Actor You Need to Know: Yoo Yeon-seok

Yoo Yeon-seok is a Chungmuro star—also named “Chungmuro’s blue chip” at some point, as far as I know. And while I won’t claim his works have consistently been super successful, his depictions have mostly been. Another thing that remains consistent from the first time I saw him, in the movie Whistle Blower (2014), to now, as I watch his ongoing drama When the Phone Rings, is my love for how he leads his performances and the excellence that underlies them. 

Yoo Yeon-seok experienced his first taste of on-screen acting in legendary filmmaker Park Chan-wook’s cult hit Old Boy (2003), where he played the younger self of Yoo Ji-tae’s character, Lee Woo-jin. Thus, it was a solid start for a rookie like him. In the aftermath, he reportedly underwent intensive training before resuming an acting career in 2008 with the medical drama General Hospital 2.

There’s just something enigmatic about him that I can’t quite put my finger on. The raw emotion he has infused into films like Re-encounter (2010), A Werewolf Boy (2012), A Whistle Blower, The Royal Tailor (2014) and Perfect Proposal (2015)—and dramas like Reply 1994 (2013), Warm and Cozy (2015), Dr. Romantic (2016), Mr. Sunshine (2018), Hospital Playlist (2020), and When the Phone Rings, among many of his other accomplishments—is what makes them memorable.

What also strikes me as noteworthy in Yoo’s acting is how well he portrays nuanced individuals. For example, his Han-soo dealing with the emotional fallout from a devastating event—when he’s forced to abandon his pregnant girlfriend, helpless and alone—in Re-encounter is charged with vulnerability and emotional upheaval, as well as behavioral challenges that draw you in, as he explores the character’s situation. 

In A Werewolf Boy, Yoo plays Ji-tae, a walking threat to the growing love between untamed Chul-soo (Song Joong-ki) and ailing Sun-yi (Park Bo-young). Yoo excels as the spoiled, rich brat in love with the girl who resorts to increasingly coercive ways to win her over. In the fairy tale romance, he’s the villain you’d love to hate but a portrayal you can’t help but love. And it all boils down to how he inhabits a role for realism, blurring the lines between the actor and the character.

A series of follow-up roles in hits including Reply 1994, Whistle Blower, The Royal Tailor, and Warm and Cozy shows an impressive range that goes past those limitations often imposed on lead actors. Yoo has repeatedly given performances that are not just the result of technical skill but rather a feeling that resonates with viewers, capturing imagination an allure that is as mysterious as it is mesmerizing. His stellar performances are indisputable no matter what they are portrayed as—a regular or complex individual, a pioneering historical figure’s stoic resolve, or a romantic lead’s magnetic charm.

The 40-year-old is among those acclaimed Korean actors who easily engage you in the story of his characters; he’s like a natural extension of a role rather than a carefully constructed performance. In the way he acts, it’s clear that he isn’t trying too much to become someone like the crafty Kim Sung-yeol in Perfect Proposal or the expert general surgery specialist Kang Dong-joo in Dr. Romantic. He can cut the perfect ruthless samurai, Gu Dong-mae, in Mr. Sunshine, and slip into the skin of the caring doctor, Ahn Jeong-won, in Hospital Playlist—each time adapting himself to each character’s needs.

Yoo Yeon-seok’s genius grows stronger with each new part he plays; his creative flair endures in the stunning legacy he’s been building. He’s a topic of discussion currently for his role in When the Phone Rings, a romance mystery thriller. The actor has the youngest presidential spokesperson, Baek Sa-eon, wed to Hong Hee-joo (Chae Soo-bin), a sign language interpreter. Unbeknownst to the outside world, they live together but do not talk to each other as Hee-joo seemingly can’t speak. Everything changes abruptly, though, when Sa-eon gets a disturbing phone call and realizes that his wife is in danger. 

The couple’s silence and indifference begin to crack as each senses something deeper for the other, although neither is revealing what’s within. But then there’s undeniable romantic tension, mixed with sentiments of care and concern, like a dormant eruption waiting to explode. Yoo is one hell of a dreamy hero here, making his presence felt in every scene, and I can’t wait to see more of him in the upcoming episodes! It’s going to be very exciting!