Rain Cast as Buddha

On Sunday I went to the concert venue for Rain's performance. Unfortunately I came down with a bad cold / flu a few days before and while waiting there for the concert to start I just felt increasingly awful. Eventually the prospect of all that loud noise and bright lights and many people got the better of me. These are not things you want to experience while feeling under the weather. In the end I decided to go back home. A friend of mine did go and she said it was a great concert; it's a pity that I missed it.

Now what's this about Rain and the Buddha, you may ask?

Have you noticed how much Rain looks like depictions of the Buddha? The same serene smile, the pleasant narrow eyes, the slight pudgy nose, even similar big ears. Rain has really big ears! I'm of course referring to the younger slimmer (Indian) Buddha, not the older fat (Chinese) Buddha. 

It's not that far fetched an idea that a Korean entertainer should depict the Buddha. After all, the Buddha have been depicted in many films before, including a Korean film from 1964 on the Seokgamoni Buddha (the Buddha at the moment of enlightenment).

Seokgamoni 석가모니 (1964)

Let us not forget that even Keanu Reeves played the Buddha once. In the 1993 film Little Buddha, directed by Bernardo Bertulucci, Reeves was casted as Siddhārtha Gautama, who became the Buddha -- the "Enlightened One".  

Keanu Reeves in "Little Buddha",
in the role of Gautama Buddha.

Surely an Asian actor would look more like the Buddha than an Hawaiian, albeit racially mixed, actor like Reeves.

If you had to put Reeves and Rain next to each other and compare their characteristics, including acting abilities, they would probably come to a tie. They have even both acted in Wachowski Brothers' movies: Reeves in The Matrix films and Rain in Ninja Assassin. However, Rain will definitely get bonus points for being Asian, his bigger ears, and more serene Buddha-like smile.

If ever I had the opportunity to make a film about the Buddha, I'd cast Rain in the leading role.