reason Kang Woo-jin had returned to the set where he had auditioned for the ‘Beast’ role was because of a request from ‘Walt Disney Pictures.’ Specifically, it was because of a request from Bill Rotner, the director of ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ He had suddenly wanted Kang Woo-jin to come here.

It was strange, but Kang Woo-jin moved to the stage with Choi Sung-gun and a few team members.

At the entrance, there were a few foreign staff members, and after a brief greeting with them, Woo-jin entered the banquet hall set, where he had felt awe.

It was a bit dark.

Because only a few lights were on. There were also foreign staff members in the set banquet hall. People he hadn’t seen during the audition. Among them, an old foreigner who sensed Kang Woo-jin’s presence smiled and approached.

“Welcome, Mr. Kang Woo-jin.”

It was director Bill Rotner, with his hair half-bald. He pushed up his black horn-rimmed glasses and extended his hand to Woo-jin.

“I’m sorry for the sudden request.”

Woo-jin, with a nonchalant face, replied simply.

“No, it’s okay.”

“Shall we talk for a bit?”

Woo-jin nodded, glanced at Choi Sung-gun behind him, and walked to the center of the set banquet hall with director Bill Rotner. Bill Rotner was the first to speak.

“It’s been a hectic time since the audition. There have been many discussions. Unfortunately, we have to choose only one person, and time is not infinite.”

Director Bill Rotner, who had been murmuring, met Woo-jin’s gaze.

“The global fans of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ still have distrust in you, Mr. Woo-jin. Perhaps because your recognition has been continuously rising recently, the controversy doesn’t easily fade.”

Woo-jin thought. Rejection? Is this old man building up because he feels sorry? Director Bill Rotner’s introduction was long. The atmosphere was also like that. For now, Kang Woo-jin listened quietly.

“······”

Director Bill Rotner gestured to Kang Woo-jin. It was a golden piano on one side of the set banquet hall.

“Would you like to sit down?”

After looking at the director for a moment, Woo-jin maintained his poker face and sat at the piano. Next to him, director Bill Rotner looked at Kang Woo-jin sitting at the piano.

“But we decided to endure those controversies for this picture.”

He smiled.

“Please illuminate the memories of the world’s fans as Disney’s ‘Beast.'”