'Can't Help It' Lee Byung-hun: "They say Mansu with a mustache reminds them of Chaplin"

Playing the role of Mansu, a laid-off breadwinner... "His struggle to adapt mirrors 'Modern Times'"

"Job insecurity due to AI is not exclusive to actors... Global interest in projects like 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' brings a sense of unease"

Actor Lee Byung-hun from the movie 'Can't Help It' [Courtesy of BH Entertainment. Resale and DB prohibited]

In the film 'Can't Help It,' Mansu, played by Lee Byung-hun, is introduced with an air of ease.

With a beautiful wife, children like bunnies, and a house with a yard, Mansu is prosperous enough to claim, "I've achieved everything." He appears sporting a mustache and a Hawaiian shirt, sweating as he grills eel in his yard for his family.

Once he is unexpectedly laid off and struggles to find a new job, the mustache vanishes from his face. It serves as a visual representation of the ease Mansu feels in his heart.

"I did a screen test with the mustache and Hawaiian shirt, and looking at the photos, I thought I looked like a South American cartel member or a drug lord."

Actor Lee Byung-hun met with reporters at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, on the 24th and admitted he felt "confused" when recalling those moments of testing Mansu's look before filming began in earnest.

Director Park Chan-wook’s new film 'Can't Help It' is based on the novel 'The Ax' and tells the story of Mansu, a laid-off head of a household who tries to eliminate his competitors to regain employment.

The film follows Mansu's perspective from his downfall and struggles to the final conclusion.

Lee Byung-hun recalled, "The look (the mustache and Hawaiian shirt) was so intense that I worried the audience wouldn't be able to focus on the story. I was concerned it might interfere with emotional empathy."

Actor Lee Byung-hun in the movie 'Can't Help It' [Courtesy of CJ ENM/Moho Film. Resale and DB prohibited]

Fortunately, Lee's fears were unfounded. After 'Can't Help It' premiered in the competition section at this year's 82nd Venice International Film Festival, critics remarked that Mansu’s appearance didn't remind them of a drug lord, but rather of Charlie Chaplin in the film 'Modern Times' (1936).

The comparison stems from how Mansu, tossed about after being fired from a company he worked at for decades and pushed aside by Artificial Intelligence (AI), resembles Chaplin, who fails to adapt to the mechanically repetitive factory life in 'Modern Times.' It wasn't just the mustache; even Mansu's slapstick comedy elements evoked Chaplin.

Lee Byung-hun shared the critics' feedback: "They said that the feeling of scrambling through slapstick comedy in a standardized factory (in 'Modern Times') overlaps with the way Mansu struggles and wavers, unable to adapt to the AI system."

He added that his wife, Lee Min-jung, said the exact same thing.

Actor Lee Byung-hun in the movie 'Can't Help It' [Courtesy of CJ ENM/Moho Film. Resale and DB prohibited]

Lee Byung-hun noted that the job issues raised by AI are not exclusive to actors, pointing to AI-generated videos featuring his own image.

"At first, I didn't even know, and I asked, 'When did I film this?'" he said. "Thinking about that, the loss of jobs due to AI is something that most people are experiencing, either directly or indirectly, not just us."

Lee also mentioned that the fact that Mansu works in the declining paper industry reflects the current situation of movie theaters.

"While content itself is continuously being created—whether through streaming or other means—the cinema industry is in a very urgent situation. It's a pressing issue where we must find ways to bring audiences back to theaters."

Having released a series of high-profile projects this year—including Netflix's 'Squid Game' Season 3, the Netflix animation 'K-Pop Demon Hunters,' and now Park Chan-wook's 'Can't Help It'—Lee Byung-hun confessed that he, too, feels anxiety as an actor. This mirrors the anxiety Mansu feels about potentially losing everything in the film.

"Our film starts with the claim that he 'achieved everything,' but it ends as a tragedy where he 'lost everything.' That kind of anxiety is there too. I have worked for a long time and have been loved for it, but I constantly think about how long I can remain an 'actor that people want to see.'" Yonhap News

Actor Lee Byung-hun from the movie 'Can't Help It' [Courtesy of BH Entertainment. Resale and DB prohibited]