Actress Kim Yoon-jin
Breaks into Hollywood A-List
Actress Kim Yoon-jin, who is currently starring in the popular ABC
miniseries "Lost," has broken into Hollywood with the leading
female role in the movie "Georgia Heat" opposite Billy Bob
Thornton.
Kim's manager, Park Jeong-hyuk, said Monday his client has been
selected to play the female lead in "Georgia Heat," which would
begin shooting from next June. Two years ago, actor Park Joong-hoon
appeared in a supporting role in director Jonathan Demme's film,
"The Truth About Charlie," but this is the first time a Korean
actress has landed a leading role in a Hollywood production.
"Georgia Heat" depicts the turbulent life of a Korean woman who
immigrates to 1960s Georgia. In the film, Kim will take on the role
of a foreigner who faces discrimination as an immigrant and is
caught up in the tensions between two American men.
Billy Bob Thornton, who will play one of the men, is an
actor-director who received an Academy Award for Best Screenplay in
1996 for his film "Sling Blade" (in which he also starred), and
played the male lead opposite Halle Berry in her Academy
Award-winning performance in "Monster's Ball."
Not so long ago, he attracted the interest of the entertainment
press by divorcing actress Angelina Jolie. Casting is currently
underway for the other male role. Production has been handed to
Janet Yang, who was responsible for the "Joy Luck Club," while
first-time director Mora Stephens will step behind the
camera.
Kim Yoon-jin was born in Los Angeles and graduated from the High
School of Performing Arts in New York. She majored in drama at the
London Academy of Performing Arts and Boston University, and is
fluent in both English and Korean.
She recently made news by turning down a request to appear in
"Memoirs of a Geisha," which is being produced by Steven Spielberg,
saying she didn't want to make her Hollywood debut in the role of a
geisha. She said she was confident that if she waited, a good role
in a good production would come.
The TV series "Lost," which has provided Kim with her U.S. debut,
is currently halfway through its 23 episodes. KBS is scheduled to
import and run the series from Dec. 25.
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