Daniel Henney is proof that you can be a beloved kdrama actor and not speak Korean. But he is learning. He has been studying the language since he played Dr. Henry Kim, the second lead in the kdrama "My Lovely Kim Sam Soon."
Viewers may have a chance to see the progress in his language skills in the new action film "The Spy: Undercover Operation." His film co-stars are Sol Kyung Gu and Moon So Ri playing a spy and his wife.
Actor Sol Kyung Gu, who can also be seen in the hit film "Cold Eyes," plays a spy who hides his identity from his flight attendant wife. He pretends to be going to Busan for business but actually goes to Thailand. There he runs into his wife with a handsome man named Ryan. Veteran actress Moon So Ri, who also appears in the film "Female Shaman" and has been cast in "The Law of Pleasures," plays his wife.
Henney plays Ryan, a cold-blooded villain. Well, maybe since his character's name is Ryan, he won't have to speak Korean in this film after all.
Although the actor is often mistaken for someone who should be able to speak the language, he never actually learned it growing up. He was born in Michigan to a Korean adoptee mother and an American father of Irish descent and learned his first Korean words during "My Lovely Kim Sam Soon."
"I definitely had my fair share of interesting moments," said Henney of his attempts to learn the language.
Henney grew up with little idea of what it meant to be Korean. His mother was adopted from a Busan orphanage when she was a year old and never spoke the language.
"I've been trying to teach her which is very strange," he said.
Despite this, he considers himself a Korean actor.
"I love Korean films, I love Korean directors and I think it's important for me," he said. "This is where I got my start and I want to make sure I honor my fans here. I want them to know that I'm serious about doing films here."
Henney has accumulated some serious acting credits in the U.S. He played Agent Zero in the film "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and had roles in the American television shows, "Hawaii Five-O" and "Three Rivers. Three years ago he returned to Korean television for "The Fugitive: Plan B," which he co-starred in with Bi Rain and Lee Na Young.
"The Spy" will be released in early September. Yi Seung Jin directed the film and Park Soo Jin wrote the script.
