He had his first lead role in the movie “Rough Play.” When he received the spotlight for handling the three taboos of an idol star—sex, smoking, and swearing, he opened his eyes wide and asked, “Why can’t an idol star do that?” When told that he took part in the “animal kingdom,” he could not stop laughing. “Yes, although it was just acting.” 

MBLAQ member and the lead actor in “Rough Play,” Lee Joon (25) says, “I don’t know what my true self is either.” He describes himself, in a very serious manner, as a “man with multiple characters.”

“I am not faking myself when I appear in entertainment shows, but that is not all there is to me as well. I am much more serious right now, right? I talk in a lower tone, and I become serious ‘all the way.’ Even when I am with my friends, my personality changes according to the friends I am with. Oh-yeong could be one of my characters too.”

Stage actor Oh-yeong had everything in the world when he had nothing. He fills his mind and body with his passion for acting, but when success, money, fame, and pleasure build up inside him, he pushes himself over the edge. For Oh-yeong, the show business is like a rollercoaster ride. Lee Joon admits that he could only half-understand Oh-yeong.

“It’s a lot different in reality. Oh-yeong changes a lot. I haven’t experienced that, and I don’t want to experience that. When a person changes, he needs some scolding. A change for the better is fine, but I believe that a person has to develop over time. In the first scene of the movie, Oh-yeong runs headlong into everything but is filled with passion. So he is at his best in the beginning, and then he falls from there. That is the part that’s different from me.”
 
As he said himself, Lee Joon is a person with many faces. He seems rather queer, but he is more certain of himself than anyone else. You would expect him to be sensitive, but he is laid-back and quickly shakes off bad things. He seems to be in the show business for fun, but he does not even indulge in the smallest “convenience.” He wants to have a clean, long career in the industry. 

“Have I imagined myself falling like Oh-yeong? I have many times. I think everyone in this industry imagines that at least once or twice. Sometimes, I think to myself when I am aboard a plane, ‘What if I just fall from here?’ But I don’t think that will happen to me. I am really careful. I don’t like the idea of things ending at once. I don’t want to lose everything at once when I’ve worked so hard. That is why I pay attention even to small things every day—like when taking a cab after drinking. You just have to make it a habit.”

There are many critical reviews and talks about Lee Joon’s acting, but he says that he is ready to accept them all.

“It’s not that there is something I want to hear from them. More than that, I am just thankful that they are watching my movie. I am prepared to hear anything that the audience has to say, be it a criticism or a compliment, because the audience has the right to do that. But I don’t think they will swear at me (laughter). I was worried in the beginning that the remarks might be harsh, but I am feeling better now because I’ve heard some good responses. I am confident that I can get close to the audience.”
 
MBLAQ members played a part in boosting his confidence.

“They are really free-spirited and fun, so I thought they’d say something comical. But after the movie ended, Cheondung raised his thumb up and looked at me really sincerely, and that just gave me goose bumps. It was very moving. I was thankful that they had come to watch, but they thanked me for showing the movie and told me that the movie would be a hit. My parents? They watched it yesterday, but I was too drunk to listen to their comments (laughter).”

On the film set, he was just working as an actor, but watching the three bed scenes on a large screen was a little embarrassing for him as well. “It wasn’t that steamy on the set. But when I saw it on the screen, I was so embarrassed I wanted it to end quickly. While I was filming those scenes, both the actress and I wanted to get it over and done with quickly, so everything passed by almost without me realizing it. There weren’t any emotions involved. But on the big screen…wow, it was embarrassing. My body was embarrassing (laughter).”

Previously, Lee Joon drew in the spotlight for comparing the tangled love relationship of idol stars to the “animal kingdom.” When he was told that he was entangled in the “animal kingdom” in the movie, he laughed, “Yes. Oh-yeong in the movie is complete trash. That’s not me, but what I said came back to me. That makes me quite bitter. I won’t be like that in reality.”

As an idol star, did he have qualms about starring in a movie that candidly shows sex, smoking, and swearing? In response, Lee Joon asked what should be locked in the frame of an “idol star.”

“The actor has to make himself fit into the movie. I often get asked how it felt as an idol star, but I never gave that question a thought. ‘Why? Can’t an idol star do that?’ That was my response. So I was surprised when many people asked me those questions. It’s funny. I don’t believe that idol stars must move only within set limits.” As his answer testifies, Lee Joon has already gone beyond the limits of an idol.