Why Tony Leung Appeared in NewJeans' MV for Free

Tony Leung Chiu-wai — the Hong Kong actor celebrated globally for his work in Wong Kar-wai's films and more recently as the villain Xu Wenwu in Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings — appeared in NewJeans' music video for "Cool With You." He accepted no payment for it. And in a recent conversation released on GQ Korea's official YouTube channel, he finally explained why.

The interview, which paired Leung with actor Lee Jung-jae, confirmed what many fans had long suspected: the appearance was not a business transaction. "I wanted it to be a small gift for Korean fans," Leung said, prompting an audible "NO?" from a visibly surprised Lee Jung-jae. Leung responded with a nod and a "YES" — at which point the clip became one of the most-shared moments in K-pop conversation this month.

The Three Conditions He Set

Leung did not walk into the project without terms. He laid out three conditions before agreeing to appear, and the conditions themselves say a great deal about how he operates on his own creative terms.

First: they could not ask him to travel. The production would need to come to wherever he was. Second: he would handle his own character concept — no one from the production would dictate how he looked or presented himself on screen. Third: the entire shoot had to be completed within two hours.

The production agreed to all three. According to Leung, he was approached through a mutual connection who had a relationship with the leadership of NewJeans' label, ADOR. The brief he received gave him the narrative setup; the character choices were entirely his own.

In the "Cool With You" video, Leung portrays the role of Aphrodite — a kind of antagonist figure who causes Psyche to fall in love with someone other than Cupid. Cupid, in the story, becomes invisible. It is a mythological frame dressed in a contemporary visual language, and Leung's physical stillness against the kinetic energy typical of K-pop productions creates an effect that fans described as genuinely cinematic.

HoYeon Jung and a Star-Studded Cast

Leung was not the only globally recognized face in the production. HoYeon Jung — the model and actress who became one of Netflix's most-watched international stars through Squid Game — also appears in the "Cool With You" music video. The combination of Leung's prestige in pan-Asian cinema and HoYeon's global streaming-era stardom creates a cast that, for a music video, is genuinely unusual.

The GQ Korea interview offered Lee Jung-jae the opportunity to share additional context from his own experience. He revealed that the director of the "Cool With You" video had spoken about the experience with unmistakable enthusiasm. "The director told me he was honored to work with you," Lee Jung-jae said, addressing Leung directly. "He talked about the shoot with great pride."

That reaction from the director — someone experienced in high-production K-pop video work — speaks to how the project landed for the people involved. The collaboration was not routine, and the gratitude expressed points to the degree to which Leung's participation elevated the ambition of the whole project.

A 2002 Connection That Surprised Everyone

The GQ Korea interview contained a reveal that extended beyond "Cool With You." Leung disclosed that the NewJeans video was not his first involvement with the Korean entertainment world. In 2002 — decades before his Marvel appearance made him a household name in Western markets — he appeared in a music video for Korean singer The Name.

What made the detail more surprising was what came next: Jeon Do-yeon and Ryu Seung-beom also appeared in that 2002 video alongside him. Jeon Do-yeon, now widely regarded as one of Korea's greatest screen actresses and a Cannes Film Festival Best Actress winner, and Ryu Seung-beom, a prominent actor with a career spanning two decades, were Leung's co-stars in a Korean pop music production more than twenty years ago.

Leung added that he went further than simply appearing on screen — he also recorded the song's vocals in Chinese. The production at the time was evidently ambitious in its reach across East Asian pop culture, anticipating the kind of pan-Asian crossover that now feels more common but was genuinely rare in the early 2000s.

What This Moment Means for K-Pop

Tony Leung choosing to appear in a NewJeans music video for free is not a story that fits any standard template of celebrity brand alignment or calculated career strategy. It is, by his own account, an act of affection toward a fanbase he feels a connection with — and a decision made on his own creative terms, with conditions designed to protect his integrity as an artist rather than guarantee a polished promotional outcome.

That context matters. The conversation around K-pop's global reach often focuses on streaming numbers, touring revenues, and social media metrics. Leung's appearance and his explanation of it open a different kind of window: the organic, relationship-driven dimension of Korean entertainment's global pull, where figures of serious artistic reputation choose to participate not because of commercial incentive but because of something that feels more personal.

For NewJeans, the timing of this renewed conversation is meaningful. The group — formed under Min Hee-jin's creative direction at ADOR — has been rebuilding its public presence after a period of significant label-level turbulence. The revelation of Leung's appearance, alongside recent confirmation from ADOR that three members (Haerin, Hyein, and Hanni) were spotted in Copenhagen, Denmark with production staff and filming equipment, suggests a group actively moving forward. ADOR confirmed the Copenhagen trip but declined to specify what was being filmed or when a formal announcement might follow.

For now, the GQ Korea interview with Tony Leung and Lee Jung-jae has given fans something to hold onto: the image of one of Asia's most respected actors choosing, without any financial motivation, to step into a K-pop music video and spend two hours of his time delivering a scene that he shaped entirely on his own terms. The reason he gave was simple, and fans found it more than enough — he wanted to give them a gift.