Taking on a role in the film adaptation of renowned web novel "Omniscient Reader" was something actor Lee Min-ho initially wanted to stay away from — an effort to avoid comments from people saying that the choice was “so Lee Min-ho.”

Lee revealed this during an interview with reporters on Thursday at a cafe in Jongno District, central Seoul. “Playing Jung-hyeok was honestly a bit of pressure for me,” the actor said.


“To be honest, I felt pressured taking on the project because I didn’t want to hear those comments saying that the role is ‘so Lee Min-ho’ from the usual perspective.”

Despite his initial apprehension, Lee took on the role, saying Jung-hyeok represented something Lee himself wanted to embrace — not the looks or coolness, but the quality of simply staying focused on what needs to be done in the moment, without being distracted by expectations or outcomes.

“There’s always a lot of pressure when working on something based on an original piece,” he said. “With this project, honestly, I fiercely resisted it so many times, but somehow I ended up taking it on.”

“Jung-hyeok felt like a character who reflects certain values I want to pursue in my own life going forward. And I thought, if a great Korean IP like this can reach more people, and if there’s a need for me in that process, then maybe it’s worth giving it a shot,” he added.

Lee says Jung-hyeok is a character who “isn’t just living in the world, but surviving through life.”

Based on the web novel of the same name by writer singNsong and directed by Kim Byung-woo, “Omniscient Reader” centers around an utterly ordinary office worker, Kim Dok-ja, portrayed by Ahn Hyo-seop, whose reality suddenly mirrors a novel he has read. Dok-ja becomes the only person who knows how the world will end and embarks on a journey to change the course of the novel's story and save the world.

Lee portrays Jung-hyeok, the protagonist of the novel Dok-ja read, alongside a star-studded cast including Ahn, Chae Soo-bin, Shin Seung-ho, Nana of Afterschool and Blackpink's Jisoo.

Although the actor takes on a leading a role in the film, his screen time is considerably shorter in comparison to his previous works where he mainly portrayed the main protagonist. Some viewers might wonder if many of his scenes were cut during editing, but Lee denied this, saying, “Pretty much every scene we shot made it into the final cut.”

“I agreed that including too much backstory from what was currently included could end up diluting the direction of this story, so I didn’t really have any big discussions about how much I would appear in the film,” he said.

The actor also stressed that he does not weigh much importance on the "size of a role or its screen time,” but rather on the meaning and contribution the role brings — an initiative he was able to tackle after appearing in Apple TV+’s “Pachinko” (2022-24).

“In my 20s, I hardly got offers for diverse roles,” he said. “However, after turning 30, I began receiving more opportunities to take on characters within a broader narrative.”

“In a way, my experience with ‘Pachinko’ was so positive that it really opened my eyes. Since then, I’ve felt that as long as it’s a role where I’m truly needed and I can bring some meaning to it, I’ll take it on without any prejudice.”

Next year marks Lee’s 20th anniversary as an actor. Despite his long career, he has only five films in his filmography, including the upcoming fantasy action film. “Omniscient Reader” is his first in 10 years. The gap was due to his personal perception of himself, he revealed, which made him reluctant to enter the film industry for a while.

“As an actor, since my 20s, I think I’ve felt that when I went to the theater, it was usually to experience some emotional release or to feel a deep story,” Lee said.

“So I thought that once I got past my 30s and became someone who could carry bigger stories and deeper emotions, that would be the time I’d want to work on films. That’s why it took me a while.”

The film “Omniscient Reader” is set to be released on Wednesday.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]