Game for more

JI CHANG-WOOK is no stranger to the world of K-dramas, with appearances in top-rated television dramas such as Healer (2014) and The K2 (2016).
This year, he is making his big-screen debut in action-thriller ­Fabricated City, which opened in ­cinemas here yesterday.
Directed by multiple-award-winning director Park Kwang-hyun, ­Fabricated City revolves around die-hard gamer Kwon Yu (played by Ji), who leads one of the best online gaming teams in the nation, after being kicked off the national taekwondo team for ­assaulting a ­teammate.
Kwon’s life takes an unexpected turn when he is framed for the brutal rape and murder of a teenager, which supposedly ­happened after he returned an ­abandoned cell phone to a mysterious female caller.
With the help of his online teammates, they uncover a massive plot by a mysterious underworld organisation, and it’s up to Kwon and his allies to combine forces and prove his innocence.
Fabricated City is ­presented by tvN ­Movies, a Korean ­blockbuster movie ­channel.
Earlier this month, the channel flew Ji into ­Malaysia to meet with fans here, as well as to ­promote tvN Movies channel and Fabricated City which will be shown via HyppTV.
At the press ­conference, Ji said: “I’m happy and also thankful to all my [Malaysian] fans … it ­actually ­surprised [me when they] welcomed me [with] such warmth.
“I’m here because of love from my fans, so I’ll work harder to fulfil your expectations.”
When asked how he prepared himself for the role of Kwon, Ji explained that while he isn’t skilled at playing online games in real life, he didn’t need to practise for the film.
He said that ­unlike other projects that he has worked on, this time around, he didn’t have to create a persona to play the role.
Instead, he said, he placed himself as the character in the situations and acted according to how he would ­personally have dealt with them.
Ji said that one of his biggest challenges on the film was overcoming the stress he experienced from taking on his first leading role.
The erratic weather that was either too hot or too cold also did not make the shoot any easier.
But he said he felt at ease under the guidance of director Park as well as the other actors.
“When I first got the script, I was burdened and also worried, that’s why I hesitated a lot before [­accepting] the role.
“I talked to the director and ... I [began to] trust him and depended on Park a lot for this whole project.
“There are a lot of able ­actors in this movie, and they [were able to ­embody] their characters, so just by being in a scene with them, they actually helped me to get [things right].”
Ji was recently nominated in the Best New Actor category at the 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards – also known as the Korean Golden Globe Awards – for his role in Fabricated City.
While he has made a name for himself in action TV series, the actor said he wants to avoid doing such roles as they are “physically ­challenging and tiring”.
Ji is currently working on a new mystery rom-com drama.

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