69 Year Veteran Actor Lee Soon-jae, “If actors can’t memorize the lines, they should just retire” + Top Actors Applauded

On the afternoon of May 7th, the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards was held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, hosted by comedian Shin Dong-yup, actress Suzy and actor Park Bo-gum.

Lee Soon-jae, who debuted in 1956 and has been an actor for 69 years, was asked if he could memorize many lines. “How can you act without memorizing a script? A career of an actor depends on memorization. If you have to say say “I’m sorry, I’ll do it again” several times, you should judge yourself and just retire. You have to memorize the script perfectly to be able to act properly. You have to memorize the lines. If you can’t memorize lines, you have to quit being an actor. That’s a principle,” Lee said.

When asked if he would still be acting, he said, “Acting is vital. It happens when the cue sign falls, I will still do it even after I suffer from body aches. That is the vitality of an actor. But acting is not easy. There are things that I have not been able to do all my life. That’s why I think, work, and study. You have to always challenge yourself for new works and roles. Studying and agonizing over new roles is what an actor does. That way, new roles will be created. A lot of actors who think acting is very easy, and actors who think it is enough for them, have disappeared from the industry. They should challenge with new works. Those who worked so hard are left. This means that there is no completion of acting. I think it’s an actor’s destiny to think about completion, try and challenge.”

When asked what kind of actor he wants to become, he said, “Please remember me as an actor who worked hard.” Everyone at the ceremony gave him a standing ovation. Notably, Yoo Yeon-seok shed tears.

Source: daum