The movie “Train to Busan” taught actor Gong Yoo a thing or two about marriage and fatherhood, he said in an interview with local media.

(Yonhap)

In the film released on July 20, Gong played the role of Seok-woo, a father and fund manager who is preoccupied with work and does not spend enough time with his daughter. However, things change when Seok-woo has to save his child from zombies.

Gong is not married and has no children. Yet, this is his fourth time playing the role of a father. He previously did so in “The Crucible” (2011), “The Suspect”(2013), and “A Man and Woman”(2015).

In the interview with local online media Sports Hankook, Gong said, “Not having my own child hinders me when playing the role of a father. Fatherhood is a world I have never experienced so there is a limit to how well I can express it when acting.

“Filming ‘Train to Busan’ made me contemplate what I would like to show or do for my child if I had one. My career as an actor has made me delay marriage, but I still hope to get married and have children someday,” Gong said.

He added, “I think that one truly becomes a man after he becomes a father. I thought one becomes a true man once he reaches the age of forty, but I was wrong. A man who is 40 and has no child is like Peter Pan. Being a father makes you learn many things and grow as a person. I came to realize that while filming ‘Train to Busan,’”

By Lee Ji-hae (jihlee@heraldcorp.com)