MANILA — Despite having bagged numerous awards, Lee Je-hoon refuses to rest on his laurels, believing he still has more to offer as an actor. And that, he said, entails a willingness to take on projects outside of his home country South Korea.

"I [still] dream of showing my good acting skills either through dramas and movies," Lee said via an interpreter at a press conference for his recent fan meet at the New Frontier Theater, organized by Live Nation Philippines and streaming platform Viu.

"It doesn't even have to be [a project] in Korea. If there are good projects here in the Philippines, I'm willing to join the project. I will take the opportunity," he added.

Lee, 38, began his career by starring in short and indie movies, leading to his breakthrough in the 2010 coming-of-age film "Bleak Night," which follows a father's search for answers following his son's death.

At the press conference, Lee said his most memorable role was the manipulative alpha-male Gi-tae from "Bleak Night," which won for him the best new actor prizes at the prestigious Blue Dragon Film Awards and Grand Bell Awards in 2011.

"I was 28 but I was wearing a school uniform because I was playing a high school student. I learned how to smoke [for the role] even though I was not a smoker," he recounted.

Lee continued to prove his versatility as he went on to star in critically acclaimed and commercially successful projects. His other notable roles include a criminal profiler in the series "Signal" and an ex-convict who became a trauma cleaner in the Netflix original "Move to Heaven."

Currently, Lee portrays a soldier-turned-vengeful cabbie in the hit series "Taxi Driver," which premiered its second season last February 17.

"I think 'Taxi Driver' is loved because it gives people the opportunity to release their stress," Lee said when asked about the show's appeal.

"Fans wait for more episodes of 'Taxi Driver' because the stories are based on true stories of crime, so people feel joy because of the revenge against the bad guys in the episodes," he said.

Lee said he and his character, Kim Do-ki, "are both warm-hearted and respectful of others."

"[But] personally, I think Kim Do-ki is much better than me," he said.

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Indie roots, cameo roles

Even with his stature, Lee is still open to doing short and indie films. "I was able to overcome all my hardships and struggles through my accumulated experiences through those small films," he said.

"I think I was not able to have good acting skills if I was in big, famous projects first. I still want to be in a short or independent film because it doesn't give me pressure compared to big projects," he added.

Lee is also not shy of taking on cameo roles, the actor said, as he fondly looked back on his first cameo in the 2019 TV drama "Hot Stove League."

He recounted that the staff of "Hot Stove League" asked if he could appear on the last episode after he posted a scene from the show on his social media account.

"I was really a fan of 'Hot Stove League'... I thought it would be fun to be there. I'm actually friends with the actress Park Eun-bin so I thought it would be really nice and fun to have a project with her," Lee said.

Lee teased that he would make cameo appearances in other upcoming projects.

Asked what other Korean shows he would have wanted to be a part of, Lee said, "The first thing that pops in my mind is 'Squid Game,'" referring to the phenomenal survival drama.

"They're preparing for season two and I really want to audition, but since my schedule is already full, it's kind of hard for me to audition," he said.

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"But I can [play] a role who dies in the first episodes," he added in jest.

For more news and features on K-pop, K-drama, and K-stars, visit the Hallyu Corner microsite.

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