Quotes from Lee Byung-hun

I had no idea what it took to be an actor. Then all of a sudden I found myself cast in a TV drama. The director was very harsh with me. One time, he told me this would be my first and last acting job. I seriously thought that acting was not the right career for me.

My dream role would be to play a Korean hero in a Hollywood superhero movie.

For 'The Rise of Cobra,' I was dieting more and using protein powder to help supplement my meals. For 'Retaliation,' however, I opted for more natural protein. I had a chicken breast and broccoli meal about five times every day. I also drank plenty of water and made sure I got enough rest.

Having an interview in English is difficult for me, but acting in English is much harder. Because when I'm acting in English, if someone points out bad pronunciation or accent, I cannot focus on my emotions anymore, so it was very hard.

I have a special attachment to 'Bitter Sweet' and feel grateful because it introduced me to people in the film industry overseas and helped me experience Hollywood.

Hollywood has a longer pre-production period and they juggle shooting schedules more carefully for each cast. In Korea, we shoot day and night without much break.

I was a fan of westerns growing up. Every boy wanted to ride a horse and be a cowboy.

Whenever I open a movie, I go secretly to the theater and stand in the back and enjoy the moment. I laugh when people laugh, and when people cry, I laugh.

I lead a very active lifestyle. When I am not working, I enjoy snowboarding in winter. I golf and swim in the summer months. However, trying to find the time to exercise when I am traveling is quite a challenge. I find myself working out at hotel gyms quite regularly - just so that I can keep up with my training.

The more I act, the harder it gets, since I feel like I still have so much to learn. Whenever I embark on a new project, it always feels like the first time. If it were easy to me and I felt like I knew everything, my acting might have been different. I think the feeling of 'newness' keeps me on my toes and concentrated.

Having - and keeping to - a regular exercise routine is crucial. And forget about those extreme diets - they aren't healthy.

I find myself working out at hotel gyms quite regularly - just so that I can keep up with my training.

The two moments that I felt the most nervous in my entire life were when I first had reading rehearsal for 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra' and when I was at the Academy Awards ceremony.

There are more crime films about the corruption of power because our society has similar problems. It would be great for me as an actor to work on an 'Inside Men' sequel, but I hope it never gets made. Because it would mean the corruption is still there.

When I was a young kid, my father was a big fan of Hollywood movies. He would make me watch movies with him, and he would explain the story and characters to me.

In Korea, I do different kinds of genres. So, like that, I would like to do a lot of good acting films.

Some people cheer me on. Some people want me to do more Korean movies or TV series.

I do not want to name any individual names, but I felt like when I was working in Hollywood, there were some fellow colleagues of mine who didn't even look me in the eyes because I was Asian.

Just like other ordinary people, I want to have a happy family.

New Orleans has a lot of good food.

Actors always want to play the villain role at least once in their life.

It was great to be able to play a hero in 'The Magnificent Seven' in a film industry where Asian actors are often limited to playing a villain.