Jun Ji-hyun, 28, shot to stardom in South Korea playing the lead in My Sassy Girl and has starred in a number of other romantic comedies since. She recently made her break into Hollywood using the name Gianna Jun in Chris Nahon's Blood: The Last Vampire, a live-action film based on Hiroyuki Kitakubo's hit anime from 2000.
Tell me about your role.
My character Saya is a very simple girl. She fights hard for only one dream, which is to kill the head monster Onigen, but deep down she is very lonely. I knew about the anime before this project came up and it is a role that every actor would die for.
Was action director Cory Yuen Kwai demanding?
No, he wasn't. He was so sweet. Cory did an excellent job transforming someone like me, with no background in action films, into a hardcore fighter while still preserving the character's feminine side. He is amazing. The film was shot in Argentina, the mainland and Hong Kong. At first, he taught me how to kick and gradually I began practising with the sword. A real samurai sword is very heavy, so we only used a real one for close-ups and a prop for the rest. I had a training routine every day, repeating the same stuff. It was boring, but once the cameras started rolling, I realised how practical my training was and it was all worth it.
Any mishaps during shooting?
Yes, I had a close call. My character has superhuman powers, so I spent a lot of time doing flying stunts on a wire. One time a crane hit me from the side while I was dangling in the air. It didn't hit me right on, but it did hit my face. The pain was secondary to the feeling I had of hanging in the air all alone. I got homesick and wondered what I was doing there. Tears started pouring down my face.
