Quick Facts
Biography
Lee Sung-jae (born August 23, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Among his notable works include the films Art Museum by the Zoo, Attack the Gas Station, Barking Dogs Never Bite, and Kick the Moon, as well as the television series Lie and A Wife's Credentials.
Career
Lee Sung-jae in a short period rose to become one of the more versatile and popular actors in Korean cinema. After working for a time on TV (his debut was the MBC drama The Love of Two Women), he launched his film career with the romantic comedy Art Museum by the Zoo opposite superstar Shim Eun-ha. The success of this movie gave him considerable attention and led to him being offered many more roles.
After starring in Ghost in Love opposite Kim Hee-sun, Lee rose to prominence as the leader of a small group of thugs in one of the biggest box-office hits of the late 1990s, Kim Sang-jin's smash comedy Attack the Gas Station. Shortly thereafter he took a role in a very different kind of film, the accomplished black comedy Barking Dogs Never Bite, and his portrayal of a dog-hating lecturer who desperately wants to become a professor received good reviews.
In 2001, Lee acted opposite Ko So-young in A Day, a drama about a young married couple who wish to have a baby; he then appeared alongside Cha Seung-won and Kim Hye-soo in Kick the Moon, another wildly popular comedy by Kim Sang-jin. Lee also had a memorable turn as the villain in Public Enemy, a hugely successful film by hit director and Cinema Service founder Kang Woo-suk.
In 2004 Lee portrayed a mountain climber in the big-budget adventure/melodrama Ice Rain, which was shot in the Canadian Rockies, then played a ballroom dancer in Dance with the Wind, Park Jung-woo's directorial debut (Park wrote the screenplay for many of Kim Sang-jin's films). Other notable roles include real-life fugitive Ji Kang-hun in 2006's Holiday, and a sculptor in 2010 3D erotic film Natalie.
Among the television series he's starred in include 2008 romantic comedy Lawyers of the Great Republic of Korea, and 2012 hit cable drama A Wife's Credentials.
Filmography
Film
- 1998 Art Museum by the Zoo
- 1999 Ghost in Love
- 1999 Attack the Gas Station
- 2000 Barking Dogs Never Bite
- 2001 A Day
- 2001 Kick the Moon
- 2002 Public Enemy
- 2004 Ice Rain
- 2004 Dance with the Wind
- 2004 Shinsukki Blues
- 2005 Holiday
- 2006 Daisy
- 2007 The Mafia, The Salesman
- 2010 Dreams Come True
- 2010 Natalie
Television series
| Year | Title | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | The Love of Two Women | MBC | |
| 1997 | Yesterday | Yoon Min-soo | |
| 1998 | Beyond the Horizon | SBS | |
| Lie | Suh Joon-hee | KBS2 | |
| 2006 | Stranger than Paradise | No Yoon-jae | SBS |
| 2008 | Lawyers of the Great Republic of Korea | Han Min Gook | MBC |
| 2011 | Poseidon | Kwon Jung-ryool | KBS2 |
| 2012 | A Wife's Credentials | Kim Tae-oh | jTBC |
| The Sons | Yoo Hyun-ki | MBC | |
| 2013 | Gu Family Book | Jo Gwan-woong | |
| The Suspicious Housekeeper | Eun Sang-chul | SBS | |
| 2014 | The King's Face | King Seonjo | KBS2 |
| 2015 | Warm and Cozy | Song Jung-geun | MBC |
| 2016 | Mirror of the Witch | Choi Hyun-seo | JTBC |
| 2016 | Jealousy Incarnate | Kim Rak | SBS |
Variety show
- 2013 MBC I Live Alone
- 2014 SBS Running Man Episode 212
- 2015 SBS Law of the Jungle in Indochina
- 2016 SBS Flower Crew
Awards
- 1999 35th Baeksang Arts Awards: Best New Actor (Art Museum by the Zoo)
- 1999 영화평론가상: Best New Actor (Art Museum by the Zoo)
- 1999 7th Chunsa Film Art Awards: Best New Actor (Art Museum by the Zoo)
- 1999 36th Grand Bell Awards: Best New Actor (Art Museum by the Zoo)
- 1999 20th Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best New Actor (Art Museum by the Zoo)
- 2000 36th Baeksang Arts Awards: Popularity Award (Attack the Gas Station)