Who would have imagined that the actor whose image became synonymous with the worldwide sensation of  Squid Game was secretly preparing his directorial debut? Lee Jung-jae, who was nominated for numerous accolades (including for Golden Globes Best Television Actor – Drama Series in 2021), was present at the 75^th Cannes International Film Festival with his first film, Hunt, screened in the Midnight section.

Hunt adapts a story that Lee Jung-jae developed over four years. He had no plans to write the script nor direct the film. His role would be as producer. He approached multiple writers and directors with a brief synopsis, but they all said the same thing: “It’s a challenging project.” No affirmative response was ever conveyed to him. Lee, who had a thorough understanding of the project, came to the conclusion that he should write and direct the film.

The film follows two agents on a mission to uncover a mole operating within the KCIA (Korean Central Intelligence Agency). The narrative incorporates true events such as the assassination of South Korea’s president, unfolding behind the scenes. After receiving an offer of asylum from a high-ranking North Korean official, KCIA Overseas Unit Chief Park Pyong-ho (Lee Jung-jae) and Domestic Unit Chief Kim Jong-do (Jung Woo-sung) are assigned to uncover a North Korean spy known as the Donglim, now infiltrated deep into the country.

The actor-turned-director developed the script while Squid Game was being filmed in 2020. “Every day after filming I worked on the script, and it was a physically and intellectually taxing time,” Lee says in the interviews done right after the premiere at Cannes. “I began prepping for the filming as soon as Squid Game was cranked up. The project continued without a break, and I was physically exhausted; but I didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity.”

The two-hour movie is characterized as an espionage action drama. It contains many significant explosive action scenes. Director Lee describes his passion for action scenes in a production note.

“Energy, realism, and details were the most important elements. Due to this, I had storyboarding sessions with the special effects, stunt, and computer graphics departments. There were many hard struggles but it was the only way to raise the level of the work. I wanted the car chases, street fights, explosions, and battlefield-like scenes to all feel very fresh. I’m so thankful that they took on these extremely difficult challenges in stride.”

Hunt was released in South Korea this past summer and immediately became one of the highest-grossing films of 2022. This year Lee won not only an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, for Squid Game, but also received a resounding round of applause for his work as a film director.

Season 2 of Squid Game is in the works. As for Lee, he will next be appearing as the male lead in the Disney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte.