From ‘Squid Game’ to ‘Star Wars’: Actor Lee Jung Jae’s Epic Hollywood Voyage

Actor Lee Jung Jae shared behind-the-scenes stories from the set of the new Star Wars series, The Acolyte. He revealed that his tongue became sore from practicing his English so much.

A video titled “We Should Meet” was uploaded on Sung Si Kyung’s YouTube channel on June 3, featuring Lee as a guest.

Lee, making history as the first Asian Jedi Master in the upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte, set to be released on June 5, shared, “While filming, I did a lot of martial arts training and played a Jedi who uses the force well. I worked out to make my body look strong, but lately, I’m losing weight again because I’m filming ‘Squid Game.'” “As the game’s concept is to keep getting thinner, I’m on a strict diet,” he added.

When asked how the filming environment in Hollywood differs from Korea, he answered, “First of all, the scale is incredibly larger. Every single prop is detailed, and the technical skills are outstanding. Especially for Star Wars, the fans gather and discuss ‘How much of a fan are you?'”

He described his struggle with acting in English: “Because I’m not good at English, I had four coaches. We practiced in rotation every day, focusing solely on diction and not emotion—correcting pronunciation, reading in chunks, and so on. I practiced so much that both sides of my tongue wore out, making it difficult to eat.” Sung Si Kyung responded with admiration, “Nothing in the world is free. You really worked hard.”

Lee Jung Jae is a veteran actor in the industry for 31 years. Since his debut in the drama Dinosaur Teacher in 1993, he has enjoyed a successful career, appearing in consecutive hits such as The Young Man, Sandglass, and Feelings. “I modeled for magazines for about a year and then got connected to an advertising production company through a close friend. They saw something unique in me and cast me for a chocolate commercial. That commercial was a huge success, and I was able to appear in three more projects,” he recalled from his early days.

Regarding his decision to join the military during his rise to stardom, he said, “I could have postponed it, but my schedule was so packed that I wanted to go to the military to sleep. I was filming ‘Sandglass’ during the day, ‘The Young Man’ at night, and Feelings the next morning for about a year. I felt I couldn’t live like this anymore, so I immediately joined the military.”

He also shared his past fears about being on set, expressing that there were times when he doubted his ability to perform well and even felt terrified. However, his perspective shifted after working on the film City of the Rising Sun, where he observed the enjoyable dynamics between actor Jung Woo Sung and director Kim Sung Soo. He noted that this experience occurred when he was 27 years old.

In response to Sung Si Kyung’s praise and anticipation for his future Hollywood endeavors, Lee humbly stated, “I don’t know how much longer I can work. That time will come someday, but until then, I desire to do my best.”