Chapel Hill Town Council candidate Augustus Cho cast in G.I. Joe 2

On the silver screen, Augustus Cho plays a North Korean leader facing off against Bruce Willis and team in “G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation.”

But in Chapel Hill, Cho competes with a whole different cast of characters as he vies with eight other candidates for four seats on the Chapel Hill Town Council.

Cho, who said he has acted for his whole life, has known about his movie role since Aug. 10, but his campaign manager just unveiled it to the town at a forum this week. Cho missed the forum because he was filming in New Orleans.

“I did not share this information with anyone other than family, because as long as I’m able to attend forums there was no reason to bring it up,” he said. “I have tried to keep private life private.”

Cho will join a big name cast in the June 29, 2012 blockbuster. Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson, Channing Tatum and “Friday Night Lights” Adrianne Palicki will star in the movie.

Though this is his first movie role, Cho has acted on HBO’s television series “Eastbound & Down,” said Patty Strader, president of Maultsby Model and Talent Agency. Cho has worked with Strader’s agency since April 2010, she said.

“This is going to be a great way for him to move on to some bigger roles coming up,” Strader said. “I think we’ll probably be seeing a lot of him on the big screen.”

Cho said his acting career is progressing, but he doubts it will impact his chances in the council race.

“My stance was well known, and I think people know what I stand for,” said Cho, who lost in Chapel Hill’s mayoral election to Mark Kleinschmidt in 2009.

“Acting is what I do from my professional side, but I’m the same person that I was prior to my role.”

UNC freshman Victoria Petermann said she worries Cho wouldn’t be able to dedicate himself to the town as a movie actor.

“I would be concerned over the time he would invest,” she said.

But Cho says he’s acted for years without letting people from his political life know about his career, so his role won’t impact his service if he’s elected.

“There is nothing to be concerned about,” he said, explaining that he has been on the Transportation Board for six years and has hardly missed a meeting.

Cho will run against incumbents Donna Bell, Jim Ward and Matt Czajkowski in the council election. Lee Storrow, Laney Dale, Jason Baker, Jon DeHart and Carl Schuler are also running.

Cho was born in South Korea in 1958. He moved to the U.S. at age 10 and to North Carolina in the 9th grade.

A UNC graduate, Cho has lived in Chapel Hill for 17 years. He has worked as a Presbyterian Pastor, taught taekwondo, and written five books.

Cho said he looks at his movie role “philosophically” instead of being star-struck by the cast, but his daughter — a high school sophomore — is impressed.

He said he hopes his work will honor his hometown.

“I will do my best to represent Chapel Hill, and hope that Chapel Hill will be proud of their native son.”

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