K-drama star Song Hye Kyo, whose career trajectory shifted massively in the past few years—from soft love stories to revenge-driven themes and darker roles, recently appeared for a rare one-hour interview on musician Jung Jae Hyung’s YouTube show. During the interaction, she recalled a nearly decade-old incident during the filming of the Chinese biographical movie Grandmaster, where she was stuck in the project for almost three years. And even when Song wanted out, director Wong Kar Wai made sure she couldn’t leave.
Song Hye Kyo on being stuck in China during Grandmaster
During the interview, the host asked Song Hye Kyo about her early experience working outside Korea, steering the conversation to her 2013 movie Grandmaster. Song shared that back then, China was witnessing a massive Korean wave, and when she visited the country, she ended up meeting a lot of industry people. Director Wong Kar Wai, who was planning to visit Korea to promote one of his films, approached her and asked if she’d like to hangout for a lunch. That’s how they became acquaintances. At some point, Wong offered her a role, saying, “This might be short, but you’ll like it.” Out of curiosity, and to understand what a Chinese set and director’s style looked like, Song agreed. “I thought it would be better to go and learn something rather than sit idle,” she said.
She continued, “I went… and then I was tied up for three years,” before adding, “I barely even appeared in the shoot.” Song playfully remarked that no one, not even the cast, knew she was in the film, her screen time was that minimal. She recalled having so much free time on set that she’d play badminton with the staff all day and spend the rest of it lounging in her hotel room, wondering when her next shoot would be.
The delay was probably because of the director’s reputation for his time-consuming craft. During her free time, Song Hye Kyo said she would return to Korea, only to instantly receive a call asking her to fly back for a shoot. But once she arrived, she’d have to wait another week or so, and that’s when the frustration kicked in. “I want to leave. I don’t want to be here,” she remembered thinking. She also recalled how the director somehow sensed she was ready to escape. One day, Song’s interpreter, who was close to the director, got called in and was asked, “Who has Hye-kyo’s passport? Is it with Hye-kyo or you?” When the interpreter said it was with her, the director replied, “Quickly get it from her. It seems she’s going to slip back to Korea soon.” He told the interpreter not to return it until the shoot wrapped. Song laughed while recalling the moment, saying, “That’s basically how the filming went.”
Grandmaster was a 10-minute-long film where Song Hye Kyo appeared for just 6 minutes. The movie starred Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, and Zhao Benshan.
