INTERVIEW BY IRVIN RIVERA

Rising star, Sang Heon Lee (XO, Kitty, Gran Turismo) possesses this undeniable charisma of a very enthusiastic and positive aura of an adventurous person brimming with energy and excitement. Even during our shoot, which happened prior to the Hollywood Writers strike and the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild) strike, Sang was calm, collected but at the same time, genuinely happy to be there. During the strike period, where most things were out to halt and auditions were scarce, he took the opportunity to savor life. As a lover of climbing, Sang Heon discusses his passion for the sport and how an injury redirected him to swimming and, unexpectedly, oil painting.

Read on and discover Sang Heon Lee’s delightful blend of personal insights, artistic passion, and a genuine love for life as we caught up with him recently.

What's up, man?  Are you in Korea?  

Yes, I’m in Korea.

Oh wow. Thank you for the time.

No worries.

Good morning to you. Anyway, what's keeping you busy nowadays? 

I guess during the whole strike period, there were not exactly any auditions out there. So, I really just took my time and enjoyed life. It sounds very corny, but it is what it is, right? I mean, I was living my own life before this whole acting career happened. And I’m still doing what I love, which is climbing for my athletic habit. 

That's your passion! 

Yes. It's one of my great hobbies. But ever since I got injured from climbing- it's been three months. It's almost healed now so I can probably start again next month or next week. But during the times I was injured, I was kind of devastated. I was like, I can't really work out anything. It's been three months and I was like, okay, I need to do something else. And I think during those times I try to do something I love again or find something where I could reach my inner peace. So, I go swimming these days. That's a good workout. I am also a huge enthusiast of going to art exhibitions. So, I've been posting a lot of stories as well. I think my fans know that I love going to art exhibitions. And so, during those times, I think I found myself interested in drawing oil paintings. 

So cool that you're just overall very artistic and you're just inclined to the arts. And of course, physically, you like doing these physical activities as well, which is great. 

Yes. So, I’m almost done with my second piece. I finished my first painting and posted it on Instagram. And then my second piece, I’m almost done. And then yes, I’m now thinking like hopefully, by the time I get like 15, 20 pieces done, I want to open my own little exhibit, basically. Yes. I've just been living the life, mate. I've been traveling as well, eating good food, meeting good people. I think that's all about it. 

Hey, it's important. It's when these things happen that slow us down, that's when we kind of realize to take a step back and realize how we value the other the important things that we often take for granted. You know what I mean?

And also, I never really had a huge slump per se, because I think the only time you have a slump is when you don't really have a routine. I believe that. I think if you really have a routine that you make yourself feel good, or make yourself happy, then you really shouldn't feel that, right? But if you have a routine, and make sure you stay healthy, happy, mentally and physically, then I think you're fine. And I think that's what I've been doing, you know. 

I think because it also gives you a sense of purpose and having that sense of purpose gives you a direction. And that keeps you in that routine and keeps you on track. I love that! And I mean, this is very resonant with the phrase on your Instagram bio that says- “life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all” I feel like you completely embody that with everything that you're doing because you're doing a lot, man. And what can you not do? 

Besides the fact that there are a few things I can't do because of my physical injuries, like for example, my ankle, I have my ligament rupture here. So, I’m afraid to play basketball again. But other than that, I always try things out, even with food; I make sure I try it out to even say that I hate it. I don't have a food where I’m like, no, I don't like it. Wait, why do I not like it? It just looks weird. No, no, I have to taste it first to actually say that I don't like it. So, in that same sense as anything that I could do as well, I got to try that first. Yes. I never knew that I was into painting or I never knew that it was another way of finding my inner peace. But then look at me now, I’m already finishing my second one since it's been two months. And I’m so waiting for my next opportunity to do my third one.

Now XO, Kitty. Let's reflect on your character Min Ho, his layers and his evolution throughout the show. Did you have any challenges in bringing the character to life and how are you able to rise above those challenges if there are? Because it seemed like such a fun set and you all seem to get along. 

Yes, it was a fun set. I think the most obvious difficulty on set was not from the actors, but maybe from the crew. Because we were a combined production from the US and Korea, some of the Korean crew couldn't understand English or they couldn't speak it. So, there was always a translator in between making sure they understood it clearly. The time that was taking it was double the time, right? So, there was more stress and there was more heat going on between each scene because sometimes they're like, okay, we're late. Come on. I think there was a little bump for that at the beginning of the shoot, but I think as people are going, people adapt and people learn from these mistakes, right? So, I think the crew got along well as time passed. I mean for me, Min Ho itself - the character, I’m going to be honest. I didn't really have a hard time approaching him. I just had fun with him.

It's a breeze for you. 

Yes, I just really told myself that again, I’m not going to be the character itself. I’m going to still be me. So, I was still being me, you know, except, I just got in his shoes and thought okay, I’m in high school, I’m not that way when I was in high school except I was more confident. I know I have a lot of money. I know that I have these girls around me, right, how would I approach this? Let's do this! And that's how I did it and it was kind of easy.

It was a simpler way of thinking instead of going through such deep-core memories through the act that I had to create. Later on, I guess, that would be more helpful or in the deeper sense where I would connect with the character better but at the moment that's how I approached it but also, I’m not ashamed of how I say that that character was me as well because I think any actor would agree that any character that they did well or the audience think they did well is also like them in real life.

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Anyway, now given all these things happening to you right now, the travel, all your physical activities and stuff, how do you balance everything, how do you balance your life?

I think balancing life comes from peaceful thoughts, really. If we talk about something more meaningful here, in a deeper sense, I always tell myself finding your inner peace is something far greater than anything you like to achieve. So, I try to do that by doing things I realize that I don't really think much - something simple like climbing. When I climb, I don't think about anything, even going on a hike. You don't think about anything, just walking, focusing on your footsteps, the view of the wind, sunlight, you think about those things, not work, not personal life issues, nothing wrong with that. But also, for painting, I never think about anything but painting for the next three to four hours. I never think about anything. I’m like oh, what's the time? Oh, it's dinner time. Let's eat. So, it's just simple things, man, and creating those peaceful thoughts from those simple things creates my whole work balance and my whole life balance in a very positive manner. And I’m very grateful for me and my family and my friends who made this happen. Because I can't imagine if I was in a different state, I don't want to imagine what I would be like. I’m pretty much happy with how I am or where I am at the moment. I could definitely evolve or become a better person but at the moment, I’m pretty happy with myself.

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?

I mean, at the moment, where I am, I think I’m going to be, I mean, I've been talking a lot about past experiences, about my memories and the way I think as I learn, right? So maybe, something similar to a biography, but more like towards a motivational sense, where I can help people, or maybe be a romantic story version of me in a book.