The actress's impressive list of accomplishments prove her to be a major star far beyond her home country.

Photography by&nbsp;Danny Lowe

Styling by&nbsp;Vanessa Bellugeon

You may know her form the Wachowski Sisters-directed hit Netflix series Sense8, playing the&nbsp;role of Sun Bak, a Korean businesswoman specializing in martial arts. Or, if super-powers infused&nbsp;entertainment isn&rsquo;t your thing, then you&rsquo;re likely to have spotted her in the latest Louis Vuitton pre-fall campaign, where she poses alongside <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/emmy-awards-nominations-2019">Michelle Williams</a> and L&eacute;a Seydoux. If you&rsquo;re a Japanese film buff, then you most definitely remember her starring in director Hirokazu&nbsp;Koreeda&rsquo;s Air Doll (think Mannequin, but with an inflatable bouncy doll instead of Kim Cattrall). Doona Bae is, in short, a global sensation, known as much for Hollywood bona fides as&nbsp;she is for her runway good looks. With a list of credits to her name&mdash;including her breakout performance in the Wachowski helmed Cloud Atlas&mdash;and a forthcoming role&nbsp;in director Eric&nbsp;Lartigau&rsquo;s #jesuisl&agrave; starring opposite legendary French actor Alain Chabat, Bae is intent&nbsp;not just on conquering <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/tags/hollywood">Hollywood</a>, but the world. Here, she sits down with L&rsquo;Officiel USA&nbsp;to&nbsp;discuss #jesuisl&agrave;, acting in Korea and Hollywood, and her longstanding relationship with the&nbsp;Wachowskis.

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CLAIRE&nbsp;BEGHIN​​​:&nbsp;Tell us more about #jesuisl&agrave;.

DOONA BAE: I have a few close French friends, Eric Lartigau being one of them. When he introduced me to his new project, which was going to take place in South Korea, I was seduced by the story and I&nbsp;immediately said yes. I&rsquo;ve always loved shooting in my country. Filming with them was a fun,&nbsp;unforgettable, and moving experience.

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CB: What was it like to star alongside Alain Chabat?

DB:&nbsp;To be honest, I don&#39;t watch a lot of movies and I&#39;m not a great connoisseur of <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/adele-exarchopoulos-editorial-fall-issue-2019">French cinema</a>. But I had seen Alain&rsquo;s movies. I now have great respect for him;&nbsp;he is as adorable as he is&nbsp;extraordinary, both as an actor and as a human being. Working alongside him is inspiring. His&nbsp;example as an actor enables other actors to reach a higher level. All I had to do was look him in&nbsp;the eye and my ability to perform was spontaneous.

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CB: How has your vision of Seoul, where you were born, changed since you made films there?

DB: I&rsquo;ve often shot in Seoul, including every season of Sense8. But during my time working on&nbsp;#jesuisl&agrave; I had something of a realization: an awareness of how differently foreigners perceive a&nbsp;place that is, for me, something so familiar. Through their novel experiences of Seoul and how&nbsp;the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/categories/film-tv">film</a> was shot, I observed it with a more aesthetic and exotic eye. In many ways, I also felt&nbsp;like I was a host during the time we were shooting&mdash; I wanted to ensure their experience of&nbsp;Seoul reflected what it means to me.

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CB: Your work bridges both the American and Korean film industries. How do you negotiate between the two and how has one affected the other?

DB: I&rsquo;m not ambitious;&nbsp;I didn&#39;t intend to make a career in Hollywood. I have been lucky enough to&nbsp;receive many interesting proposals and I am working on them with the same curiosity, without a&nbsp;strategic approach. Perhaps it is a lack of sensitivity, but I do not feel any difference, except, of course, at the level of budget. To create a good film, everyone does their best by trusting a good leader. As an interpreter, I put myself at [the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/hustlers-director-interview-2019">director</a>&#39;s] service. That is my conviction as an actress.

&nbsp;

CB: How have you seen Korean cinema evolve?

DB: I believe it has already undergone significant change at an incredible speed. When I started&nbsp;twenty years ago, there were already several directors with very bold visions for what Korean&nbsp;cinema could be&mdash; like Bong Joon-ho, for example, who won the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/adele-exarchopoulos-editorial-fall-issue-2019">Palme d&rsquo;Or</a> for Parasite.&nbsp;As with any industry, cinema&rsquo;s success relies on the support of the public, of the audience. I&rsquo;ve never seen audiences as invested in going to&nbsp;films as South Koreans. Cinema is a part of our lives.

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CB: You have a close relationship with the Wachowskis.&nbsp;When did that begin?

DB: They have become as important as my mother;&nbsp;they have my respect and my trust. When they contacted me to participate in Cloud Atlas, I couldn&rsquo;t believe it. We first met on Skype and I made a demo tape that I sent them. They gave me an important role despite my lack of English&nbsp;proficiency. I believe that a certain understanding developed between us at that time, which&nbsp;pushed me to follow them on Sense8. Thanks to them, I have had opportunities that are not&nbsp;given to all the actors. Most importantly, it is the passion they bring to their work that has made&nbsp;our collaboration so enjoyable. They made me want to <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/solange-cover-story-interview-2019">surpass myself</a> and enabled me to&nbsp;overcome fear and limits.

&nbsp;

CB: Do you have a favorite project from your past?

DB: Every film is important because you always learn something. But it was my first film that shaped my convictions as an actress. I am thinking in particular of Bong Joon-ho&rsquo;s Barking Dogs. He brought me a new vision of my work. Before I met him, I tended to associate acting with <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/categories/beauty">beauty</a>&nbsp;and glitter. Kwak Ji-kyun&rsquo;s Plum Blossom&nbsp;has also profoundly influenced my style of play. He&nbsp;taught me to put myself in the shoes of a character.&nbsp;I&#39;m not sure I&#39;d be able to play with all my&nbsp;heart if I hadn&#39;t worked with him.

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CB: How do you prepare for a role?

DB: When I choose a movie, I choose a character that I understand. Then I make the necessary&nbsp;efforts to be ready professionally: learn archery to play an archer, kick-boxing to make a combat scene work. For #jesuisl&agrave;, I had to learn French. It is these concrete training sessions that allow me to better understand a character and to play it with realness.

&nbsp;

CB: Is there a role that you dream of playing?

DB: I&rsquo;ve already had the chance to play all the characters I wanted to. I do not dream of a role or a&nbsp;particular type of film&mdash;I am happy to accept the roles that inspire me.

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DRESS LOUIS VUITTON, JEWELRY TIFFANY & CO.

CLOTHING LOUIS VUITTON, JEWELRY TIFFANY & CO.

JUMPSUIT LOUIS VUITTON, JEWELRY TIFFANY & CO.

Makeup&nbsp;Jun&nbsp;Sung&nbsp;Lee

Hair&nbsp;David&nbsp;Delicourt (Calliste)

Producer&nbsp;Joshua Glasgow

Photo&nbsp;Assistant&nbsp;Mehdi&nbsp;Sefrioui

Styling&nbsp;Assistant&nbsp;Gabriela Cambero

Studio&nbsp;Studio Sal

From Korea to Hollywood, Doona Bae is a Global Sensation

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