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Actor

1962-04-27 · Seoul, South Korea · Male

3 series in the catalog

Choi Min-sik (Korean: 최민식; born May 30, 1962) is a South Korean actor. Known for his intense and transformative performances, he first gained recognition with the television series The Moon of Seoul (1994). His film breakthrough came with Shiri (1999), which established Choi as a leading actor. However, it was his role in Oldboy (2003) that cemented his status as one of South Korea's greatest actors. His performance was critically acclaimed and won him Best Actor at the Baeksang Arts Awards, the Blue Dragon Film Awards, and the Grand Bell Awards.

Choi continued to star in high-profile films such as Lady Vengeance (2005), I Saw the Devil (2010), Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time (2012), New World (2013), and The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014), which became the highest-grossing film in South Korea. For his performance in the latter, Choi won the Grand Prize at the 51st Baeksang Arts Awards.

In 2014, Choi came to prominence in Hollywood with his role in Lucy (2014). He was also listed as Gallup Korea's Film Actor of the Year. Following this, he remained active in Korean cinema with works such as Forbidden Dream (2019) and Exhuma (2024). Choi also made his return to television with Big Bet (2022), his first drama series in over two decades.

Early life

Choi was born on May 30, 1962, in Ihwa-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea. In the third grade of elementary school, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and told that he could not be cured. However, he claims to have regained his health after spending a month at a Buddhist temple in the mountains.

While attending his third year of Daeil High School in Seoul, Choi began acting as a research student at a theater company. The young Choi was deeply moved by Ha Gil-jong's films and initially aspired to become a director. After graduating from high school, Choi enrolled in the Department of Theatre and Film at Dongguk University in 1982. He eventually changed his career path to become an actor while studying under Professor Ahn Min-soo, whom he had long admired.

Career

1982–1993: Early career

Choi began his professional career as a theatre actor by joining a theater company named 'Ppuri' (극단 뿌리) in 1982. His debut was a play named Our Town. Choi was so engrossed in theater that he spent nearly every day in the small theater. In 1984, he was offered the role of Alan in Equus, but was forced to hand it over to the actor Choi Jae-seong because Choi was drafted for mandatory military enlistment.

Choi and Han Suk-kyu were classmates at Dongguk University's Department of Theater and Film. During their time in school, they had the opportunity to perform together in plays like Ecstasy and For My Son. In 1988, while Choi was in his fourth year at the university, his college senior Park Jae-ho invited him to audition for Park Jong-won's early film Kuro Arirang. The film, released in 1989, was an adaptation of Lee Mun-yeol's 1987 novel of the same name, portraying the harsh working conditions of female workers in the sewing factory at the Kuro Industrial Complex. During that same year, Choi acted alongside Son Chang-min, who portrayed law student Hyung-bin, in director Jang Gil-soo's youth melodrama All That Falls Has Wings. In the film, Choi played the role of Hyung-bin's friend, an art student, and he eagerly put a lot of thought to his character's costumes.

After six years, in 1990, Choi was back onstage with the role of Alan in the Korean adaptation of Peter Shaffer's Equus. With this play, Choi Min-sik's name began to be known in Daehak-ro. Writer Na Yeon-suk saw his play, fell in love with Choi, and insisted on giving him a role in her next drama The Years of Ambition. The role of Lee Hwi-hyang's son, who is called 'Ku-chong' in the drama, was originally set to be played by Yoon Da-hoon. The Years of Ambition was a KBS hit weekend drama with an average viewer rating of close to 40%, and it aired for one year starting in October 1990. Choi, who practiced method acting in his portrayal of a tough rebellious child with a human side, 'Ku-chong', enjoyed popularity for the first time in his life. He quickly vaulted from a career as an unknown actor who was lucky to receive 500,000 won a month for a play to a talent who received 7 million won per advertisement.

Aside from his role as Teacher Kim in Park Jong-won's second film Our Twisted Hero (1992), in which he received the Best Actor Award at the 38th Asia-Pacific Film Festival, his activities in films were not particularly successful. The French location shoot film "Our Love as It Was" (1991) was a dark chapter he wanted to forget, and although he had a special appearance, the film "Sara Is Guilty" (1993), where his face prominently appeared on the poster, only taught him the lesson of not choosing projects lightly. After appearing in director Yoo Hyun-mok's "Mom, the Star, and the Sea Anemone" (1995), he spent four years away from films.

Although busy acting onstage as well as on the small and big screens, Choi was able to finish his studies at Dongguk University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Theater and Film.

1994–2002: Breakthrough

In 1994, Choi starred alongside Han Suk-kyu in MBC television dramas titled The Moon of Seoul. The plot revolves around the lives and hardships of commoners in Seoul. Choi portrayed Chun-seop, a single man who moves from the countryside to Seoul with dreams of success. He falls in love at first sight with Chae Shi-ra, his fellow tenant in a boarding house. However, he ultimately ends up marrying Ho-soon (Kim Won-hee), who is also from the countryside. This drama achieved remarkable success with a viewership rating of 48.7% (according to MSK survey), earning it the title of a masterpiece drama. The immense popularity of the show propelled Choi Min-shik and Han Suk-kyu to become top stars.

In 1996, while filming the MBC drama Their Embrace, Choi suffered an achilles tendon injury. Due to the lasting effects of this injury, he took a break from acting for some time.

In 1997, Choi returned to the stage after a seven-year hiatus in Jang Jin's play Taxi Driver. In this play, Choi portrayed a taxi driver, Jang Deok-bae, with Uhm Jung-hwa and several theater actors, including Woo Hyeon-joo, Kwon Seong-deok, Lee Yong-yi, Im Won-hee, Shin Ha-kyun, Jung Jae-young, and Yu In-chon, portraying his passengers. The play was produced by the theater troupe Yu Inchon Repertory Company and was staged at the Small Theater of Daehangno Culture and Arts Center in Seoul from February 28 to March 18. Choi stated his reason to comeback to theater as follows.

"When I was young, I made many mistakes and got caught up in worldly desires. I would commute to the broadcasting station every day, checking only if I had scenes to film and living my life like clockwork. Even if I had just one line of dialogue or stood like a screen, I would still receive my appearance fee for that day. I lived like that for 7-8 years until I felt a sense of desperation, thinking, 'I can't let myself continue to deteriorate like this.' That's why I appeared in Jang Jin's play 'Taxi Driver' with the mindset of grasping at straws."

In the same year, He also took part in the SBS sitcom Miss & Mister, which was directed by Ju Byeong-dae, a renowned director considered a pioneer of Korean sitcoms. In this sitcom, Choi portrayed a CF director, while Lee Jin-woo played the role of an assistant director.

It was his junior, Han Suk-kyu, who played a pivotal role in bringing Choi back to the film industry after his time away from the film scene. Han Suk-kyu called Choi and asked if he would be interested in doing another movie. Choi Min-shik replied, "Of course, why wouldn't I? Are you the only one doing it?" Encouraged by this call, Choi Min-shik joined Han Suk-kyu to act in director Song Song Neung-han's No. 3 (1997) and made a fiery return to the screen, portraying Ma Dong-pal, a hot-tempered prosecutor.

Additionally, Choi acted in the MBC morning drama…