Actor You Need to Know: Na In-woo

If we had spoken two years ago, Na In-woo could’ve been the very first Korean actor I interviewed for Rolling Stone India. But a few snags called it off. Still, I associate his name with that, and while I had just a baseline understanding of his work at the time, things have changed since then. I’m familiar with most of his dramas now.

Na In-woo is a late bloomer—perhaps not grabbing the eye until he appeared as Kim Byeong-in in the 2020 superhit period drama Mr. Queen, which propelled the 29-year-old to global fame. However, this came seven years after his professional debut in 2013 through the musical Bachelor’s Vegetable Store.

The strikingly tall, handsome Korean actor, who played roles preceding Mr. Queen, sort of went unnoticed for years while dabbling with dramas, shows, and a couple of movies. Fortunately, not long after Mr. Queen, things started to look different; additionally, luck began to play a big part. Na finally had what he merited. In 2021, he made his leading debut in the historical drama River Where the Moon Rises, substituting Ji Soo when the latter was dismissed from the series amid allegations of bullying.

Na’s portrayal of On Dal and his on-screen rapport with Kim So-hyun received rave reviews. Though it took him a while to achieve a following, Na proved in this breakout starring role that he had it in him for a long time. And in the process of making Na In-woo a household name on a global scale, the performance earned him a nomination for the Best New Actor-Television category at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards.

2021 and beyond—with starring roles in subsequent productions, like the fantasy romance Jinxed at First (2022), where he plays an attractive but unlucky chap until a point turns his life around, and the suspense thriller crime drama Longing for You (2023), where Na has a country detective out to exact revenge for his younger brother—his career has gotten off the ground. You would have a lot of likability in his acting; to be honest, his depictions to date have seldom failed to leave an impression.

With Marry My Husband, his ongoing fantasy revenge drama co-starring Park Min-young, which has drawn enormous ratings in Korea and worldwide acclaim, the actor has begun a new chapter. What distinctly speaks to me about the story is how well he and Park seem to get along. A large food firm’s marketing manager, Na, portrays Yoo Ji-hyuk, who is Park’s main advocate, as she seeks vengeance against her most trusted friend and husband for cheating.

Na shines as the ideal man in the profoundly intense tale, so full of love for the woman he felt for years that fate drives him to travel back in time so he can help her change her destiny—and maybe his own— in the course of things.