Choi Min-sik stars in 'Big Bet,' which aired its second season on Feb. 15.
Choi Min-sik has created plenty of complex characters during his successful acting career and the character of Cha Moo-sik in Big Bet is no exception.
“I would not have picked the show if he was just a simple villain” said Choi. “He is a very complex character and there are so many feelings that swirl inside of him. I think that everybody has experienced that in their lives. That’s what was really appealing to me, although it was really difficult to pull it off.”
Moo-sik describes himself by saying “I’m an angel if you don’t rub me the wrong way. But if you do, I become a devil.” That about sums it up. Born to an illiterate mother and a petty criminal father, the resilient character makes the most of his limited options. He works his way up from being a hired thug to becoming a casino mogul, eventually settling in the Philippines. Moo-sik is so smart he might have succeeded in more legitimate endeavors had he grown up in a more supportive environment.
“I think the fate of a person really depends on the circumstances of his or her upbringing and who he or she meets,” said Choi. “I think everyone has a good side in him. If you watch the series you may feel that Cha Moo-sik is brutal sometimes, ruthless, selfish, but he’s quite loyal and has a sense of brotherhood. He’s very good to his people, so I think there is a good side to him.”
Moo-sik is Choi’s first drama role in over 25 years. His career has focused primarily on film, creating memorable characters in the classic films such as Oldboy, Sympathy for Vengeance and The Admiral: Roaring Currents. Although he had been craving a role in a longer saga, his Big Bet role was the result of a very different project he discussed with director Kang Yoon-sung.
“Before starting Big Bet together with director Kang we were trying to remake the Hollywood movie The Intern,” said Choi. “It was supposed to be produced by Warner Bros. Korea but they moved out of Korea due to the pandemic. So, things fell apart for that movie. I told director Kang, we can’t say goodbye here. Is there anything else you have?”
The director gave him the script for Big Bet.
“When I was reading the script I just felt this kind of affection for the character Cha Moo-sik. I think Cha Moo-sik is not a plain villain. He could be any one of us, but he’s put into these rough circumstances and he’s pulled into the world of casinos and he gets beaten down. Life is sometimes harsh on him. That’s what made him who he is.”
Since the drama is set in the Philippines, Choi needed to say many of his lines in English, which he does with impressive intonation. He learned English for the series, being coached on his delivery by a speech tutor. As the series jumps around in time, Choi played the character in his 30s through his 60s. Technology helped de-age him for younger scenes, but he also consciously sought to adapt his body language.
“I also thought about how I walked and how I talked and what kind of body gestures I had when I was in my 30s,” he said. ‘But I don’t think anyone can really remember accurately how they were in their 30s, so I’m not sure if I pulled it off really well. I tried to make sure it was a little different in the way that I talked and my gestures.”
The first season of the Disney+ drama ran from Dec. 2022 through Jan. 2023. The second season, which started Feb. 15, promises further upheaval in Moo-sik’s life and more insight into his personality.
“In Season 2 Cha Moo-sik is going to collide and conflict with the people around him and that conflict and collision is going to escalate,” said Choi. “It’s going to be much more provocative in a way.”
Choi spent months filming in the Philippines and for him the best part of filming there was working with the Filipino crew and staff.
“I think if it weren’t for them we could not have made this work,” he said. “They were so helpful and they really put their hearts and souls into the show. At first, because we come from different cultures, it might feel a little awkward, but because we’re all people who work in the same field of film and series we got along really fast. When filming in the Philippines was done I was really sad to leave them behind.”
Perhaps his favorite Big Bet memory was the first time the cast, the staff and the director were physically together in the hotel.
“We ate together,” said Choi. “We had so much time to discuss and debate about the show, so we kind of became a family in a way. I was really happy that we had so much chance to talk about the show and I got closer to them personally.”
Was it hard to return to the small screen after decades of playing larger-than-life characters in films?
“Not really,” said Choi. “Because it’s a long story it could be a little bit physically demanding, but other than that I had fun.”
The series, which also stars Son Suk-ku, Lee Dong-hwi and Heo Sung-tae, airs on Hulu in the US.
