I Was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor

Translator: Dreamscribe

‘Beast’ Kang Woojin. No, ‘Diver’ Kang Woojin wore a full-body skin-tight suit from the very first scene of the first shoot for ‘Beast and the Beauty’ for a simple reason.

‘Tsk! No matter if it’s for CG, how is anyone supposed to get into character wearing this kind of thing?!’

Just as ‘Diver’ Kang Woojin shouted inwardly now, most of the ‘Beast’ scenes had to be filmed in a tight suit designed for special effects. Actually shooting in full ‘Beast’ makeup only happened a few times in the whole schedule. For the most part, Kang Woojin had to wear this suit.

‘Hey! Making team! Don’t film this, I said don’t film it!’

It was a ridiculous outfit, gray from head to toe with strange dots all over it, but it was all a special costume for CG. On top of that, something was also stuffed inside the suit to bulk up the ‘Beast’s’ frame. It was seriously uncomfortable and laughable, but what choice did he have? It was all for the sake of the work’s completeness.

In fact, Kang Woojin had been prepared for this situation.

He had done the pre-preparation before the first shoot.

He had tried on this special costume a few days prior, and a week earlier, had done numerous shots inside a strange booth with cameras installed in every direction. This was to capture expressions and facial movements for nearly perfect ‘Beast’ CG. After running the simulations, curiously, the rendered ‘Beast’ face on the monitor followed Woojin’s movements exactly.

Even the fine expressions.

Woojin had to act in this skin-tight suit for over half of the ‘Beast and the Beauty’ shoot, maybe even more, in order to produce such precise results. It didn’t really match the character concept, but for the sake of acting and the project, he endured the humiliation as much as possible.

‘To think Cara would laugh so openly. Ha-’

Anyway, foreign staff members rushed into the set. Since there was an NG, they had to reset everything. Woojin, who was on the central stairs, awkwardly came down.

Cara, on the first floor.

“Huup!”

She, looking identical to beauty ‘Bella’, was still struggling to suppress her laughter at the sight of Kang Woojin in the skin-tight suit. Woojin approached Cara among dozens of staff.

“Are you going to keep laughing?”

His tone was stern, but inwardly he kept shouting, ‘Stop laughing!’ Cara, who had been wiping away tears, apologized.

“I’m sorry. What’s wrong with me? It’s not even the first time I’ve seen that special suit, but when you come out wearing it, I just can’t stop laughing.”

“Then just get all your laughing done now and get used to this funny look.”

Cara, who had been smiling, shook her head.

“It’s not really because it’s funny. I’m laughing because it’s cute.”

Cute? What on earth is cute about my appearance? Is her taste that unusual? Kang Woojin couldn’t understand, and in that moment, a line his mom once said came to mind from his memory.

‘Woojin-ah, whether it’s a person or an animal, being cute is the best. Once something starts being cute, that’s the end.’

Just then, Director Bill Rotner, wearing black horn-rimmed glasses, approached. He, too, was smiling as he looked at Kang Woojin.

“Starting off with some lightheartedness isn’t a bad thing. Woojin, I’m glad you suit that special costume well.”

Woojin, staring at him indifferently, didn’t particularly respond. He just grumbled internally, ‘Is this foreign grandpa teasing me?’ Then Director Bill Rotner spoke seriously again to both actors.

“The scenes up to the NG were amazing. Let’s refocus and go from the top.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Understood.”

The two actors answered and immediately returned to their places. Soon, Director Bill Rotner, watching the back of the awkwardly waddling skin-tight-suit-clad Kang Woojin as staff assisted him,

-swish.

sat back down at his station, surrounded by multiple monitors and key staff. Then he murmured.

“……Just how much has that actor studied the ‘Beast’?”

A low exclamation uttered quietly. The first shoot, first scene. The scene itself was an NG, but the entrance of the two actors was outstanding. Especially when the ‘Beast’ made his appearance, it was overwhelming. At least Director Bill Rotner thought so. However, other key staff also shared the same opinion.

“Only his appearance looked like that, but from his delivery of lines to every little movement, it was all ‘Beast’.”

“Right. Especially during the shoot, did you see Woojin’s walk? He lifted his heels. Even in that posture, he portrayed weightiness and confidence. He must’ve studied the ‘Beast’s’ signature intimidating stride.”

“From his expressions to facial movements, his shoulders, arms, and hands, he seemed to have tailored his entire body to match the ‘Beast’. The detail is just… I already want to see the final work.”

Director Bill Rotner, arms crossed.

“Just because CG will be applied doesn’t mean the performance can be glossed over or done half-heartedly. On the contrary, much deeper acting is required. If you slack even a little, it becomes obviously fake. But as expected, there’s nothing to worry about with Kang Woojin.”

He smiled faintly. Satisfaction was evident.

“To think he brings the ‘Beast’ to mind even while wearing that ridiculous outfit.”

The next morning. Around 9 a.m.

A bit removed from downtown LA, in an area with noticeably fewer people and buildings than the city center. Among them stood an eight-story building, home to a small film company called ‘A8 Media’. Though classified as a small business, in reality it was practically a startup film company that had just launched.

Maybe that’s why its signboard looked cleaner compared to others.

Inside the part of the fourth floor occupied by ‘A8 Media’, the atmosphere felt cramped. There were only about ten employees. However, perhaps due to having already produced a work with some success, the office walls were lined with movie posters made by ‘A8 Media’.

There was even a modest meeting room, and currently inside it, five foreigners were in deep discussion.

Three men in suits. Across from them sat a foreign woman, looking to be in her mid-forties with dark brown shoulder-length hair and a white shirt, and a freckled-faced man. The man looked a bit younger.

Each of them had a clear file or tablet in front of them.

“Hmm, I understand for now.”

As if wrapping up the conversation, the three suited men stood up smoothly.

“We’ll review and get back to you.”

The brown-haired woman shook hands with all three of the men.

“Looking forward to hearing from you.”

The three suited men exited the meeting room. Soon, inside the elevator, the slightly plump man among them recalled the meeting and let out a dry chuckle.

“Damn. I thought there might be some connection since they said it was a remake of the film that marked Kang Woojin’s movie debut, but there wasn’t any at all.”

“Exactly. Honestly, I was expecting at least some talk of casting Kang Woojin. But just as expected, it was a waste of time. A fruitless trip.”

“They made it sound like not only is there no connection, but Kang Woojin doesn’t even know about this project. Then again, rumor has it that with Columbia Studios, Disney, and even Universal Movies lined up, Kang Woojin’s schedule is packed until the year after next.”

“I heard that too. With that level of power, there’s no reason for him to touch a small project like this, even if it is related to his past.”

As they got off the elevator, the plump man continued.

“No matter if it’s Kang Woojin’s Hollywood debut film that’s turning Hollywood upside down, if it’s Korean, a short film, and especially if he has no connection, who would invest in such a project?”

The others strongly agreed.

“Impossible. And the film company is brand new, too. It’ll probably never even get off the ground. Even if it does, it’ll flop.”

Meanwhile, inside the “A8 Media” meeting room.

The three men had just left, but the woman with shoulder-length hair and the freckled man still remained. The atmosphere was gloomy.

“……”

“……”

Perhaps feeling the heavy air, the freckled man finally spoke with difficulty.

“So- this is going to be tough, isn’t it?”

In truth, the meeting just now was about investment. As the lifeline of film production, money, the three men were very important figures. But things clearly didn’t go well, and the woman with the bobbed hair let out a long sigh.

“As expected, it’s not easy.”

“But they said they’d get back to us, so maybe-”

“We’ll probably never see their faces again.”

“……CEO.”

The woman with the bobbed hair was the CEO of the fledgling film company A8 Media. Though she held the title of CEO, she was no more than a small shop owner in the vast sea of film companies in LA. Her name was Jennifer Thurman. She was formerly with “Universal Movies” and, upon boldly going independent, the first film she produced had seen moderate success.

So it seemed like a hit was on the horizon, but her next project went downhill.

Now she was at the edge of a cliff.

Leaning back in her chair, Jennifer Thurman turned her gaze to two overlapping script covers among the stacks of papers on the desk. One read ‘Guest’ and the other.

-‘Exorcism’.

It was ‘Exorcism’. Indeed, it was that ‘Exorcism’, Kang Woojin’s film debut. Jennifer Thurman had attended Korea’s “Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival” in the past. There, she saw the short film ‘Exorcism’ and sensed potential. A few months later, she purchased the rights to ‘Exorcism’ and began preparing a remake.

Of course, it was no longer a short film, but a full-length feature, tailored to Hollywood’s tastes.

This remake, titled ‘Guest’, had been briefly mentioned in Korea too, but at the time, Kang Woojin wasn’t globally famous like he is now, so the news was quickly buried. Regardless, the Hollywood remake of ‘Exorcism’, ‘Guest’, had been drifting aimlessly for a year now.

‘Phew- who knew things would get this tangled.’

At one point, the project had reached the pre-production stage, only to be scrapped intensely. Now, with Kang Woojin blowing up in Hollywood, she had begun to see hope again. In fact, unlike before, the number of meetings had drastically increased. Still, Jennifer Thurman’s hardened expression did not soften.

‘They’re all just testing the waters, only looking for Kang Woojin. No one even considers the project itself.’

Even if ‘Guest’ was a remake of Woojin’s ‘Exorcism’, after adaptation, it was essentially a new work. Unless Woojin himself was starring in it, the film ‘Guest’ was no different from the countless garbage scripts lying around in a rookie film company.

Even mid-sized studios often struggled to secure investment, so a new studio had no chance.

At this, the freckled man cautiously interjected.

“CEO, I think it’s time we turned our attention to other scripts instead of ‘Guest’. We’ve always had other screenplays, haven’t we?”

“……That’s true. But- sigh, yes. It is my greed.”

Clinging to ‘Guest’ for over a year despite its failure was Jennifer Thurman’s own greed. The script was well-written, and it was entertaining. It might even spark a new trend in horror or occult genres.

‘Though it’s just what I think.’

Jennifer Thurman brushed her brown hair back and stood from her chair with difficulty.

“Let’s keep looking for investors… and start selecting other scripts. If this goes on any longer, we’ll all go under.”

Perhaps feeling sorry for her, the freckled man asked,

“……You were against it, but just in case, what about sending the script for ‘Guest’ to Kang Woojin’s side? Since it’s a remake of his debut film, wouldn’t he be somewhat interested?”

“There’s only one reason I was against that. It’s because there’s no chance he’d be interested in ‘Guest’. He’s already working with three of the Hollywood ‘Big Five’ studios, isn’t he? And according to rumors, his schedule is packed through the year after next.”

“Y-Yeah, but still.”

“More than anything, just the way it looks, it would seem like we’re begging Kang Woojin. Sure, we’re at a point where we have to do anything to survive, but shouldn’t we at least avoid causing harm to others?”

Faced with this sound logic, the freckled employee closed his mouth. Jennifer Thurman, gently touching the ‘Guest’ script on her desk, murmured quietly. A hint of melancholy surfaced on her face.

“It’s a shame, but I suppose this project will have to remain only in my memory.”

Two days later, September 4.

A van was running down the road. Inside were Kang Woojin wearing his cap pulled low, Choi Sung-gun, and their team members. Woojin was on his way to “SPT Studio” for the shoot of ‘Beast and the Beauty’, scheduled to begin in about an hour. It was already the fourth day that Woojin was filming two projects simultaneously: ‘Beast and the Beauty’ and ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’.

However, Kang Woojin was perfectly fine, and the interesting thing was.

-flip.

Poker-faced Kang Woojin was reading a script. On the cover, these words were printed.

-‘Guest’

Even while reading the script, Woojin asked in a low voice.

“So this is the Hollywood remake of ‘Exorcism’?”

As expected, it was the ponytailed Choi Sung-gun who answered.

“That’s right, the title is ‘Guest’. Remember? I told you about it once before. Despite being a short film, it was exceptionally sold to Hollywood.”

“Yes. I remember.”

“That’s the one. But you don’t need to pay too much attention to it, just read it like a book in your spare time if you get bored. It’s just for you to check it out as the original lead.”

“Did Director Shin Dong-chun send this script?”

“Yeah. Director Shin didn’t mean anything by it. He just felt it was proper etiquette to send it to you since you led ‘Exorcism’. I spoke with him recently, and he made it clear he wasn’t trying to get you involved or anything like that.”

Woojin slowly nodded and turned his gaze back to the script for ‘Guest’. Specifically, to the swirling black square attached beside the script.

At this point, Choi Sung-gun added an explanation.

“But from what I’ve heard, the situation isn’t great.”

“What do you mean by not great?”

“Well, it’s obvious. The one who bought ‘Exorcism’ was a rookie Hollywood film company, and at the time, Director Shin was also a rookie. When someone from Hollywood wanted to buy a Korean short, he just handed it over. Then after about a year of adaptation, it was completed, almost reached pre-production, and then got scrapped.”

“And since then, it hasn’t received any investment?”

“Director Shin has half-given up. He said production is probably impossible.”

Upon hearing that, Kang Woojin subtly moved his index finger. He had entered the void space. In an instant, everything around him turned dark, it was the void. Shedding his concept mode without delay, Woojin moved toward a white rectangles.

A newly added work came into view.

-[14/Script (Title: Guest), Grade S]

-[*A very high-quality movie script. 100% reading is available.]

Kang Woojin was surprised.

“Oh- Grade S? That’s pretty huge.”

Pretty huge? Woojin judged that his sense might’ve dulled since he had recently been dealing with only SSS or EX-grade works. Thinking back, “Hanryang” was S-grade. It might not be a nuclear-level superhit, but considering it’s based in Hollywood, this went beyond big.

‘Maybe I’ll gain some kind of ability from it, so I’ll do the reading (experience) after I finish going through the script.’

However.

‘Anyway, it’s impossible for me to take this on.’

That was the reality. He was already working on three Hollywood projects, with many more booked. On top of that, his remaining schedule in Korea, Japan, and Hollywood was no joke. It would undoubtedly increase exponentially over time.

No matter how he thought about it, it was impossible.

‘I don’t think I can do this project. Well, there are plenty of actors in Hollywood anyway.’

For a brief moment, other top Hollywood actors besides Chris flashed through his mind as he stroked his jaw.

“Hmm- still, it’s kind of a shame. Just throwing away an S-grade script, and on top of that, it’s a remake of ‘Exorcism’.”

As he thought about it, something seemed to come to him, and Woojin suddenly called, ‘Exit’, and returned to reality. Inside the van, Choi Sung-gun was still talking to him.

“It’s a shame, but what can you do? There are thousands no, tens of thousands of films that vanish in Hollywood just like that. Just read it comfortably when you have time.”

Returning quickly to his solemn expression, Woojin made a low-toned suggestion to Choi Sung-gun.

“How about CEO-nim becoming the main investor in this ‘Guest’?”

**

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