Lee Byung Hun Joins Impressive Dream Cast

Although he is quickly becoming an international star, Lee Byung Hun still felt a little intimidated at the idea of meeting his costars for the film "Red 2."

The cast is impressive because it includes such big names as Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Anthony Hopkins and veteran actor John Malkovich. Yet Lee Byung Hun was most intimidated by the idea of meeting co-star Bruce Willis.

"He's a well-known action star and so people would think he is so tough and rough," said Lee.But Lee Byung Hun was pleasantly surprised when he actually met Willis.

"In real life, he is so gentle and generous," said Byung Hun.  "When I first met him in front of the make-up trailer, he bowed to me in the Asian way. It was quite impressive and that made me relax."

In "Red 2," the sequel to the film "Red," Byung Hun will play a killer. His character, Han, used to be an agent but he was framed by Bruce Willis' character.

"He can't work as an agent any more," said Byung Hun. "So he became a killer."

It won't be a difficult role for Byung Hun to play, as it is similar to the character he played in the drama, "Iris." In that drama, he was agent Kim Hyun Jun, a National Security Service agent who goes rogue when betrayed by his superiors.

The original film, "Red," was based on Robert Schwentke's comic "Red." In the comic and the first film, a group of retired elite CIA operatives, who are bored with ordinary life, reunite for a mission that shows they have lost none of their savvy. In the sequel the operatives meet up again to track down a missing nuclear device. The mission takes them to Paris, London and Moscow. The operatives use their old school skills to survive.

Byung Hun, who played the villain Storm Shadow in "GI Joe 2," is known in Korea for his role in "Iris" and his work in the films, "Joint Security Area,"  "A Bittersweet Life," "The Good, The Bad, The Weird," and "I Saw The Devil."

The first posters for the film were released last week. One shows Anthony Hopkins drinking a cup of tea. The other shows Lee Byung Hun wearing a stylish black suit and loading one of his many guns with the Empire State Building in the background.

The film will also star Catherine Zeta-Jones and Mary-Louise Parker. It opens in July.

"It was a dream cast," said Byung Hun. "So meeting these stars was a really amazing moment for me."