[HanCinema's News] Yoo Hae-jin Solidifies Reputation as Box Office Draw With "Exhuma"

At first glance, Yoo Hae-jin is not by any means an obvious box office draw. The fifty-four year old actor does not generally play leads, and is often best known for his skills in comic relief. Nevertheless, with "Exhuma" Yoo Hae-jin now has a nearly legendary status among South Korean film actors for having featured roles in four films that have overtaken the ten million viewer mark at the South Korean box office.

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"The King and the Clown" from 2005, "Veteran" from 2015, and "Taxi Driver" from 2017 are the other three titles, and all from markedly different genres. "The King and the Clown" was a dark Joseon era palace drama, "Veteran" an action blockbuster, and "Taxi Driver" an at-times comic drama about the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. In all four films, Yoo Hae-jin functions as back-up for leading characters, and goes a long way to setting the tone as an attempted voice of reason.

Perhaps more than anything else, Yoo Hae-jin excels at adapting his performance to the needs of the production. According to writer/director Jang Jae-hyeon, Yoo Hae-jin has a director's eye for what does and does not work in a scene, and makes himself less prominent as necessary in order to insure that any given moment has the right emphasis. Yoo Hae-jin also enjoys boundless energy for his work. "Moral Hazard" and "Yadang: The Snitch" are two new films expected from him this year.

Written by William Schwartz