Lee Jung-jae

Biography:

Lee Jung-jae, born on December 15, 1972, is a South Korean actor and businessman. Recognized as one of South Korea’s most accomplished actors, he has received several prestigious awards, including a Primetime Emmy, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics’ Choice Television Award, and six Baeksang Arts Awards. He has also been nominated for a Golden Globe and a Gotham Award. Beyond acting, Lee is a successful entrepreneur, having launched a restaurant chain in Seoul and established multiple businesses, including the development company Seorim C&D, which he co-owns with his close friend and fellow actor Jung Woo-sung.

Born in Seoul, Lee initially started as a fashion model before transitioning to acting. He gained early recognition through the drama Sandglass in 1995. His breakthrough came with the film An Affair in 1998, which paved the way for a diverse acting career spanning multiple genres. His notable works include City of the Rising Sun, Il Mare, Last Present, Oh! Brothers, Typhoon, Deliver Us from Evil, The Housemaid, New World, The Thieves, Assassination, Operation Chromite, and Hunt. He won Best Supporting Actor at the 50th Baeksang Arts Awards for his role in The Face Reader.

Lee achieved worldwide fame in 2021 after starring as Seong Gi-hun, the lead character in Netflix’s survival drama Squid Game. His performance earned him nominations for several prestigious awards, including the Critics’ Choice Television Award, Golden Globe Award, Primetime Emmy Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. He made history as the first male actor from Korea and Asia to receive nominations in all four categories and won both the Primetime Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award. In December 2021, he was named Gallup Korea’s Film Actor of the Year. In 2024, he appeared on Gold House’s A100 list of the most influential Asians. That same year, he played a leading role in the Star Wars series The Acolyte and reprised his role as Gi-hun in Squid Game’s second season, set to return again in the third season in 2025.

Lee pursued higher education at Dongguk University, earning a master’s degree in Theater & Film Art from the Graduate School of Cultural Arts in 2008. That same year, he debuted in theater, playing the titular role in Hamlet in Water at his alma mater’s Lee Hae-rang Theater.

His entry into the entertainment industry was accidental. While working at a café in Apgujeong-dong, designer Ha Yong-soo discovered him, leading to his modeling career. Lee made his acting debut in 1993 with the TV drama Dinosaur Teacher, instantly rising to stardom. The 1994 hit campus drama Feelings solidified his popularity, but it was his role in Sandglass that turned him into a national heartthrob. Although he had a brief hiatus due to mandatory military service, he made a strong comeback in 1998 with An Affair, followed by City of the Rising Sun, which won him Best Actor at the Blue Dragon Film Awards and the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards.

His 2000 film Il Mare, though not an initial commercial success, later gained a cult following and was remade in Hollywood as The Lake House, starring Keanu Reeves. He continued his career with films like Last Present, The Last Witness, and Over the Rainbow. His 2003 film Oh! Brothers was a major box office success, drawing over three million viewers. After a brief hiatus, he returned with the 2005 blockbuster Typhoon.

His comeback to television in the mid-2000s with Air City and Triple did not achieve high ratings. However, he continued to experiment with different roles, including playing a comical loose cannon in The Accidental Gangster and the Mistaken Courtesan. His career resurgence came in 2010 with the erotic thriller The Housemaid, which premiered at the Cannes and Toronto International Film Festivals.

In 2012, he joined the ensemble cast of The Thieves, one of the highest-grossing films in Korean cinema. He later played an undercover police officer in New World, a role he landed through the recommendation of co-star Choi Min-sik. His performance in The Face Reader earned him another Best Supporting Actor award. His career continued with films like Big Match, Assassination, and Operation Chromite, the latter becoming a box office hit.

Lee’s filmography also includes Warriors of the Dawn, the fantasy film Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds, and the occult thriller Svaha: The Sixth Finger. In 2019, he made a television comeback in the political drama Chief of Staff. The following year, he starred in Deliver Us from Evil.

His career skyrocketed internationally in 2021 with Squid Game, where he played Seong Gi-hun, a struggling gambler who enters a deadly survival competition for a massive cash prize. The show became a global phenomenon, making Lee a household name worldwide. He made history as the first Asian man to win the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and won a Screen Actors Guild Award as well.

Following the show’s success, Netflix confirmed his return for Squid Game’s second season, with filming reportedly completed in mid-2024, alongside an upcoming third season. In addition to his continued work in Korean cinema and television, he has expanded his presence in Hollywood with a leading role in Star Wars: The Acolyte.

Beyond acting, Lee is passionate about art and has served as an honorary ambassador for the National Museum of Contemporary Art. He has also worked as a narrator for documentaries on Korean contemporary art and participated in visual art projects like El Fin del Mundo, which screened at prestigious exhibitions.

Lee Jung-jae’s career is marked by versatility and continuous reinvention, making him one of the most influential actors in South Korean cinema and a rising star in global entertainment.