Erstwhile political candidate Augustus Cho isn’t a dictator; he just plays one on the big screen.

The fit, fiftysomething former taekwondo teacher and author had kept his acting career private until filming his role as a Northern Korean ruler in “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” forced him to miss a Town Council candidates forum last year.

He also ran unsuccessfully for Chapel Hill mayor in 2009 and in the Republican primary against B.J. Lawson for Congress, for the seat held by Rep. David Price, in 2008.

Acting and politics have collided for one Chapel Hill Town Council candidate.

Augustus Cho, who is running for one of four seats on the Town Council, missed a candidates forum Tuesday night because he is filming the new G.I. Joe movie in New Orleans.

Cho plays a Korean leader, in the film G.I. Joe: Retaliation, also starring Bruce Willis, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Channing Tatum. He had kept his acting career a secret before Tuesday. But when the forum and his filming conflicted, Cho said he had to tell people about the film.