Shin Hyun-joon takes his first dual role in 36 years, appears on TV with wife for the first time

Shin Hyun-joon is taking on a dual role for the first time in his 36-year career. He appeared on MBN's Kim Joo-ha's Day & Night episode 29, which aired June 13 at 9:40 PM, with wife Kim Kyung-mi. They were the first married couple to guest on the show.

The new film Hyunsang Subi (현상수배) is a comedy where he plays both the villain Choi Chul-gu and an ordinary citizen also named Shin Hyun-joon. "I had to perform action sequences non-stop and change costumes countless times," he said. "So I thought I should receive payment for two people." His co-star is 26-year-old Taiwanese actress Regina Rei (레지나 레이). At their first meeting, he opened with a joke apologizing for the age gap.

He also walked through the audition that changed everything: The General's Son (장군의 아들). Every other candidate wanted the Kim Doo-han role. Shin went for Hayashi. He auditioned nearly last, showed off Japanese he'd picked up through a sister university affiliation, and got the part. His father opposed the acting career entirely. When he found out about the secret audition, he called for scissors and cut his son's hair on the spot. Director Lim Kwon-taek had wanted long-haired Hayashi. Short-haired Hayashi is what he got.

The role made him famous enough that a fan at a Busan signing event slapped him across the face, calling him a "bad guy." The man had himself appeared in The General's Son as a figure close to Kim Dong-hae—simply too immersed in the film, Shin concluded. Bodyguards accompanied him at every signing after that.

Shin named director Lim Kwon-taek, who officiated his wedding, as his life mentor. He cited the late Kim Su-mi and Ahn Sung-ki as the two biggest benefactors of his career. He was heading to the airport for a Japan fan meeting when he heard of Kim Su-mi's death. Overseas filming kept him from Ahn Sung-ki's funeral.

Before acting, Shin wanted to be a director. Ahn Sung-ki changed his mind. He married Korean-American Kim Kyung-mi in 2013—a 12-year age difference between them—and they have three children. He quit both alcohol and cigarettes after the birth of a daughter at age 53. Kim Kyung-mi told the show she came to Korea after Shin reached out because "I liked him—I was already deeply into him at that time."