Actor You Need to Know: Woo Do-hwan

Woo Do-hwan has an air of glamor and passion in his characters with also a solid realism in a somewhat different, if distinct, sense. I’m wondering what exactly informs that—his artistic sensibilities—but I think it’s his use of various theatrical references and his knowledge and appreciation of performing arts habits that, as far as one can tell, come from his learning—he’s a major in film and acting from the distinguished Dankook University, South Korea.

His portrayal of Suk Dong-chul in the suspense drama Save Me (2017) exemplifies how Woo’s treatment of a role as an image that molds an individual’s identity gives Dong-chul’s subtleties more depth. Save Me follows Im Sang-mi (Seo Yea-ji) and her family moving to the countryside under duress and getting stuck in a sinister cult shortly thereafter. She toils for long to flee from its grip until seeking help from these local boys, including Dong-chul, a seasoned fighter, who sneaks into the cult incognito to save her.

The actor got ahead with Save Me and secured another starring role this time with Yoo Ji-tae in the action series Mad Dog later that year. Here also in his image of Kim Min-joon, once an ace fraudster who heads to South Korea on a mission, Woo reveals who the guy is for real—less of a hustler and more of the mind scarred by experiences—abandonment, loss, and beyond. In Min-joon, he blends intensity, thoughtfulness, and, of course, recklessness, which adds to Mad Dog’s cinematic experience.

Woo did, however, win the Excellence Award for Actor in a Monday-Tuesday Drama for the romance melodrama Tempted (2018) at the second edition of The Seoul Awards. Tempted solidified Woo Do-hwan’s charm, as is obvious in the way he manipulates his character inside the narrative. He uses his gazes, grins, and style to let us see the magnetism of his Kwon Si-hyeon—the inheritor of a giant business—who enters a dicey romantic game. There’s something about how he creates Si-hyeon’s look: his intense yet elusive gestures, physicality, and the ways he embodies him. 

In all capacities, in every story, Woo, no matter the role’s run time, captures the imagination with his fluid performances—as the ruthless apprentice of the evil from the horror thriller movie The Divine Fury (2019), a zealous military man, Nam Seon-ho from the period K-drama My Country: The New Age (2019), or as Jo Yeong, a Royal Guard, or Jo Eun-seop, his other side in two realities from The King: Eternal Monarch (2020).

The 32-year-old had Kim Geon-woo, a boxer and an ex-Marine, in the crime action series Bloodhounds (2023). Together, alongside another ex-marine and a generous moneylender, they knock out an abusive loan shark. Geon-woo displays a refreshing side of Woo Do-hwan, with fresh dimensions of warmth and honesty that keep manifesting themselves as the plot progresses.

Woo Do-hwan harnesses his personality traits and eloquence into vivid characters anchoring the reel, the real, and the viewers. His upcoming projects include the film Tropical Night and the television dramas Knock-Off and Mr. Plankton.