‘No Other Choice’ Star Lee Byung-hun on His Historic Golden Globe Actor Nom and Park Chan-wook’s Latest: ‘I Knew I Would Be Laughing a Lot’

Lee Byung-hun has a chance to make history — he’s the first Korean actor to be nominated for best actor, comedy or musical at the Golden Globes. The “No Other Choice” lead says he found out about the nomination from a friend — the actor was asleep in Korea when noms were announced. “I was sleeping. And my Korean friend texted me. That’s how I found out, but it was like dreaming, because I was sleeping! It was fantastic. And I was so happy but I’m trying to be satisfied only with the nomination, because acting is not about winning or losing. Everybody has their own value. So whatever it is I’m trying to enjoy that day, and it’s going to be my first experience at the Golden Globes. And I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of great movie makers and actor friends.”

He also earned a Gotham Awards nomination for “Choice,” and voices Gwi-ma in Golden Globe-nominated “KPop Demon Hunters.”

In Park Chan-wook‘s “No Other Choice,” Lee plays Mansu, a dedicated manager at a paper plant who gets laid off after 25 years of climbing the corporate ladder, putting his family and all that he’s worked for — a house, a good life for his wife and kids and even cello lessons for his gifted daughter — in jeopardy. While the new owners of the paper plant say that they have “no other choice” in shedding workers, Man-su goes on a mission to eliminate potential rivals to another job that he so desperately needs and wants. But his plans go pear-shaped in the most darkly comic way.

Fun fact: Lee projects “Squid Game,” “KPop Demon Hunters” and “No Other Choice” were all nominated for Critics Choice Awards this year. “The last two, three years have been extremely fruitful and also busy for me, even just promoting these projects. So I think it’s been a surprise, but also really exciting,” he says.

Lee talked to Variety about “No Other Choice” — which is also nominated for best foreign-language film and best film, musical or comedy — via Zoom through translator and cinematographer Isue Shin a few days before the ceremony.

What drew you to this character of Mansu in “No Other Choice”?

In director Park’s past films, you don’t really see as much comedy as you do in “No Other Choice.” Of course, it has dark themes and depressing moments, but knowing that there was so much comedy in it, I knew I would be laughing a lot in the process of making the film, so I was really excited.

How do you modulate the comedy and the drama?

In the story, there is a lot of comedy that naturally arises from tragic moments, from dark, depressing moments. And I think from a third person’s point of view, from a distance, you could be laughing at Mansu. However, if you were Mansu himself, that would be a completely different reality. And I really like this aspect, this duality of the story, that the main character, it’s not comedy to him at all. He’s extremely desperate. However, in the process of the audience following his story, they can empathize with him, and again, that takes us in a darker, more depressing route, but then also sometimes you might be laughing at him. So there are these kinds of different emotional arcs that you go through.

I really tried to be completely in Mansu’s POV as I was acting as him and truly living in his own emotions. One thing I was completely wary of was, of course, in the process of creating these comedic moments, really forcing a laugh, or trying to intend the audience to make them laugh, because I think this could really exaggerate the performance or warp the emotional arc.

What was the key to unlocking Mansu as a character?

I think when it comes to getting closer to my character, I wanted to mention the first scene in the film. You know, life kind of feels comfortable. They’re having this barbecue party at Mansu’s father’s house [that he] originally his father had to sell, but Mansu is able to repurchase it. And he brings his family together in an embrace, and he says, “Oh, I’ve achieved it all.” And I think this is a moment where we see that Mansu is a character who really wants to protect his family. He is a patriarch. And also you kind of see that he might be — in a little bit of foreshadowing — overlooking the problems that they might have. And so you see with his mustache, parts of him that are a bit macho, and I think all these details really come together to create this character of Mansu, even in that very first scene, and allow the audience to start to get to know him.

It’s a golden scene, very “American Dream” even, with the dogs running around the yard, too.

That — the long take in particular — took the most number of takes in the entire film. So it was very physically and time-wise grueling, because we did 30 takes of this one shot! And a lot of people in the industry say that, you know, filming with animals or children can be really difficult. Well, we had both. So in order to execute this shot, and then see to director Park’s intention, there was a little bit of miscommunication happening with the dogs with the kids, so it was difficult.

What were your favorite scenes in the film?

I think a lot of the audience members would pick the music room scene as sort of the signature scene of “No Other Choice.” [Mansu’s first murder attempt, in which he disguises his gun with oven mitts and then collapses into an absurdly comic wrestling match that eventually turns deadly, but not the way you think.] I think the scene is extremely pivotal for the story, and of course, we get big laughs. However, personally speaking, I wanted to mention that first interview scene in the film. You see that Mansu is dealing with the light reflecting off the building on the other side (of him in an office as he is facing three interviewers), he has a seeping toothache he’s trying to resist. His leg is also shaking, and all while all this is happening, he has a sense of bravado about his resume that he’s trying to deliver to the interviewers. So there are a lot of complicated emotions and a mixture of emotions happening, as well as gestures. He is uncomfortable but also extremely desperate at the same time; he has to brag and have this smile on his face. So I really think this was a moment that shows Mansu’s desperation, and the scene is able to relay his point of view to the audience really well.

With such a wide range of movies and characters on your resume, including “Squid Game” and “KPop Demon Hunters,” how do you pick your projects?

I think my one standard for when I am trying to decide my next project is whether that project sounds fun. And of course, this idea of fun is completely subjective. It could be a very depressing story that I still find fun reading and learning about or it could be very serious and deal with deep societal issues. And some people might say, Oh, what is the fun of that? But that might be really fun and interesting to me. So this is the most important factor. Of course, other factors go alongside that. So if you look at my own filmography, people might say, Oh, you kind of go in one direction and then the other. And I think it’s because most people, they have a very specific taste or interest in a genre. However, I’m really chasing this kind of sense of fun. So you really see that I’m in one genre and then another, and kind of unpredictable in terms of where I will go next.

Who are some up-and-coming Korean directors that we should keep on our radar?

Yoon Ga-eun. She’s already done three to four features, and we’ve met multiple times. She directed “The Owner of the World,” and I think she really has a unique point of view and brings something fresh into the cinematic universe.

Which movies did you love in 2025?

I liked “One Battle After Another” and “Train Dreams.” In “Train Dreams,” there is this deep pain in that film that sort of continues from the beginning to the end. And it’s a little bit hard to put to words, but it’s almost as if a needle is kind of pricking you throughout the film. It’s not like that there’s a huge climax or it makes you sob necessarily, but it’s really like that consistency of that feeling was really notable to me.

Will you work with director Park again?

Of course! I’d love to, I love to!