South Korean actor Lee Dong-wook is no stranger to exhilarating action scenes, having performed such sequences in his past shows like the comedy-infused “Bad and Crazy” and the recent fantasy drama “Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938.”

For his latest project, the upcoming Disney+ series “A Shop for Killers,” Lee continued to gain new experiences when it came to filming action scenes.

“Most of the action sequences I’ve performed on previous projects involved a significant amount of wirework due to the fantasy elements. I’ve also had quite a lot of experience with swords,” Lee said in a Disney+ interview shared with the media.

“But for this project, I mostly handled guns and the stunts were much more realistic in the sense that the techniques are actually used by military professionals. It was a lot of fun trying these new types of stunts,” he said.

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Scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on Jan. 17, “ A Shop for Killers” follows college student Jeong Ji-an, who is targeted by assassins shortly after the apparent death of the uncle (played by Lee) who raised her.

• Lee Dong-wook's 'A Shop For Killers' coming to Disney+ in January

Lee, also known for starring in romance dramas such as “Goblin” and “Touch Your Heart,” said he worked on “A Shop for Killers” after finding the script “very intriguing.”

“The story is structured in a way that sees the plot jump between the past and the present. It was a really unique idea. While shifting timelines can often make a story feel too hectic or disorganized, this script was written in a way that made the transitions seamless,” Lee said.

“In addition, Jin-man was different from any other characters that I have played so far, so I was drawn to the role,” he said.

For his role, the 42-year-old actor learned how to fire a machine gun, which initially worried him.

“The only new element I had to familiarize myself with was using guns, but the firearms experts in the stunt team gave me such detailed explanations and instructions. I [also] learned how mercenaries or other experts would handle firearms and the proper posture that is required,” Lee said.

“The machine gun that my character fires was an old model. I wasn’t sure how to handle the weapon and was concerned about the noise as well. But when I actually tried using it, it turned out to be a great stress reliever. I probably ended up doing three more takes, firing about 200 bullets that day,” he recounted.

Actress Kim Hye-jun, who plays Ji-an, also admitted that she found it difficult to “get used to the guns.”

“Even when I was firing blanks, the sound was so loud that I ended up screaming whenever I fired them in the shooting range. The noise terrified me and it was so hard to control my body posture,” said Kim, who previously starred in the zombie horror series “Kingdom” and Disney+’s thriller “Connect.”

But being unfamiliar with weapons proved helpful for the 28-year-old actress to portray Ji-an, who was similarly unacquainted with firearms.

“There was a scene where [Ji-an] handles a sniper rifle for the first time. Neither Ji-an nor I had any experience with handling a sniper rifle before and I quickly realized how heavy it was and the massive recoil it produced,” Kim recalled.

“Because of the heavy recoil, I would fall backwards, screaming. But this reaction was also in line with how Ji-an would have responded so director Lee Kwon gave me an okay for the take straight away.”

Challenging shoot

Lee also related how he forged a closer bond with his co-stars and the production crew while filming a scene at “a very steep mountain.”

“[The mountain] did not have any proper hiking trails. It was so steep that everyone practically had to rely on ropes and crawl close to the surface for the climb. It was such a challenging experience for both the crew and cast. But having these physically close interactions ultimately brought us all closer,” he said.

Lee described Kim as a colleague with “positive and uplifting energy.”

“The show’s story carries a serious and somber tone, with numerous scenes that would make us feel down. Plus, we had a male-dominant cast. Whenever Hye-jun was on set, everyone, from the actors to the crew, was so delighted to have her around,” he said.

Similarly, Kim was full of praises for Lee, even noting similarities between the actor and his character.

“Dong-wook is very similar to Jin-man. He may appear to be distant and a bit scary at first, but he’s actually an incredibly sweet person,” she said.

“He took such good care of me that I often believed he thought I was his actual niece. I have nothing but good memories from working with him,” she added. “We tried to create more endearing scenes that captured the bond between the two characters.”

Asked about the “biggest charm” of the series, Kim said, “I love the characters’ desperate struggles to protect the people who matter to them.”

“I think their struggle and the very human moments created from that process are the true charm of the series,” she said.

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