Chapter 4

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For the perfect performance

"Where are you going?"

Woo-hyuk's wife asked as she saw him come out of the bedroom in his training gear.

"I'll go around the neighborhood and come back."

Woo-hyuk answered as he headed towards the front door.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Perfectly fine!"

Woo-hyuk smiled at his wife, who looked worried.

"Be back soon. I'll make a good meal for you."

He opened the door, stepped outside, and lightly ran up the stairs.

His body felt light, as if he were floating about five centimeters above the ground.

After making a large loop around the neighborhood, he went to the nearby community park.

The park had exercise equipment, and he often saw people exercising there in the morning, but today no one was around.

After a light stretch, he hung from the horizontal bar and did pull-ups.

A few days ago, he couldn't even do five, but today he managed ten.

If it weren't for the abilities transferred to him from Bruce Lee through the experience, it would have been impossible.

He recalled the night he experienced Bruce Lee.

Is there a boy who didn't try to mimic Bruce Lee at least once in his childhood?

"Ah-yo!"

He probably also imitated Bruce Lee's unique battle cry, wiping his nose with his thumb.

Woo-hyuk was no different.

The image of Bruce Lee had been distorted by comedians' exaggerated imitations.

After experiencing Bruce Lee last night, his perception of Bruce Lee completely changed.

Bruce Lee, chosen for the audition to perform a proper kick, was not just a legendary martial artist but a born actor.

Bruce Lee's acting career spanned 33 years, the same length as his life.

People of later generations revere Bruce Lee as a martial artist, not an actor, and hold him up as a legendary martial artist, a macho idol, and the founder of Jeet Kune Do.

However, Bruce Lee debuted in the film "Golden Gate Girl" at three months old and had already appeared in twenty films by the time he turned 18. He continued his acting career until his death at the age of 33.

Woo-hyuk, who experienced Bruce Lee's life, came to respect him as an actor.

It's not an exaggeration to say that Bruce Lee honed his martial arts for the perfect performance.

Through martial arts, he mastered the qualities an actor needs: physical strength, concentration and immersion, motion, action, breathing, diction, battle cries, eye movement, and walking.

Watching his performances feels like being sucked into the screen.

It's an incredible magnetic force.

All of this was acquired through the practice of martial arts.

Being good at martial arts alone doesn't create such a magnetic force.

He was undoubtedly a martial arts master, but as an actor, he considered camera angles, lighting, the position of other actors, and even what was outside the frame.

His unique battle cry was not that of a martial artist but the breathing and diction of an actor.

No martial artist in the world makes such a battle cry.

What if there were only the usual fight sounds like "puk," "yuk," and "pababak" without his battle cry?

"It would feel like eating chicken without the skin."

Woo-hyuk thought.

After experiencing Bruce Lee, he realized many things.

He discovered the true nature of Bruce Lee as an actor and understood his own shortcomings.

Woo-hyuk had always thought he was unlucky. He believed he would become a star if he just got a good role.

What a laugh.

Wait for the right moment?

The right moment doesn't come; you have to create it, Bruce Lee said.

Work harder than others?

Another laugh.

You have to work harder than you did yesterday.

Woo-hyuk was complacent about acting, thinking there was nothing more to learn.

It was a severe delusion.

Bruce Lee was dedicated to the basics and practiced them every day.

Compared to Bruce Lee, Woo-hyuk was lazy. He blamed his luck without practicing.

He didn't put his life on the line for acting.

He didn't fully immerse himself.

It was natural that he didn't become a successful actor.

Even if he got lucky and became famous, it wouldn't be a good thing.

He would soon run out of talent.

While doing pull-ups, Woo-hyuk painfully reflected on himself.

He struggled to do ten pull-ups but managed to complete twenty before coming down.

According to the experience database, the abilities transferred through the experience gradually diminish over time.

To prevent this, the transferred abilities must be used consistently.

"I need a skill to show at the audition..."

The time to demonstrate martial arts skills at an audition is very short.

Showing one skill perfectly can leave a strong impression.

Learning Bruce Lee's nunchucks and demonstrating them at the audition might be a good idea.

I need to get a pair of nunchucks.

"Since I'm empty-handed, maybe I should try a kick."

Suddenly, he remembered something Bruce Lee said in an interview during the experience last night.

"I am not afraid of the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once. I am afraid of the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."

One kick 10,000 times?

Showing one kick well at the audition can leave a good impression.

A spinning kick would be good.

"Can I do it?"

The spinning kick is the most flashy of all kicks.

Because he had a black belt in Taekwondo in the military, he could take the stance and perform the kick.

He had good coordination and worked hard, so he received praise for his stance from the seniors.

After discharge, he never had the opportunity to practice kicks, so he wasn't sure if he could still do it.

After warming up his leg muscles, he took the stance and tried a light spinning kick.

Whoosh!

It seemed his stance was better than when he was in the military.

He should do 10,000.

Let's start with 100.

After 50, he was out of breath.

"Do not set limits on anything. The moment you set a limit, you become limited."

Recalling Bruce Lee's philosophy, he started the kicks again.

He completed 100.

To reach 10,000, he would need to do 100 kicks every day for 100 days.

Can he do it?

Of course!

Just because he received an incredible gift doesn't mean he can be complacent.

He must put in hard work to honor the gift.

If it were the usual Woo-hyuk, he wouldn't have completed 50 kicks.

But he pushed himself to the limit.

After completing 100, he was drenched in sweat.

His breath was short, but he felt refreshed.

The pleasure of surpassing one's limits!

Physical fitness is the foundation of acting.

It's difficult to give a good performance with a weak body.

Great actors can squeeze out a great performance from their limited bodies, but it's impossible for a newcomer.

It's as futile as trying to imitate Picasso without mastering the basics of drawing.

No actor is unaware that physical fitness is the foundation of walking, motion, action, breathing, diction, expression, and eye movement.

He decided to come to this park every morning to practice kicks unless something came up.

He picked up his training top from the bench.

***

On the way back home, his phone rang.

It was his close friend, Min-hwan.

Min-hwan was not only a college classmate but also had a similar build and was the same age, so they quickly became friends.

They started acting almost at the same time.

They went through the unknown period together, appearing in theater, musicals, movies, and TV dramas.

However, Min-hwan had become a star, and Woo-hyuk was still an unknown actor.

People change when they become stars, but Min-hwan was different.

He remained the same. He was still cheerful and humble.

His friendship with Woo-hyuk remained unchanged.

Woo-hyuk got the role in his previous movie thanks to Min-hwan's active recommendation to the director.

It was the first significant supporting role for Woo-hyuk.

It was a character that could stand out if performed well, but unfortunately, it only received a lukewarm response.

Min-hwan started shooting his next film a month before the previous one ended.

"Morning, what's up?"

- Hyuk, can you do me a favor?

"Sure, what is it?"

Min-hwan is not the type to ask for favors, especially harmful ones.

In fact, he had never asked for a favor before.

This was a chance to repay him.

If it's not too much to ask, I'll do it.

- A cameo actor suddenly backed out. The director asked me if I knew any suitable actors. You came to mind. Are you free today? If you are, can you do me a favor?

"Where is the shoot?"

- It's in Doo-mil-ri, Gapyeong. It's about an hour and a half by car.

"I'll go."

He almost mentioned that his car was at the repair shop but stopped. He could take a taxi.

- Can you be there by 10?

It's 8 now, so he had plenty of time to get there by taxi.

"Sure, what about the costume?"

- I'll have the stylist prepare it. Just bring yourself. It's a cameo, but it has a strong impact. It's a role that would be a waste to give to another actor. I'll send you the script and storyboard via email. The storyboard will show you that there's not much dialogue, so it shouldn't be too stressful. There's an action scene, but we'll use a stunt double, so don't worry. See you there.

It feels like he's doing a favor rather than repaying one.

A cameo role is different from a regular extra; it has a strong impact.

If done well, it can leave a strong impression on the audience.

Woo-hyuk knew he wasn't the type of actor to do a cameo.

If the original actor hadn't backed out, the role wouldn't have come to him.

It seems they called him out of desperation.

The moment he takes the role, it becomes a minor part, not a cameo.

Although it's a minor part and a last-minute fill-in, he plans to do his best.