I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 426

Around 10 a.m., one of the sets within the vast ‘Columbia Studios’ was bustling. Over a hundred foreign staff members of ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ were running around frantically. Naturally, directing everything was Director Ahn Ga-bok, and beside him was the executive producer, Nora Foster.

So, where was Kang Woo-jin?

‘Damn, this trailer is awesome every time I see it!’

He was settled in one of the trailers, a bit away from the filming zone. Woo-jin was already in his ‘Henry Gordon’ look, with his wet hair covering his forehead, a worn-out hoodie, and jeans. His face wasn’t yet transformed into the ‘Joker.’

Currently, they were filming other actors, so he was on standby.

His filming today started with the ‘Henry Gordon’ look, and in the latter part, the scenes of the awakened ‘Joker’ would follow. Of course, even in Hollywood, filming scenes were all over the place—mid, early, mid, late, and so on.

Anyway, inside the trailer where the ‘Joker’s’ outfit hung, Kang Woo-jin lay down on the three-seater sofa, putting his legs up.

‘So comfy.’

Lying on the sofa, Woo-jin scanned the trailer.

It was like a miniature hotel.

Sofa, table, chairs, TV, and more. It had everything. Woo-jin, momentarily dropping his concept, murmured,

‘How much does something like this cost? They must have them in Korea too—they call them camper vans, right? Anyway, it must be expensive? It would be so fun to go camping with something like this during breaks.’

Kang Woo-jin searched for camper vans or trailers on his phone. The prices varied widely. From tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars. Woo-jin casually said,

‘What, they’re cheaper than I thought?’

Instantly, he chuckled at himself for saying millions were cheap.

‘Wow, did I just say millions are cheap?’

But considering Kang Woo-jin’s current status and income, millions were indeed cheap.

‘Hehe, I should buy the best one soon. Ah, and while I’m at it, I should get a boat too. A boat? Damn, then I should just buy a villa in Jeju Island.’

He wasn’t just dreaming. Kang Woo-jin could buy everything right now. Soon, he wrote down the things he would buy on his phone’s memo pad. A car to use in LA, a camper van or trailer, a boat, a villa, and so on.

‘Should I buy a building too? Move my parents’ shop here? Why not.’

His thoughts kept branching out endlessly.

‘Wow, my life is truly insane.’

About 30 minutes later, the staff called for Kang Woo-jin. Soon, Woo-jin began filming. Starting with ‘Henry Gordon.’ Kang Woo-jin focused on filming, bringing out the early ‘Henry Gordon’ of ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain.’

Completely different from the ‘Joker’ who had been consumed by madness a few days ago.

A series of ‘Henry Gordon’ scenes, full of tragedy but forcibly enduring and ignoring it. However, in his eyes or inner self, something grotesque was writhing. The strangely eerie expressions were vividly captured by the camera.

Watching Woo-jin act as the early ‘Henry Gordon,’ the foreign staff members whispered.

‘His vibe is completely different. Maybe it’s because we saw that chilling performance a few days ago, but the difference is even more stark.’

‘It’s normal for actors to switch emotions freely, but—doesn’t Kang Woo-jin have zero delay?’

‘Right, I think that part is amazing too. Usually, when scenes with vastly different emotions alternate, they take a little time. But Kang Woo-jin doesn’t have any of that.’

‘The ‘Joker’ scenes are being filmed this afternoon, right? Then he’ll nonchalantly unleash his madness again.’

‘How did he acquire such absurd skills in just three years?’

‘He only debuted three years ago, but I heard he honed his skills somewhere before that. That’s what the director said?’

Thus, the filming of the early ‘Henry Gordon’ scenes concluded in the early afternoon.

But it was as if the filming was just beginning.

‘Standby in 30 minutes!!’

Everything moved frantically.

Several makeup team staff members swarmed around Kang Woo-jin. His face, which had been ‘Henry Gordon,’ gradually transformed into something grotesque. His pale face and the area around his eyes were painted with stark rectangular black. His nose and mouth were heavily colored in red.

Soon, Woo-jin was transformed into the ‘Joker.’

Kang Woo-jin, who had been expressionless during the makeup process, thought,

‘Ugh—there are about twice as many makeup team members here than in Korea, so it feels a bit burdensome.’

After the transformation, he had to change into his costume. The ‘Joker’s’ outfit. The stylist team members, holding the ‘Joker’s’ clothes, approached Kang Woo-jin.

At that moment.

‘Woo-jin.’

A deep voice cut in from behind. Turning around, he saw Director Ahn Ga-bok, wearing headphones around his neck, approaching. Beside him was the stern-looking executive producer, Nora Foster. She was freely moving around the set, and the stylist team members who were approaching Woo-jin paused. Then, Kang Woo-jin met Director Ahn Ga-bok’s gaze.

‘Yes, Director.’

‘About the ‘Joker’s’ costume.’

Director Ahn Ga-bok, pointing at the ‘Joker’s’ clothes like the red jacket with his index finger, spoke in English.

‘I wanted to ask before filming, do you have any thoughts? I’m asking if there are any parts of the costume you’d like to change.’

Director Ahn Ga-bok had witnessed Woo-jin’s ad-libbed ‘Joker’ scene a few days ago, so it was natural for him to ask for Woo-jin’s opinion before the actual filming.

Just in case.

He wondered if Kang Woo-jin might find the prepared ‘Joker’ costume bland.

No, Director Ahn Ga-bok’s expression was full of conviction.

‘I bet you’ve come up with something unexpected again.’

‘……’

Woo-jin, with a solemn expression, was silent for a moment. And then he shouted inwardly.

‘Huh?! I don’t have anything!’

He hadn’t even thought about it. What was this situation? Although his face remained stiff, Kang Woo-jin was momentarily flustered. Then, with a slightly annoyed look, Woo-jin answered honestly.

‘No, I don’t.’

‘……Really?’

Ugh—from Director Ahn Ga-bok’s question, Woo-jin felt a sense of annoyance. Plus, he had to maintain his cool. Soon, producer Nora Foster, who was next to Director Ahn Ga-bok, interjected. Her expression wasn’t very good.

‘Director. It seems he doesn’t have any particular ideas, and you’re putting pressure on him. Also, if things change too much on set, there might be issues among the key staff.’

What strongly resonated in Kang Woo-jin’s ears was the word ‘pressure.’ In extreme concept mode, ‘pressure’ shouldn’t exist. Woo-jin decided to say anything. Suddenly, for some reason, his mother’s scolding and back smack from his childhood flashed in his mind.

‘Kang Woo-jin!! I told you to put your socks in the washing machine right after you take them off!!’

With a tingling back, Kang Woo-jin looked at Nora Foster and then shifted his gaze to Director Ahn Ga-bok. He spoke in a low tone in English.

‘The ‘Joker’s’ socks are a bit bland.’

Nora Foster and Director Ahn Ga-bok simultaneously turned their heads towards Kang Woo-jin, and Woo-jin continued what he had said with a ‘whatever’ attitude.

‘The current ‘Joker’s’ socks are just plain white.’

‘That’s right.’

‘It would be better to change them to mismatched ones. Black and white, or red and blue.’

‘Hmm—what made you think of that?’

Because my mom’s back smack came to mind. Unable to answer that, Kang Woo-jin vaguely dodged the question.

‘Because it’ll stand out, the contrast.’

This meant that it would be noticeable because it was unusual and didn’t match.

‘At least it’s not bland, right?’

However.

‘……’

Director Ahn Ga-bok, who had been staring at Woo-jin’s serious face for a moment, chuckled. Then, he explained what he had arbitrarily guessed.

‘The Joker is a character who has both ‘tragedy’ and ‘comedy.’ You’re going to symbolize that with the socks. Right? Furthermore, it’s also a device to show that the ‘Joker’ is easily ignoring the oppressive gaze of society.’

Kang Woo-jin, who had been silent for a few seconds, nodded casually. He had gotten lucky, but he didn’t show it at all. His face was as thick as a steel plate.

‘Red and blue would be good colors.’

Afterward, Kang Woo-jin, with his costume and makeup changed, reappeared in the filming zone. The hundred or so foreign staff members who were watching him walk casually murmured.

‘It’s eerily perfect. Is it okay to say that?’

‘Rather than perfect—it was a planned character, but Kang Woo-jin’s own ‘Joker’ has been completed.’

Then, Woo-jin arrived at the zone where the cameras were focused. Wet, long red hair reaching his chin, a pale face with black and red paint around his eyes and nose, thick, torn-looking lips, a yellow vest over a blue shirt, a red jacket, and red pants with worn-out brown shoes.

And the mismatched blue and red socks peeking out from above the shoes.

‘……’

Kang Woo-jin, who was no different from a ‘mad clown,’ stared indifferently at the camera, and Director Ahn Ga-bok, with a wrinkled smile, murmured inwardly.

‘Damn it… I want to show this to the world as soon as possible. What would it be like to see that on the big screen?’

He wanted to unleash the completed ‘Joker’ to the world as soon as possible.

‘That will be absurdly magnificent, in a different way.’

June 16th.

As soon as Kang Woo-jin entered the trailer in the morning.

‘Hoo-‘

He momentarily dropped his concept and slumped onto the sofa. Perhaps it was because of the unfamiliar environment, the new character, and the weight of that character, the ‘Joker,’ but fatigue was gradually accumulating.

‘I should go to the subspace more often from today.’

It was then.

-Knock knock.

A knock echoed on the trailer door. Instantly, the real Kang Woo-jin flinched and quickly changed his posture. He put on his concept and crossed his legs solemnly. His heart was pounding slightly. Then, he lowered his voice and spoke in English.

‘Yes, come in.’

He naturally thought it was a staff member. But the person who opened the trailer door and entered was a handsome man. No, it was Chris Hartnett with his deep brown eyes. He was wearing a hat pulled low, whether he had been waiting or had just arrived.

‘Kang Woo-jin, can we talk for a moment?’

To him, who spoke casually, Kang Woo-jin pointed indifferently at the chair opposite him.

‘Sit down.’

‘Thank you.’

Chris sat down and stared at Kang Woo-jin, who was sitting with his legs crossed, before suddenly opening his mouth.

‘…The ad-lib during the first filming, the scene where ‘Henry Gordon’ first awakens as the ‘Joker.”

He was talking about the scene where he made the ‘Joker’s’ face with blood.

‘Honestly, it was the first time in my acting career that I felt such awe. My brain froze for a few seconds. Haha, I’m not just saying this to be friendly, I mean it sincerely.’

‘……’

The handsome Hollywood top actor Chris was showering him with praise right in front of him. Kang Woo-jin was maintaining his poker face, but.

‘Don’t let your lips curl up!’

Of course, he was pleased. No, it was natural to feel good when a Hollywood actor who was popular worldwide said his brain had stopped. For the ordinary Kang Woo-jin, it was an unimaginable sight.

But it wasn’t the time to be excited.

‘Here, I need to be dignified, huh? I need to be super serious.’

Kang Woo-jin cynically changed the direction of his crossed legs.

‘I see.’

Chris, who was looking at Woo-jin’s calm eyes for a moment, chuckled inwardly.

‘As expected, he doesn’t show any signs of being happy. Well, he’s not the type to act to show off to someone. He just enjoys becoming the character itself. I need that kind of composure too, it’s something to learn from.’

Chris smiled.

‘How much did you agonize over that ad-lib? It stopped the brains of hundreds of people there, so it must have come from—analyzing it to death.’

Kang Woo-jin shouted inwardly.

‘Of course, I agonized over it a lot! Honestly, as soon as I thought of that ad-lib, I shouted Eureka [a cry of joy or discovery].’

In reality, it took Woo-jin almost two months to come up with that ad-lib. He came up with it after analyzing things after the ‘Pierrot’ audition. It was close to a coincidence, but it wasn’t just luck because he had read (experienced) ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ dozens of times. His understanding of the characters, the background, the world, etc., was unbelievably high.

Anyway, it was true that he had agonized over it a lot.

However.

‘But if I say that as it is, I’ll look like an idiot, right?’

Kang Woo-jin couldn’t just shout out, ‘It was so hard!’ Woo-jin put on a brazen face. He answered simply.

‘I just did it roughly.’

This answer meant that he didn’t put in much effort, that it came from thinking about it casually, not from agonizing over it. It was a casual meaning. But at Woo-jin’s cold and plain reaction, Chris’s eyebrows narrowed.

‘Roughly? This reaction—could it be… haha, no. No way. So that’s how it was.’

Then, he asked Kang Woo-jin about the conclusion he had arbitrarily drawn.

‘That ad-lib came out on the spot, then.’

Chris’s face suddenly brightened.

‘To come up with such acting on the spot—it’s shocking and delightful?’

‘……’

Suddenly, ‘on the spot’ came up. But when Woo-jin remained silent without much change in his expression, Chris Hartnett smiled more deeply.

‘I guess you can easily accept my ad-libs too, I enjoy them a bit. I tend to act freely. But there are few actors who can properly accept them.’

‘As much as you want.’

Kang Woo-jin, who answered briefly, continued in a low tone in English.

‘But you won’t be able to enjoy it, you’ll need to be prepared.’

Instantly, Chris’s eyebrows twitched slightly.