I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 419

In fact, the Hollywood actors gathered at this script reading had different perspectives on Kang Woo-jin. Some were curious, others were jealous or envious, and some were simply puzzled. There were even actors who couldn’t understand him at all.

Because Kang Woo-jin’s actions were so unusual.

No matter how good he was, the sight of a Korean actor with no experience in Hollywood acting up was quite unfamiliar to everyone there. All of those Hollywood actors were silent, watching Woo-jin.

Their eyes widened, but they remained still.

“······”

“······”

Amidst this, Chris Hartnett looked at Kang Woo-jin right next to him and smiled faintly. Then, he asked again.

“You said you were just doing it moderately because it’s a script reading?”

Woo-jin, with a straight face, nodded.

“Yes.”

Chris burst into laughter at the simple answer. He had asked because he thought Woo-jin seemed to have lost some power, but Woo-jin had answered so confidently without paying attention to those around him.

‘Usually, even if you really did it moderately, you wouldn’t answer so openly. You’d say it quietly or indirectly. But this guy—anyway, there’s nothing ordinary about him.’

It was like, even from their first meeting, Kang Woo-jin was a creature Chris had never seen before. The more he saw him, the more he felt that way. Perhaps that’s why his curiosity and interest grew. Chris looked at Kang Woo-jin for a moment and chuckled.

“Haha, I see. So that’s why it felt a bit different from the audition.”

Kang Woo-jin stared at Chris Hartnett, who was laughing as if he was amused. His expression was carefully maintained, but inside, he was questioning.

‘Why? What? Why are you laughing, you handsome dude? Isn’t it normal to hold back a bit during a script reading?’

In fact, Kang Woo-jin didn’t give his all during this script reading for ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain.’ He held back about 30% of his power. Isn’t that how most people do it during script readings? It wasn’t like he was being careless. He had come with the reputation of a national representative, so he would show his skills when it was time to do so. But now, he was just being cool and controlling his intensity.

‘It would be fun to make all these foreigners freak out, but if I’m too eager, I might look weak.’

Woo-jin glanced around.

‘Well, even if I did it moderately, it seems like they’re already pretty shocked, aren’t they?’

The widened eyes and expressions of the Hollywood actors said it all. Their faces were blank. It seemed like his intention had worked, even though he had done it with a purpose.

‘I was wondering how to show it, but Chris came in at the right time, thank you.’

Since this was his first appearance here, he needed to establish a strong image. If he seemed like a ‘my way’ kind of guy and somewhat arrogant, he would be successful. But it wasn’t unnecessary bravado. It was a confident act based on his abilities. That was exactly what Kang Woo-jin intended. It was similar to his time as ‘Profiler Han Ryang’ [a character he played previously].

It was like an introduction. They were seeing Kang Woo-jin for the first time.

However, contrary to Woo-jin’s intention, something amplified around him. That something started with Chris Hartnett.

‘Well… it’s partly because of this guy’s personality, but the reason he spoke so confidently was to show the actors gathered here a clear difference in level.’

It spread like wildfire among the dozens of Hollywood actors gathered.

‘Moderately? Does that mean the acting he’s shown so far wasn’t his maximum? Is that even possible? But if it’s true—did he just show us the gap between us?’

‘…What is this? There’s no way he’d be showing off in this situation. Chris’s reaction is strange too. Does that mean there’s more to Kang Woo-jin’s true abilities? Did Kang Woo-jin just hold back during his acting? Why? Could it be… a scheme to intimidate us?’

‘Oh my god, what about the shock I received? It means I was gaping at acting that was just moderate. Not just me, but everyone here. Is this intimidation? To make sure no one can say a word?’

‘What he did just now was amazing! But there’s more to it??! Seriously!! Is he trying to suppress us openly?!’

It was a misunderstanding and a misinterpretation. They judged as they pleased and amplified the answers they came up with. The first shock was that the incredible acting that Woo-jin had shown so far, which had captivated everyone at the reading, was just ‘moderate.’ The second was that he had made everyone lose their minds with acting that was just a rough sketch of his true abilities.

And he did all that so casually at this reading where all the big names were gathered?

‘His guts are… no, is he just crazy?’

For some reason, the tension in the reading room increased several times over. The Hollywood actors stared intently at Woo-jin’s composed face, expanding their own thoughts, while Kang Woo-jin, who had already turned his gaze to the script, firmly maintained his persona.

‘You guys are going to bore a hole through my face.’

The foreign reporters who were watching this began to speak one by one.

“What? The Kang Woo-jin acting I saw wasn’t 100%?”

“That’s what he said, he just said it himself. That he did it moderately.”

“Is that even possible? I was even getting goosebumps. That was moderate—it must be a joke.”

“No. Chris asked first, and he must have seen Kang Woo-jin’s acting during the audition. It’s clear that it wasn’t 100%.”

“······Kang Woo-jin intentionally put on this performance. Was it because he lacked confidence in everyone’s gaze?”

People involved and the team members of the Hollywood actors also began to murmur. Since there were about a hundred people gathered, it quickly became noisy. However, the general producer of ‘Pierrot’ and some executives of ‘Columbia Studios’ didn’t have any big reactions.

They had seen Kang Woo-jin’s real acting during the audition.

That meant they were aware that Woo-jin had held back during the script reading. Soon, Director Ahn Ga-bok had a smile on his wrinkled lips.

‘I remember ‘Leech’ [another project he worked on].’

He had already experienced Kang Woo-jin thoroughly. He too had been moved by Woo-jin’s ‘moderate’ acting in the past.

‘But when the actual first filming started, I was shocked to see the ‘real’ him. I never imagined that something even greater was hidden.’

Director Ahn Ga-bok’s gaze, which had been on Woo-jin for a moment, shifted. From the Hollywood actors who were experiencing the monster Kang Woo-jin for the first time, to their staff, key staff, reporters, and so on. Everyone’s faces were quite a sight.

‘Shall I drop another bombshell?’

It wouldn’t be bad for Director Ahn Ga-bok if this atmosphere escalated. When filming ‘Leech,’ Woo-jin had set the standard for all acting, including the Shim Han-ho character. As a result, the overall quality of the actors’ acting improved.

Then, Director Ahn Ga-bok.

-Swish.

While stroking his chin, he called out to Kang Woo-jin right in front of him. Then, he asked in English.

“In ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain,’ are you capable of acting all the other roles besides ‘Henry Gordon’ this time as well?”

Including Chris and the Hollywood actors, everyone in the reading room except for Director Ahn Ga-bok, about a hundred foreigners, narrowed their brows. What is he talking about now? That kind of feeling.

But Kang Woo-jin’s low-toned English was very simple.

“No problem.”

Although the shock of the moment consumed everyone, the script reading for ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ continued. However, everyone’s blank state persisted. Chris Hartnett, who was curious, offered his role to Kang Woo-jin.

“If you can really do other roles, I want to see you do mine.”

The permission from Director Ahn Ga-bok and the general producer was quickly granted. Then, Kang Woo-jin turned the reading room upside down once again. He showed Chris’s role right away without any preparation time. Chris, who was watching it, realized the level of the monster he was witnessing.

‘This is far beyond the level of being good at acting—what is it? A god?’

He realized that they looked the same, but the core was completely different. The script reading, filled with shock and awe, finally ended late in the afternoon. The reactions of the gathered actors were mixed. Some stuck to Kang Woo-jin, showering him with questions, while others fled the reading room in a hurry.

Either way, it had nothing to do with Kang Woo-jin.

‘Yeah, satisfied.’

The reporters who attended the reading also quickly left their seats. However, they weren’t running away. They were just in a hurry to write articles about what they had seen today as quickly as possible, within the scope allowed by ‘Columbia Studios.’

The articles about the ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ script reading began to spread in Hollywood a few tens of minutes later.

『CNM/‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ Finishes Script Reading, Kang Woo-jin Who Appeared at the Reading Was a Phenomenon!』

『LA TIME/Kang Woo-jin Stunned Everyone at the ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ Script Reading, He Will Easily Conquer Hollywood』

Most of the headlines of the articles had Kang Woo-jin’s name plastered in large letters. Kang Woo-jin, who was moving in a van, checked this. On the outside, he was calm, but inside, he was smiling.

‘Hehe, they’re praising me so much.’

Kang Woo-jin checked the foreign news articles for a few minutes before skimming through the Korean media. The issue of being nominated for the ‘Emmy Award’ for Best Actor was still hot.

-Kang Woo-jin is a legend

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ10 Emmy nominationsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅅㅂ I can’t believe I’m seeing this in real life

-When ‘Beneficial Evil’ was first released, I never imagined it would become this big… I never thought it would become so popular overseas… It’s kind of touching

-ㅠㅠㅠㅜㅜㅠㅜSong Man-woo, thank you for making Korea shine, Kang Woo-jinㅠㅠㅠ

-I’m so proud every time I see it!! It’s just a nomination, but he’s already a legend! If he wins an award, it’ll be a nuclear explosion

-What’s so amazing is that the Emmy Awards themselves were a huge wall, but ‘Mysterious Story 2’ was a huge hit, and ‘Beneficial Evil’ beat it, so it’s amazing

-Kang Woo-jin is truly a treasure of Korean culture

There was no way the domestic media would let go of the news about Kang Woo-jin, who had taken over three of the Hollywood ‘Big Five’ [major Hollywood studios].

『Kang Woo-jin Finishes ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ Script Reading, Foreign Media Praises “Kang Woo-jin Was a Phenomenon” What Was It Like?』

It was already exploding. After that, Kang Woo-jin spent a few days simply fulfilling his Hollywood schedule. First, Chris Hartnett appeared as a guest on the ‘Kang Woo-jin Sub-Character’ channel. It was a schedule that was set a bit hastily, but the filming was completed without any problems, and Woo-jin went around ‘Walt Disney Pictures’ and ‘Universal Movies’.

Meetings, and a series of interviews with various media outlets and magazines.

Although it was a short period, he also attended quite a few events and parties.

『[Star Talk] Kang Woo-jin Attends Overseas Luxury Brand Party, Photos with Hollywood Superstars/Photo』

Kang Woo-jin, who had been busy, returned to Korea a week later. Upon his return, Kang Woo-jin immediately started his schedule without any rest. From the filming of ‘Beneficial Evil’ Part 2 to a countless number of schedules.

『Kang Woo-jin Resumes Filming for ‘Beneficial Evil’ Part 2, Overseas, the ‘Beast and Beauty’ Hate Comments Still Exist···When is the Script Reading?』

『Kang Woo-jin, Nominated for ‘Emmy Award’ for Best Actor, Attracts Global Attention···Emmy Awards Side “Will Announce Clear Awards Ceremony Date Soon”』

Again, a few days passed in an instant.

May 27th dawned. May was already coming to an end. Half of the year had passed. Around this time, Kang Woo-jin was in the middle of filming ‘Beneficial Evil’ Part 2 in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province.

“Okay—Woo-jin, bust shot!! Action!!”

For reference, the filming of ‘Beneficial Evil’ Part 2 was in its final stages. Kang Woo-jin was famous for being an actor who rarely made mistakes, and Song Man-woo PD, who was riding high on the ‘Emmy Award’ issue, was also at his peak tension. The production team was the same.

If they continued at this crazy pace.

“We’re wrapping up filming early next month, right?”

“Wow—already next month? It feels like we just started filming Part 2 yesterday! Time flies so fast.”

“If filming ends around June, and after post-production and everything, will it be released on Netflix around September?”

“It seems like it. Part 1 was a super-duper hit both domestically and overseas, so we need to release it as soon as possible.”

“Then it’ll be after the ‘Emmy Awards’ are over, ha… It would be perfect if we could launch Part 2 after winning at least one award at the ‘Emmy Awards’.”

‘Beneficial Evil’ Part 2 was scheduled to wrap up filming in June and be officially launched in September. Then, that night, as the set was continuing with intense filming, Song Man-woo PD’s final sign was given.

“Cut!! OOOOK!! Woo-jin, nice!!”

Kang Woo-jin, who had finished talking with Song Man-woo PD about tomorrow’s filming, returned to his seat. As if proving the intense filming, the suit he was wearing was torn in several places, and his face was covered in makeup besides the wounds. But his deep poker face remained unchanged.

-Swish.

Choi Seong-geon, with his ponytail, who had been waiting for Kang Woo-jin, who had returned to his chair.

“Woo-jin.”

“Yes, CEO.”

He smiled faintly.

“I got a call an hour ago—the first day of filming for ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ has been confirmed.”

It was a smile of anticipation.

“It’s the second week of June.”