Jung Il-woo isn’t the only screen actor currently earning positive reviews through a theater role; add Yoo Gun to the list of celebs taking a crack at upgrading his acting skills through theater. He’s currently appearing in the stage production of Thief’s Diary.

Thief’s Diary is a “comic and touching play” about the process of finding true happiness, which involves the conflict of money and love. Yoo has shown a surprising affinity for the flexible vibe of this theater production, managing to ad-lib and improvise smoothly while onstage. (It doesn’t hurt that there’s an undressing scene that allows the fit actor to show off his body.)

This is the theater debut for Yoo Gun, whose first drama was 2006’s Hello God, where he played a mentally disabled young man. He followed that with roles in Bad Couple and I Can’t Stop, as well as the cable series Mazzang (Fight).

Via OSEN

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October 16 saw the drama production press conference for the tvN cable drama Mazzang (Fight), which stars Yoo Gun and features celebrity couple Uhm Tae-woong and Lee Young-jin.

The “realistic fighting” drama features its actors doing most of their own fight and stunt work, including Yoo Gun. Although he hasn’t fought much in real life, he credits his experiences playing in soccer matches with helping with the competitive and physical aspects of fighting.

The emphasis on realistic combat made for more strenuous filming, explained Yoo Gun, because while most films and dramas choreograph their fight sequences carefully, Mazzang went for verisimilitude, meaning the actors punched each other and were hit for real.

If the drama manages to achieve a true sense of grittiness, this could produce an interesting, darker edge that we don’t get to see in broadcast dramas. Then again, cable dramas kind of have a reputation for pushing the envelope merely for shock value, so there’s also that.

The drama premieres on tvN on October 24.

More presscon photos >>

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It’s a sibling twofer! First Uhm Jung-hwa, now her kid brother.

When I first heard of Yoo Gun’s new Fight Club-esque cable drama (titled Fight), I only had a mild interest. But now an additional actor has been cast, and he is one for whom I have a lot of respect: Uhm Tae-woong (Resurrection, Devil).

Interestingly, it’s also his first time acting alongside his girlfriend, Lee Young-jin (Smile Again, pictured above), although they won’t be sharing scenes.

This time we’ve got a few more details about the story: An average salaryman (Yoo Gun’s character) gets brought into a fight by chance, and transforms into a true fighter. Uhm Tae-woong plays Yoo Gun’s fighter dad who’d died in the ring, and only appears in the first episode. As Yoo Gun’s girlfriend, Lee Young-jin takes on the sole female role.

A management rep said that because of interest (in Uhm) from Japan, they’d be making this a “clean drama” — meaning, although they’re striving for extreme realism with the action scenes, they want to keep from being given a restricted 19-and-older rating.

Other cast members include Lee Jong-soo (Yi San), Kang Sung-jin (Lawyers of Korea), and Baek Do-bin (The Host). The actors have been training in various martial arts over the past several months, including Taekwondo, boxing, and Muay Thai.

Fight is directed by Park Jung-woo (writer of Last Present) and premieres October 24. In other news, Uhm Tae-woong’s new movie Cell Phone just began filming this week.

Via Newsen, Joy News

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Haven’t heard about Yoo Gun in a while. The actor from dramas Hello God and Bad Couple has signed up for a new cable series Fight [맞짱], which is pegged as a “real fighter drama.”

The eight-episode series features Yoo as a hot-blooded fighter in a “fight club.” (Oh, that’s new.) Still, it’s not really thematically related to the Chuck Palahniuk version, since this one’s less of a mindfuck and more of a… coming-of-age (for lack of a better term): “young men engage in fights and develop friendships in the course of transforming into real men.” It promises to be full of romance and emotional “human story.”

To take on this role, Yoo has been enrolled in action school to practice his moves: “This is the first time in my life I’m trying something in the action genre, so on one hand I’m nervous, but I’m really looking forward to it. To be honest, when I first got to action school I was really awkward, but I’ve been told my skills have improved a lot. I’ve watched different kinds of martial arts, and will try my best to show the details faithfully.”

The drama airs its first episode on October 24 on cable channel tvN.

Via MK.co.kr

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Shin Mina looks positively radiant as she promotes her upcoming romantic action comedy film Mulim Girl [무림여대생], also starring Ohn Joo Wan and Yoo Gun. Everyone looks happy and upbeat, if a little vampiric (is that some harsh lighting or what?). Not vampiric in a negative sense, just the sense of looking like they haven’t collectively seen sunlight in years and need the blood of others to survive because they no longer possess any of their own.

Seoul, Apgujung, June 3. The film releases on June 26.

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