Actor You Need to Know: Kim Soo-hyun

“He’s usually incognito, as most well-known Korean celebs are when they’re out in public. But there’s something about Kim Soo-hyun that makes him instantly recognizable even behind a mask or a cap that hides half of his face,” shares a K-drama industry acquaintance of mine. “If you’re standing close to him and note his eyes, you’ll know it’s him in seconds… Kim is a huge star in South Korea, possibly even more so for his pleasant personality and good disposition, let alone his acting chops. He is my fave,” she adds.

I pick the two words “his eyes” from the extract above to describe my sentiments towards the actor. Indeed, his eyes do it all; they speak volumes about the thoughts and emotions of his characters. His incredible screen presence and acting make up for whatever little precision is left to achieve. Kim, I believe, is ingenious at mining emotions (particularly dark ones) on screen. He moved me as Min Jun in My Love from the Star, left me teary-eyed as Gang Tae in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, and took my breath away as Hyun Soo in One Ordinary Day.

I feel so glad to be writing about him; one of the finest South Korean actors of our times, a Hallyu superstar, and, most essentially, an artist delivering one blockbuster after another. He is, therefore, the highest-paid actor in the K-drama business right now.

An alumnus of the esteemed Chung-Ang University’s Film and Theater department, Kim’s formative stage acts aided him later. He was juggling roles on television and short films, as well as participating in and hosting variety shows for three years, from 2007 to 2010. Recognition and rave reviews started doing the rounds when the freshman won the Best New Actor Award at the SBS Drama Awards for his performance in the epic period drama series, Giant (2010).

If you examine the actor’s career trajectory, you’ll probably realize that from the very beginning, Kim has established a legacy of making choices that go against his own comfort zone. It may well be this attribute in him that has always accelerated his evolution. When Dream High premiered in 2011, it positioned itself as a star teen musical drama, racking up massive ratings. And with that, Kim rose to fame exponentially, delivering a flawless performance as a musical prodigy.

The interesting part of the story is that according to a Naver report, Kim trained hard in singing and dancing at the K-pop entertainment powerhouse JYP Entertainment, in a bid to perform well alongside a spate of K-pop idol actors like Bae Suzy and Ok Taec-yeon. Together with his role in Dream High, he also lent his voice to the single “Dreaming” and collaborated with other notable singers on the drama’s title track.

“I am very grateful for this moment, but I am ashamed as well. It’s like having a lot of homework. I’ll keep trying to become a better actor to remain worthy of this award,” Kim reportedly told JoongAng Daily after claiming the Best Actor (TV) award at the 48th Baeksang Arts Awards, despite seasoned actors in the fray. This was for his legendary performance as King Lee Hwon, king of Joseon in the historical fantasy drama Moon Embracing Sun (2012), a profound love story involving the king and a female shaman amid the tensions and conspiracies of rival political factions.

You can’t soar high unless you’re grounded, right? The 34-year-old superstar has always had his sights set on the stars, but his feet have remained firmly planted on the ground, perhaps his greatest virtue, bringing him lucrative offers concurrently. Kim’s feature film debut was marked by The Thieves (2012), the multi-starrer heist movie touted to be the second-highest grosser in the history of Korean cinema.

The Secretly Greatly star smashed records the subsequent year by portraying Lieutenant Won Ryu-hwan disguised as Bang Dong-gu, a rustic fool. In actuality, he is a top North Korean sleeper agent – competitive, multilingual, and with an extraordinary ability to read people. It’s a role that helped Kim break into mainstream stardom and more major award ceremonies. Once again, he was awarded Best New Actor (Film) at both the 50th Grand Bell Awards and the 50th Baeksang Arts Awards for the role in question.

Kim, ever the golden boy, gained international acclaim with the fantasy fiction drama series My Love from the Star (2013). His stellar rendition of Do Min-joon, an alien who descends from the stars, consolidated his status as a Hallyu sensation and a media behemoth in Korea. Essaying the role of Do, Kim perfectly brought out how head-over-heels in love he was with Jun Ji-hyun’s character (Cheon Song-yi), while still embodying the dominant extra-terrestrial entity with incredible physical skills – he was rightfully showered with a plethora of trophies yet again.

As I learn more about this South Korean heartthrob, I discover his love of variety and challenges. I imagine he enjoys embracing apprehension, which drives him to work extra hard in emoting various roles. That’s probably one of the reasons why, following the enormous success of his variety drama The Producers (2015), he picked the action-noir picture Real (2017). See, this film was a box-office flop and was heavily panned by critics. However, Kim’s performance was ascribed to being the reason it existed in the first place. He exemplifies what legendary American actor James Dean once said: “The gratification comes in the doing, not in the results.”

In 2019, the star had guest spots in dramas including Hotel del Luna and Crash Landing on You (post a two-year hiatus due to his military enlistment). Then, he made an explosive comeback as Moon Gang-tae in the excellent It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (2020), which follows a mental facility attendant and a rambunctious children’s book writer. Because of its innovative premise, visual presentation, characterization and enhanced emphasis on mental well-being, the series drew critical appraisal. It attracted a substantial audience throughout its run, making it one of the highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television history.

Kim, who has been raising the standard for originality for years with his innovative approach to numerous genres, re-emerged onto the scene as Gang Tae. The actor perfectly reflects the character’s sense of loss, someone who aches under the burden of obligation but never flees from it – a man lacking love, yet a healer who soothes others while hiding his own wounds. And sure, in the midst of all the anguish, he represents an unconventional lover boy (with incredibly good looks) who can be fearless in love to shield those he cares for. Kim’s fantastic performance was lauded by the worldwide media, resulting in him being awarded the Daesang (or “Grand Prize”) at the 5th Asia Artist Awards in the television category.

As I mentioned before, the actor has a penchant for intricate themes and dark, complex characters. And why not? He is a specialist in handling complicated plot elements. If I may put it this way, Kim Soo-hyun is an artist who effectively contributes to the script, the director, and his fellow actors. And in doing so, he helps himself by giving his best. Something I felt so strongly while watching One Ordinary Day, a Korean remake of the British television series Criminal Justice. Kim plays a random college guy who becomes abruptly implicated in a murder trial as circumstantial evidence points to him as the prime suspect. Even though the drama received mediocre reactions, Kim’s acting was absolutely brilliant.

In conclusion, all I mean to say is that I love Kim Soo-hyun for the artist he is; there is a distinct bit of himself in each of his characters, which is why his acting comes across so naturally, making him look enthralling onscreen. He just shifts his looks and personality and morphs into anyone in a jiffy!