In addition to interviewing two beautiful women from THE WOLVERINE, we thought it only fare for a modicum of parity that we interview a handsome chap as well. Step forward Will Yun Lee who kindly gave us a few minutes of his time.
THN: Hi Will, could you please begin by giving us a little about your character?
Will Yun Lee: Well, I know you saw the movie but I don’t want to give too many spoilers away. I play Harada, he’s one of the characters involved in chasing the Wolverine and you know he’s kind of a mysterious character involved with lots of other characters. You kind of have to go through the course of the movie to see which side he’s on. His code of warrior and code of morality is tested throughout the film and you kind of have to wait to see which side of the line he falls on.
THN: This is the second Marvel film you’ve been involved in. What is it that attracts you, are you a comic-book fan?
WYL: I’m a comic-book fan and an action fan and when I heard they were doing the (Chris) Clermont (and Frank Miller comic) version of the Wolverine in Japan it was something I really, really wanted to audition for and when I had the chance to do that I was definitely very excited.
THN: Did you do all of the action and fighting in the movie?
WYL: Yeah I did all of it. There were some sticky moments but I have a great stunt guy who’s a great friend he always makes me look better than I am.
THN: Being that this is the sixth time Hugh has played The Wolverine did that add an extra element of pressure to you taking on such a big part in the film?
WYL: Um, I think when you have pieces in the movie when you’re fighting with weapons my biggest worry was not missing my timing and hitting the star of the movie. They always say window or aisle, which means they’ll send you home. That was the biggest pressure and making sure I hit my marks and make sure I didn’t clip Hugh with a sword or anything.
THN: How was it to work with James Mangold?
WYL: He’s one of my favourite directors I’ve worked with. He’s so passionate, the cool thing is you turn up with your lines and he’ll show you 20 or 30 things that you never thought of, so you know when you walk away from a scene he got what he wanted and it’s definitely scary because he’s so meticulous and he calls you out when he thinks a scene isn’t right and pushes you to be your best.
THN: How was it working with Tao and Rila?
WYL: It was great they’re such sweet people. It’s their first movie but you’d never know it. It’s just a lot of fun being in Japan and Australia together with the cast and crew you just build a friendship and there’s Hiroyuki Sanada who I’ve looked up to forever and he was amazing to watch on set and I felt very lucky.
THN: Ok, finally what are you working on at the moment. Anything imminent?
WYL: Yeah, I’m working on a US TV show called INTELLIGENCE with Josh Holloway. For CBS. It’s a big action and sci-fi piece coming early next year.
THE WOLVERINE is released 26th July. It is reviewed here and we have interviews with Rila Fukushima and Tao Okamoto here, and Director James Mangold here and here.
The Hollywood News would like to thank Will Yun Lee and Twentieth Century Fox for their time and help.
