Lee Sang-woo
Lee Sang-woo (born February 13, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He rose to fame in the 2007 television drama First Wives' Club, and has since played leading roles on The Road Home (2009), Don't Hesitate (2009), Life Is Beautiful (2010) and Feast of the Gods (2012).
Lee Sang-woo | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lee Sang-woo in July 2019 | |
| Born | February 13, 1980 Seoul, South Korea |
| Education | Korea University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Agent | HM Entertainment |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 이상우 |
| Revised Romanization | I Sang-u |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ri Sangu |
Career
Lee Sang-woo launched his acting career in 2005, starring in a Drama City episode and a minor role in the television drama 18 vs. 29. This was followed by more supporting roles on television, including his big screen debut in Almost Love, a romantic comedy film headlined by Kwon Sang-woo and Kim Ha-neul. During this time, he also starred as one of the three leading actors of the independent film Don't Look Back (2006), which was the closing film of that year's Jeonju International Film Festival,[1] and won a critic's prize at the Locarno International Film Festival.[2]
Lee began his rise to fame with a supporting role in First Wives' Club, a popular drama which aired from 2007 to 2008 with a peak viewership rating of 41.3%.[3][4] For his performance, he received a New Star Award at the SBS Drama Awards.
It was not until 2009 that Lee was cast in his first mainstream leading role, in The Road Home, followed soon after by another daily drama Don't Hesitate. In the same year, he also appeared as one of the leading actors in Searching for the Elephant, an erotic-psychological thriller about three thirty-something men struggling with schizophrenia, sex addiction and infidelity.[5]
In 2010, Lee starred with Song Chang-eui in Life Is Beautiful as a gay couple. The drama is one of the few Korean dramas about an openly gay couple in Korean society, which have conservative views on sexuality.[6] Despite the controversy, the show was successful in the ratings,[7] and Lee would later work again with renowned screenwriter Kim Soo-hyun on A Thousand Days' Promise (2011) and Childless Comfort (2012).[8]
After a supporting role in Believe in Love (also known as My Love, My Family, 2011), Lee was once again cast in the leading role in Feast of the Gods (2012).[9][10] He later won the Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama at the MBC Drama Awards for Feast of the Gods and his supporting role in the period drama Horse Doctor.[11]
In 2013, Lee joined the ensemble cast of Goddess of Marriage, followed by the adultery drama One Warm Word.[12][13] Unlike his previous calm and quiet roles, in 2014 he was cast as the leading man in Glorious Day, a peculiar character which Lee said he looked forward to playing since it most resembles his real-life personality.[14]
Lee then starred in two weekend dramas, All About My Mom and Happy Home.[15][16] He returned to prime-time television, starring in romantic comedy drama 20th Century Boy and Girl.[17]
In 2018, Lee was cast in the KBS2 weekend drama Marry Me Now as a doctor and was partnered with Han Ji-hye.[18][19]
In 2019, Lee is set to star in the legal romantic comedy drama Touch Your Heart as an elite prosecutor.[20][21]
Personal life
On September 6, 2016, it was confirmed that Lee and actress Kim So-yeon were in a relationship. The couple met on the set of Happy Home. On March 28, 2017, it was announced that Kim and Lee were getting married in June 2017.[22]
Filmography
Television series
| Year | Title | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Drama City "No One Loves Me" |
Jo Seung-joo | KBS2 |
| 18 vs. 29 | Kang Bong-kyu | KBS2 | |
| Can Love Be Refilled? | Lee Sang-woo | KBS2 | |
| 2007 | Two Outs in the Ninth Inning | Lee Joon-mo | MBC |
| First Wives' Club | Koo Se-joo | SBS | |
| 2009 | The Road Home | Yoo Hyun-soo | KBS1 |
| Don't Hesitate | Han Tae-woo | SBS | |
| 2010 | Life Is Beautiful | Kim Kyung-soo | SBS |
| 2011 | Believe in Love | Han Seung-woo | KBS2 |
| A Thousand Days' Promise | Jang Jae-min | SBS | |
| 2012 | Feast of the Gods | Kim Do-yoon | MBC |
| Horse Doctor | Lee Sung-ha | MBC | |
| Childless Comfort | Ha In-chul (cameo) | jTBC | |
| 2013 | Goddess of Marriage | Kim Hyun-woo | SBS |
| One Warm Word | Kim Sung-soo | SBS | |
| 2014 | Let's Eat | Kim Sung-soo (cameo, episode 8) |
tvN |
| Glorious Day | Seo Jae-woo | SBS | |
| 2015 | High Society | Jang Kyung-joon (cameo, episode 1-4, 15-16) | SBS |
| All About My Mom | Kang Hoon-jae | KBS2 | |
| 2016 | Happy Home | Seo Ji-geon | MBC |
| 2017 | 20th Century Boy and Girl | Anthony / Lee Chul-min | MBC |
| 2018 | Marry Me Now | Jung Eun-tae | KBS2 |
| 2019 | Touch Your Heart | Kim Se-won | tvN |
| Mother of Mine | Mi-ri's blinddate (cameo, episode 1) | KBS2 | |
| The Golden Garden | Cha Pil-seung | MBC |
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Almost Love | Moon Young-hoon |
| Don't Look Back | Geun-woo | |
| 2008 | Black Heart (Beyond All Magic) | Jun |
| 2009 | Searching for the Elephant | Jin-hyuk |
Television shows
| Year | Title | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | It's Dangerous Beyond The Blankets | Main cast | MBC |
Music video
| Year | Song title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "Nitpicking" | Kim Gun-mo |
| 2007 | "Loving One Person" | Oh Hyun-ran |
| "My Angel" | Fly to the Sky | |
| "Pretty Today Too" | Fly to the Sky |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | SBS Drama Awards | New Star Award | First Wives' Club | Won |
| 2009 | 45th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Actor (TV) | Nominated | |
| Andre Kim Best Star Awards[23] | Male Star Award | Won | ||
| KBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Daily Drama | The Road Home | Nominated | |
| 2011 | SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Planning Drama | A Thousand Days' Promise | Nominated |
| 2012 | MBC Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama | Feast of the Gods, Horse Doctor | Won |
| 2013 | SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Weekend/Daily Drama | Goddess of Marriage | Nominated |
| 2014 | SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama | Glorious Day | Nominated |
| 2015 | 4th APAN Star Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama | All About My Mom | Nominated |
| KBS Drama Awards | Nominated | |||
| Netizen Award, Actor | Nominated | |||
| Best Couple Award with Eugene | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | MBC Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama | Happy Home | Won |
| Best Couple Award with Kim So-yeon | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | MBC Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Monday-Tuesday Drama | Children of the 20th Century | Nominated |
| 2018 | 11th Korea Drama Awards[24] | Top Excellence Award, Actor | Marry Me Now | Nominated |
| 6th APAN Star Awards[25] | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama | Won | ||
| KBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama[26] | Won | ||
| Netizen Award, Actor | Nominated | |||
| Best Couple Award with Han Ji-hye | Nominated | |||
| 2019 | MBC Drama Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang) | The Golden Garden | Nominated |
| Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Weekend Drama | Won |
References
- "Jeonju Gears Up for Annual Movie Fest". The Chosun Ilbo. March 31, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- Park, Soo-mee (November 28, 2006). "Family issues and romance dominate new releases". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- "Good Old Wives' Club Nears 40% Viewer Rating". KBS Global. July 10, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- "Kim Soo-mi, "Lee Sang-woo, If I had a daughter, I would give her to him"". Hancinema. June 19, 2008.
- Kim, Lynn (October 14, 2009). "Elephant invited to int'l film festivals". 10Asia. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- Yang, Sung-hee (May 20, 2010). "Writer pushing buttons on TV, again". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- Lee, Sooin; Nahm, Sooyeon (September 13, 2010). "Drama reveals changing attitudes about homosexuality". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ""A Thousand Days' Promise" fancy casting". Hancinema. September 18, 2011.
- Kim, Myung-hyun (November 30, 2011). "Lee Sang-woo to star in January series". 10Asia. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
- Hong, Lucia (April 18, 2012). "Actor Lee Sang-woo extends contract with current agency". 10Asia. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
- "Lee Sang-woo in "The Horse Healer"". Hancinema. June 27, 2012.
- Lee, Sun-min (October 30, 2013). "Lee Sang-woo back on SBS". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- Lee, Cory (November 5, 2013). "Lee Sang-woo to Pair Up with Han Hye-jin in New Drama". 10Asia. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- Jin, Eun-soo (March 26, 2014). "Leads for Good Day confirmed". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- "'All About My Mom' Shows The Relationship Between A Mother And Daughter". BNT News. August 11, 2015.
- "Lee Sang-woo to star in "Happy Home" as genius doctor". Hancinema. January 20, 2016.
- "[단독] 이상우, '20세기소년소녀' 출연 물망...결혼 후 첫 드라마". Osen (in Korean). July 15, 2017.
- "Lee Sang-woo Joins Han Ji-hye for "Shall We Live Together"". Hancinema. December 14, 2017.
- Yoon Ki-eun (December 15, 2017). "한지혜-이상우, KBS 새 주말극 '같이 살래요?' 주연". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean).
- "Shin Dong-wook backs out of role". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
- "이상우, '진심이 닿다' 최종 합류…"검사 김세원 役" [공식입장]". Naver (in Korean). My Daily. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
- "Star Couple Tie the Knot". The Chosun Ilbo. June 12, 2017.
- "Stars Shine at Andre Kims Atelier". The Korea Times. November 29, 2009.
- "2018코리아드라마어워즈 후보 공개". KDFO.org (in Korean). September 22, 2018.
- "이병헌, '미스터 션샤인' 대상 수상..정해인 2관왕(종합)[2018 APAN]". Osen (in Korean). October 13, 2018.
- Woo, Bin (January 1, 2019). [2018 KBS 연기대상] 유동근 대상 "장미희 덕분인데 내가 왜..대하드라마 부활 기원" [[2018 KBS Drama Awards] Donggeun Lee Grand Prize "Why am I ... thanks to Jang Mi-hee.]. Ten Asia (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2019 – via Naver.
External links
- Lee Sang-woo at HM Entertainment