Korean-Australian actor David No has already made a name for himself working with Jackie Chan in “Mr. Nice Guy” and with the Wachowski Brothers on “The Matrix Reloaded.”

But No is not just another hunky actor. He’s also a filmmaker, producer, stuntman, stunt choreographer and a martial arts expert.

No met with The Korea Times over smoothies last week to talk about growing up in a martial arts family, how he got his start in action films and his work in the Korean film industry.

Born in Melbourne, No was exposed to martial arts at a young age. His father No Ke-hyung is responsible for establishing taekwondo in Australia in 1965, while his mother Robin Marchment was the first-ever female black belt in Australia.

His family’s business involved teaching martial arts. By age 15 he was teaching adult classes, and at 19 he opened his own club.

As a member of the Australian national judo and taekwondo teams, No was no doubt good at martial arts, but it didn’t mean that he enjoyed it much as a child.

“Well, I hated it,” No admitted with a smile. “There was a lot of pressure and a lot of expectations. In hindsight, I’m grateful for it. When I grew up, I trained at my own family’s club. I did that for a lot of my life: training or teaching. But when I started training overseas, I realized that the standard that we taught was very high. So I began to value what I had more. I became proud of who I am and where I came from.”

While most kids learning martial arts dreamt of becoming the next Jackie Chan, No never thought about it because he didn’t really like any martial arts films.

His first foray into acting came almost by accident. In 1993, he was a student majoring in physiotherapy when a filmmaker asked him to train actors for an action film, but ended up being cast in it.

“I thought: `wow, this is so much fun.’ Once you start working on films and TV, you see more dimensions to it. It allowed me to enjoy films on a different level,” he said.

More opportunities came through, and No soon found himself working with Jackie Chan, which he described as a great experience. He also began working with Korean companies as a line producer for commercials, films and dramas shot in Australia and New Zealand. They include films such as “Fly High,” “Temptation of Wolves,” and dramas “I’m Sorry I Love You” and “Worlds Within.”

“Being involved in the Korean film industry for over 10 years now, I feel like I’m part of the industry. I have been influenced by some great Korean films and I want to give something back to the industry,” he said.

But No does not want to be pigeonholed as merely a martial arts actor. He started a company called Furious Films to kick-start the action film industry in Australia.

He also directed, wrote and starred in “Forged,” a film about a death duel between a sword master and his son. It won Best Film (Action & Suspense) at the 2007 Dragon Con Independent Film Festival, and Best Short Film at the 2007 Melbourne Underground Film Festival.

“I was a bit concerned about being known as an action guy. I made `Forged’ a couple of years ago to address that. The movie is very strong in drama and characters. One reason I made the movie was so people can see I can direct,” he said.

Juggling different jobs might seem difficult, but No seems to handle it pretty well. Asked to choose just one job to concentrate on, he says he can’t choose.

“Why do I have to make a decision? Why do I have to choose? I don’t think I have to. I enjoy doing it all. It makes it harder for me to take projects because people don’t necessarily believe I can do everything… I see filmmaking as a holistic process. That’s why I like doing it all. Turning an idea into a script, developing and making it into a film, acting in it, editing it and finishing it,” he said.

No, who has been living in Seoul for a year, says he is planning to stay longer to brush up on his Korean language skills.

“Some people tell me now that I’m more Korean than some Koreans, maybe in my way of acting or thinking. It’s ironic because I struggle with the language,” he laughed.

Korea Times

Romance of Their Own (aka Temptation of Wolves or True Romance) is a 2004 South Korean film directed by Kim Tae-gyun, and based on a novel of the same name by Internet author Guiyeoni. Starring Jo Han-sun, Kang Dong-won and Lee Cheong-ah, the film is about an average high school girl who moves from the countryside to Seoul after her father’s death.

Plot:

From her appearance to her mannerisms, it is easy to tell that Jung Han-kyeong (Lee Cheong-ah) is a country girl. After her father’s death, she comes to Seoul to live with her mother (Kim Bo-yeon), planning to attend Kang-Shin High School. However, her life in Seoul is a series of mental and physical shocks. For example, on the bus, a slipper is thrown randomly at her head–but her problems don’t end there. The guy who threw the slipper is none other than Ban Hae-won (Jo Han-sun), “the” guy at her school, and everywhere he steps, girls trail behind. Seeing Han-kyeong’s pitiable and adorable nature, Hae-Won falls for her…and true to his personality, he begins tracking her down, almost ruthlessly…

The boss of Sung-Kwon High, Kang-Shin’s neighbor and rival, is named Jung Tae-sung (Kang Dong-won), and he, too, has feelings for Han-kyeong. Despite his shy, adorable face, Tae-sung has strong fists and endless obstinacy. A fight that handles both pride and love begins between the two, and neither of them is prepared to back down. But Tae-sung has a secret, one that forces him to love Han-kyeong in spite of himself, and Han-kyeong, ignorant of this, tries to do her best to be gentle with both of them. Eventually, Tae-sung leaves Han-kyeong’s side, and later, Han-kyeong and Hae-won learn of his secret. The heartbreaking brightness of these kids makes even adults cry.

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CD 1: [001 . 002 . 003] [SUBS]

Cast:

Jo Han Sun as Ban Hae-Won

Kang Dong Won as Jung Tae-Sung

Lee Chung Ah as Jung Han-Kyeong

Clips:

Trailer:

Después de la muerte de su padre, Han-Kyung va a Seúl a vivir con su madre. Cuando llega, ella se desanima al descubrir que el chico del que ella ha estado enamorada en secreto por años se ha convertido en el novio de una bella amiga de Han-Kyung.

Sin embargo, en el mismo desesperanzador día, Han-Kyung conoce a Hae-won, un rico y popular chico que asiste a la misma escuela que ella.

Poco después, el rival de Hae-won de una escuela cercana comienza a tomar interés por Han-Kyung y pronto se establece una pelea entre los dos chicos…