Legendary Actor Tony Leung In NewJeans’ “Cool With You” Music Video Doesn’t Get Paid For His Appearance — But It’s By Choice

NewJeans recently released two music videos for “Cool With You.” The music videos featured top actors, and it was revealed that one of them offered to star in it for free.

On July 20, NewJeans released two versions of the music video for “Cool With You,” which is one of the triple title tracks from their 2nd mini album Get Up. In the music video, actress Jung Ho Yeon, best known for her role in Squid Game, played the role of Eros, who chooses love over her position as a god. Also, actor Tony Leung made a brief appearance in the music video, leaving behind a powerful impression with his gaze and aura.

The music video’s director, Shin Woo Seok, and ADOR CEO, Min Hee Jin, explained how they decided to cast Tony Leung to play the short role.

Although their appearance would be brief, we really wanted an actor who was charismatic and impactful. After a lot of thinking, we thought of Tony Leung.

— Shin Woo Seok and Min Hee Jin

They also explained how passionate and professional he was in preparing for his brief appearance in the music video. He even suggested ideas for his character.

Tony Leung, even though his role was short, thoroughly analyzed the script in advance and was passionate—he even suggested the white hair styling in the music video. On set, he lived up to his reputation as a legendary actor and received praise from the staff.

— Shin Woo Seok and Min Hee Jin

It was revealed that Min Hee Jin, who produced the music video, personally arranged Tony Leung’s casting. She delivered the music video script to Tony Leung through an acquaintance. After going through the script and checking the music video’s story, Tony Leung agreed to take on the charismatic role despite its shortness—and he offered to do it with no pay.

Later, Tony Leung shared his thoughts on appearing in the NewJeans music video and explained that his appearance was a gift to Korean fans.

I met good people and wanted to give Korean fans a small gift.

— Tony Leung

Despite being a legendary actor, Tony Leung decided to give Korean fans a “small gift.” Korean netizens were both shocked at his cameo in the music video and the fact that he did so without receiving money.

• “He’s so bad*ss, whoa”
• “Wow, that’s awesome”
• “I didn’t know I’d see oppa here~~~ Oppa, come to Korea~~~”
• “He’s so coolㅠㅠㅠㅠ”
• “I was watching the music video and was so surprised, I thought my eyes deceived me hahahahahaha”
• “Wow, that’s crazy LOL”
• “ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”
• “Freakin’ cool…”
• “!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
• “I was watching and covered my mouth in shock”
• “I think his recent famous work is Shang Chi”
• “Unbelievable”
• “I’m going to watch Chungking Express again today”
• “That’s crazy; No pay…”

Tony Leung is a renowned Hong Kong actor and singer, recognized as one of Asia’s most successful actors. Since his debut in 1982, he has appeared in a myriad of productions, including Chungking Express (1994), In the Mood For Love (2000), Hero (2002), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), and many more.