Thursday, December 07, 2006

For Rain, 'Cyborg' may prove a stepping stone to world fame


By Kim HyunSEOUL, Dec. 6 (Yonhap) -- Rain may be taking a gamble playing a psychiatric patient for his big-screen debut, but the Korean singer-actor, currently on a world tour, is steadily reinventing himself as he prepares to flood the world stage.

"This will be a new image of me," he told Yonhap News Agency at a downtown cafe in Seoul."If I had to pick one, the image of me in the movie is closer to who I really am than the Rain you see on the singing stage."Rain will debut in "I'm a Cyborg, But That's Okay," directed by Park Chan-wook and set for local release on Thursday.

In light of Park's success with "Old Boy," which picked up the Grand Prix at Cannes two years ago, the movie is almost certain to get a worldwide release, something Rain hopes will raise his standing in global terms."Now I feel that I have taken the first step," he said. "To me, the issue was that the director was Park Chan-wook. He was the director I liked as a fan, and with whom so many actors wanted to work.

I thought there would definitely be things he could teach me (as an actor)."Ranked among Time's 100 most influential figures this year, Rain has been a superstar in Asia with four albums and three hit TV dramas under his belt, but his star quality hasn't translated into global appeal.

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