By Gill Pringle at International Film Festival & Awards Macao

With his crimson hair and softly spoken demeanor, Kim Junmyeon – best known to his millions of fans as Suho, leader of South Korean-Chinese K-pop phenomenon Exo – has launched his latest salvo into a serious acting career.

If his film roles have thus far been confined to K-pop videos and a handful of teen dramas, he announced his plans to break out of the K-pop teen idol mould while attending the 4th edition of the International Film Festival & Awards Macao this week.

“I would really like to play the villain in a movie,” he says shyly when FilmInk meets him in Macao where he is serving as a Talent Ambassador for the festival, along with Carina Lau and Juliette Binoche.

Furthermore, with his new film, the sub-hour long, Samsung-sponsored The Present screening at IFFAM’s opening night, he is gambling on expanding his career beyond dancing and coo-ing his way through Exo’s hit songs, ‘Growl’, ‘Call Me Baby’ and ‘Ko Ko Bop’ during punishing global tour schedules.

At the forefront of the K-pop phenomenon for almost eight years, after being introduced as the tenth member of Exo in 2012, Junmyeon, 28, has witnessed a world which has become increasingly susceptible to cyber-bulling.

With female K-pop stars Sulli and Koo Hara both apparently committing suicide in recent months, victims of online bullying, their deaths hang heavily on the K-pop community although Junmyeon’s handlers make it clear that their golden boy will not be addressing the subject.

Clearly a high-pressure world, the only allusion he makes to his own personal pressure, is when he says, “I really like listening to Coldplay or Maroon 5 because they relieve my stress.”

Making his acting debut with indie film, Glory Day (One Way Trip) in 2015, which premiered at the Busan Film festival, he has since appeared in films Student A and Rich Man, and featuring in web drama How Are You Bread.

“I love watching foreign movies and enjoy the films of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan. I particularly like the innocence presented in Tim Burton’s films.

“Most of the roles that I’ve done so far have mainly been positive characters, so at this point I really want to be a villain in a movie. I’d like to play roles like Joker by Joaquin Phoenix,” adds Junmyeon.

Clearly a Phoenix fan, he adds, “I like watching movies about people’s daily lives. I really liked the movie, Her, and also the Korean movie Parasite.”

Keen to nurture an acting career, he says, “In terms of Exo, our schedule is set up a whole year in advance by the company, so my spare time is spent acting.

“When I receive a script, I do research into the character and try to find similarities between my character and my own personality and then I try to expand and dig deeper to get different feelings. On set, I follow the orders of the director.”

He even dreams of playing a Marvel character. “If I had the chance, I would choose Doctor Strange because it’s a very good movie and Benedict Cumberbatch does such a good job in it.”

While approaching his 30s, Junmyeon is still expected to project a teenage appearance for Exo’s fans, although he presents a more mature character in The Present, directed by Hur Jin-Ho.

“I think to be young or a teenager, that’s all about hopes and dreams. But since I did Glory Day in 2015, I’ve grown up and have had more experiences. But I don’t think youthful refers only to age – you can be grown up and still have dreams.

“For me The Present is about whether you can realise your dreams.”