Forget the saxophone: Cha In-pyo hopes 'Dead Poets Society' becomes his defining work after 34 years

"I was born into a cage — or rather, a mold — called 'Cha In-pyo,'" he said. "I realized I had been living safely, always avoiding choices I didn't have to make."

In his 34th year as an actor, at an age some might call late, Cha stepped onto the stage — a prestigious American boarding school in the 1950s, the setting of "Dead Poets Society." The play is a stage adaptation of the 1989 film that romanticized school life for a generation in the 1990s, long before the Netflix drama series of the same name.

On taking on his first theater role, Cha said he had come to believe that "the essence of life lay in trying new things, even uncomfortable ones, rather than settling for what is familiar."

The play is based on the 1989 film, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the BAFTA Award for Best Film. Written by Tom Schulman from his own autobiographical experience, the story follows students crushed by grade-obsessed, exam-driven schooling and asks what each of us truly wants from life — awakening in them a sense of agency and a love of literature.

The film left a deep impression on Cha. "When I watched 'Dead Poets Society' at 21, Mr. Keating's teachings about life stayed with me," he said. "Now, looking back as I approach 60, it has come back to me as a confirmation that the way I lived was right."

In the film, the role of Mr. Keating was played by Robin Williams. Cha's stage version, however, is an "older Keating" — a man who has lived the 30 years the film's Keating never did. "I've lived through those extra 30 years," Cha said. "And having lived them, I know Keating was right. I can now say with genuine sincerity: 'Kids, there are countless choices beyond the one answer you've been given.'"

Theater offers had come Cha's way before, but he had always passed. "Rehearsal periods are long and the pay is modest, so as a mainstream entertainer it was always pushed down my list of priorities," he admitted. On top of that, he had spent the past several years writing novels, which made him feel he "didn't need to settle into just one thing."

What drew him to this production was the sense that "the question posed by the original film, which I saw at 21, had returned to me now, as I approach 60, as a truth that runs through an entire life."

Cha has his own experience that echoes the film's story. Inspired by Mr. Keating, the students in the story secretly revive the Dead Poets Society, reciting poetry as they search for their own dreams. One model student nurtures a dream of becoming an actor, but crushed by his parents' opposition, he takes his own life.

Cha still remembers a friend from his senior year of high school who could not bear the pressure of the college entrance exam and died by suicide. "He was someone who used to ask me what score he needed to get into a university in Seoul," Cha said. "He couldn't hold on. Having lived 40 more years, I've seen that even if you fail an exam or don't get into the school you wanted, life goes on — and you can find happiness within it. 'Carpe diem' is not a rebuke. It is a declaration that reminds you that today — this Wednesday — is a day you can choose for yourself."

Today's schools are a jungle, Cha said. Teacher authority has collapsed, and dramas and films depict students locked in cutthroat academic competition and children who threaten their teachers. Cha said he and the director wrestled with the question themselves: "Are we just selling sentiment with a story disconnected from reality? Are we simply insisting that what we say is right?" His answer: "The play is not saying we need to tear down every existing structure. It speaks to something fundamentally human. It doesn't claim Keating is entirely right — it says there are other choices, too."

As a first-time stage actor, Cha approached the experience with a particular sense of purpose — and spoke with evident warmth about working alongside younger performers. "Seeing young actors ride buses and subways for two hours from the outskirts of Seoul to warm up before rehearsal made me reflect on my own complacency," he said. When the director rarely offered him acting notes, he went to the younger cast members himself to ask about vocal projection and breathing. "The ones who truly gave me my theater debut were those young actors who endured that grueling time alongside me," he said.

A beloved star, entertainer and author for more than 30 years, Cha also spoke of a sense of debt toward young theater artists after stepping onto the stage. "I was lucky to receive far more love than what I had to offer, and I built a good life and raised a family," he said. "Coming to Daehangno as someone who has been given so much, I saw young people burning with passion day after day, pouring out their sweat. I felt sorry and embarrassed that I alone was receiving bouquets and spotlights while we were all rehearsing the same way. I want to invite film and drama producers and build a bridge for our younger colleagues to break into the screen industry."

Even so, he said the joy and appeal of the stage hit him anew every single day. "If I had known theater was this captivating — if I had realized early on that an actor must do theater — I wish I had come to it sooner," he said. Unlike film or drama shoots, where lines cannot be repeated hundreds of times, theater demands exactly that before an actor can set foot on stage. "It was a process every actor absolutely needs," Cha said. "I hope mainstream entertainers will take up theater, even now, and grow alongside it."

After more than 30 years, Cha said he finally felt he could shed the label of his debut work, the drama series "Sarangeul Geudae Pumane." "When I said I wanted this play to replace it as the defining work of my life, some may have thought I was getting ahead of myself," he said. "My mother, who is 84, watched my play for the first time in her life and sent me a message: 'In-pyo, congratulations on making "Dead Poets Society" your new defining work.' That one line from her — it meant I had achieved everything I had ever dreamed of."