Eternals' actor Don Lee says it was like a reunion of long lost friends when he met Angelina Jolie for the first time

The South Korean-American actor Don Lee has made quite an impact with his American debut film Eternals. The actor plays the role of Gilgamesh in the new Marvel movie, who is the strongest and selfless of all Eternals. Ever since Lee rose to fame worldwide after his film Train to Busan, Hollywood has been reportedly trying to rope him in for a film. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lee opened up about his Hollywood offers and why and how he chose the film Eternals. He also spoke about his character Gilgamesh and his bond on-screen and off-screen with Angelina Jolie.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lee said that he has been getting casting calls from Hollywood for the past five years but he could not commit to any project as he was busy with producing and acting in several South Korean films. But when he got a call from Sarah Finn, the casting director for Marvel, he could not resist the offer. He said he got attracted to the character when he spoke to Chloé and Nate Moore on a video call a couple of years ago. "I am also a Marvel fan, so that’s how I got to be a part of Eternals," he said. 

Since Lee has been boxing since he was 14 years old, he did not require much of a preparation for his 'powerful punches' in the film. He said he is always prepared for anything that comes his way. Hence, he could easily get into the shoes of Gilgamesh as he could relate to him. But he had to prepare the language because acting in Korean and acting in English is a little different, he said. "I had to study continuously throughout the film to be able to get the hard vocab words for the historical settings. Talking in English and actually acting in English are different, and that was the part that I needed to focus on."

Lee has most of his screen space with Angelina Jolie as his character spends maximum timing protecting her character Thena. He said they were comfortable with each other. Lee said he has always been a fan of Jolie and when they met on the sets of Eternals, it was like a reunion of long lost friends. “Throughout the movie, our characters protected and looked out for each other, but we also protected and looked out for each other in real life, too,” he told the portal. 

Being a superhero in a film with Jolie is a dream come true for him. Marvel had released a hero poster of his character in the film and he felt he has completely 'accomplished becoming a superhero as an actor' adding that he is honoured to play such a strong role. Every day on the sets was meaningful and memorable, said the actor as he got the opportunity to work with such a diverse cast and an Oscar-winning director like Chloé. He recalled one of his fondest memories of the film. He shot an action scene for six weeks by himself and while it was challenging, he received a huge round of applause from the entire crew when he finished the scene. "That warmth and support and love that I felt from the crew was so memorable that I’ll be telling people about it later on in life," he said.

Eternals is now running in theatres worldwide. Directed by Chloé Zhao, the film also stars Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Harish Patel, Kit Harington and Salma Hayek.