Lee Jung-jae

This is a Korean name; the family name is Lee.
Lee Jung-jae
Born (1973-03-15) 15 March 1973
Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
Nationality South Korean
Education Dongguk University
Master's degree in Theater and Film
Occupation Actor
Years active 1993–present
Agent C-JeS Entertainment
(2013-2016)
Korean name
Hangul 이정재
Hanja 李政宰
Revised Romanization I Jeong-jae
McCune–Reischauer I Chŏng-jae

Lee Jung-jae (born 15 March 1973) is a South Korean actor. He debuted as a fashion model, then began his acting career on television, notably in the campus series Feelings (1994) and the iconic drama Sandglass (1995). After his acting breakthrough in An Affair (1998), Lee's film career took off. He has starred in a variety of film genres, among them romantic films such as Il Mare (2000) and Over the Rainbow (2002), melodrama Last Present (2001), comedy Oh! Brothers (2003), action films The Last Witness (2001) and Typhoon (2005), heist film The Thieves (2012), film noir New World (2013), and period film The Face Reader (2013). He won Best Actor awards at the Blue Dragon Film Awards for City of the Rising Sun (1999), and at the Fantasporto Director's Week for The Housemaid (2010).

Career

Lee Jung-jae was discovered by designer Ha Yong-soo while he was working at a café in Apgujeong, then worked as a fashion model for a number of years. Upon making his acting debut with the 1993 TV drama Dinosaur Teacher, Lee became a star practically overnight, and was almost always cast in lead roles thereafter. A year later, he received favorable reviews for his first big screen role in Bae Chang-ho's The Young Man, but it was the 1994 hit campus drama Feelings that made him a household name.[1]

In 1995 what was supposed to be a small supporting role as the heroine's silent, devoted bodyguard in ratings behemoth Sandglass turned Lee into a national heartthrob, such that his screen time was increased throughout the series' run.[2] His acting breakthrough would come in late 1998 in the award-winning film An Affair by E J-yong. This was followed up by another success, City of the Rising Sun, for which he won Best Actor at the Blue Dragon Film Awards and the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards.[3]

Though his time-travel romance Il Mare was not a popular success in 2000, since then it has developed a loyal fan base a la Somewhere in Time and attained the status of a minor classic among Korean cinema fans (Keanu Reeves played Lee's role in the 2006 Hollywood remake The Lake House).[4]

After starring in the Korean-Japanese coproduction Asako in Ruby Shoes, released in December 2000, Lee found considerable popular success in 2001, with the melodrama Last Present,[5] where he was cast opposite Lee Young-ae, and in action/mystery/drama The Last Witness directed by Bae Chang-ho. In 2002 he starred in the romance Over the Rainbow with Jang Jin-young.[3]

In 2003 he starred opposite Lee Beom-soo in Oh! Brothers, a comic drama about two brothers, one of whom has an unusual disease. The film was one of Lee's biggest hits ever, topping three million admissions at the local box office. Nonetheless he remained out of the limelight for the next couple years. Finally at the end of 2005 he returned in Typhoon, a big-budget action blockbuster by Kwak Kyung-taek, the director of Friend.[3]

Lee's much-anticipated return to television a decade after his memorable turn in Sandglass was not successful ratings-wise; Air City (2007) and Triple (2009) both flopped.[6]

With the period action comedy The Accidental Gangster and the Mistaken Courtesan, Lee said he wanted to try his hand at playing a different kind of role, a comical loose cannon type of character.[7] Though it was not successful at the box office, he still considers it one of his most memorable films.[8]

In August 2008 Lee was awarded his master's degree from Dongguk University's Department of Theater & Film Art in the Graduate School of Cultural Arts.[9] He made his first foray into theater in December of that same year, taking on the titular role in Hamlet in Water. The play ran for four days at his alma mater's Lee Hae-rang Theater.[10][11]

He then starred in the high-profile 2010 erotic thriller The Housemaid, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival,[12] and Toronto International Film Festival.[13] Lee nabbed a Best Actor award at the Fantasporto Director's Week.[14] As his next project, he joined the star-studded ensemble cast of The Thieves, a 2012 heist film that became the second all-time highest grossing movie in Korean cinema history.[8][15][16][17][18][19]

El Fin del Mundo ("The End of the World") is a 13-minute split screen film made by visual artists Moon Kyung-won and Jeon Joon-ho, which depicts the destructive environmental changes the world faces in the future and the subsequent end of art and birth of new art based on dialogue between two artists in different times and space, played by Lee and Im Soo-jung.[20] The film was screened at dOCUMENTA in 2012, considered the world's most prestigious and innovative contemporary art platform.[21][22][23] A longtime art collector and honorary ambassador for the National Museum of Contemporary Art in 2011-2012, Lee also narrated the 2013 TV documentary Contemporary Art, Bury the Boundary which highlighted homegrown Korean artists.[24]

In the noir thriller New World (2013), he played a police officer who goes undercover in a crime organization.[25][26][27][28] Lee said he was grateful to co-star Choi Min-sik, who suggested casting him to the director.[29] He later signed on to be exclusively managed by C-JeS Entertainment, reportedly choosing the agency after he worked with Song Ji-hyo in New World.[30]

Lee then portrayed Prince Suyang opposite Song Kang-ho in the period film The Face Reader (2013), for which he won Best Supporting Actor at the Blue Dragon Film Awards and the Baeksang Arts Awards.[31] This was followed by action-comedy Big Match in 2014, where he played a mixed martial arts fighter trying to save his brother by winning an elaborate high-stakes game.[32][33][34]

In 2015, he reunited with The Thieves director Choi Dong-hoon in Assassination, set in 1930s Korea and Shanghai during the Japanese occupation.[35] Lee is set to begin shooting his first Chinese film, mystery action movie Tik Tok (titled The Day of Reversal in Chinese).[36][37] He has also been cast in the film titled Operation Chromite, a code name for the Battle of Inchon, a United Nations military operation planned and executed by Douglas MacArthur that resulted in a decisive victory in favor of the UN forces; Liam Neeson plays MacArthur while Lee plays a South Korean lieutenant in the navy, the man responsible for reversing the tide of the Korean War.[38][39]

Personal life

Lee dated actress Kim Min-hee for three years; the couple broke up in late 2006.[1][40] He previously denied rumors romantically linking him with Lim Se-ryong, eldest daughter of Daesang Group chairman Lim Chang-wook and ex-wife of Samsung Group heir apparent Lee Jae-yong,[41][42][43] then confirmed in January 2015 that he was dating Lim.[44][45]

Apart from his acting, Lee is known for launching a chain of upscale Italian restaurants in Seoul named after his movie Il Mare. Having studied interior design, he himself took responsibility for designing the interiors of his restaurants.[3][46] Lee also founded the real estate development company Seorim C&D in 2008,[43] and owns several businesses with actor Jung Woo-sung, his best friend since they starred together in City of the Rising Sun.[47]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
1993 Love Is Oh Yeah!
1994 The Young Man Lee Han
1996 Albatross Pyeong-san
1997 Firebird Young-hoo
Father vs. Son Park Su-seok
1998 An Affair Woo-in
1999 City of the Rising Sun Hong-ki
The Uprising Lee Jae-su
2000 Interview Eun-seok
Il Mare Han Sung-hyun
Asako in Ruby Shoes Woo-in
2001 Last Present Jung Yong-ki
MOB 2025 (short film) Dust
The Last Witness Detective Oh
2002 Over the Rainbow Lee Jin-su
2003 Oh! Brothers Oh Sang-woo
2005 Typhoon Kang Se-jong
2008 The Accidental Gangster and the Mistaken Courtesan Cheon-doong
2010 The Housemaid Hoon
2012 El Fin del Mundo (short film)
The Thieves Popie
2013 New World Lee Ja-sung
The Face Reader Prince Suyang
2014 Big Match Choi Ik-ho
2015 Assassination Yeom Seok-jin
2016 Tik Tok
Operation Chromite Jang Hak-soo

Television

Year Title Role Network
1993 Dinosaur Teacher SBS
Survivor's Grief KBS2
1994 The Lonely Man Jae-jung KBS2
Feelings Han Joon KBS2
Love Is Blue SBS
1995 Sandglass Baek Jae-hee SBS
1997 Snail Dong-cheol SBS
1998 White Nights 3.98 Lee Young-jun SBS
2007 Air City Kim Ji-sung MBC
2009 Triple Shin Hwal MBC

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
1995 31st Baeksang Arts Awards Best New Actor (TV) Sandglass Won
Best New Actor (Film) The Young Man Won
33rd Grand Bell Awards Best New Actor Won
16th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best New Actor Won
15th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Best New Actor Won
SBS Drama Awards Best New Actor Sandglass Won
1997 33rd Baeksang Arts Awards Most Popular Actor (Film) Firebird Won
1998 19th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Actor An Affair Nominated
1999 35th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actor (Film) City of the Rising Sun Nominated
Most Popular Actor (Film) Won
36th Grand Bell Awards Best Actor Nominated
20th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Actor Won
19th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Best Actor Won
2001 38th Savings Day Prime Minister's Commendation N/A Won
38th Grand Bell Awards Best Actor Last PresentNominated
2006 43rd Grand Bell Awards Best Actor Typhoon Nominated
29th Golden Cinematography Awards Best Actor Won
2008 1st Style Icon Awards Style Icon Actor N/A Won
2010 4th Mnet 20's Choice Awards Most Influential Star N/A Won
2011 31st Fantasporto Director's Week Best Actor The Housemaid Won
2013 50th Grand Bell Awards Best Actor The Face Reader Nominated
Popularity Award Won
34th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
33rd Korean Association of Film Critics Awards CJ CGV Star Award New World, The Face Reader Won
2014 5th KOFRA Film Awards Best Supporting Actor The Face Reader Won
9th Max Movie Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
19th Chunsa Film Art Awards Best Actor Nominated
50th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Supporting Actor (Film) Won
23rd Buil Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
2015 51st Baeksang Arts Awards InStyle Fashionista Award[48] N/A Won
24th Buil Film Awards Best Actor Assassination Won
3rd Marie Claire Asia Star Awards Actor of the Year[49] Won
36th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Actor Nominated

References

  1. 1 2 Oh, Mi-jung (3 February 2012). "K-celebs: Lee Jung Jae". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  2. ↑ Mitchel, Duncan. "Sandglass (1995, SBS miniseries)". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Paquet, Darcy. "Actors and Actresses of Korean Cinema: Lee Jung-jae". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  4. ↑ Kim, Kyu Hyun. "Il Mare". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  5. ↑ Chun, Su-jin (15 March 2001). "For How Long Will Looks Trump Talent?". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  6. ↑ Oh, Jean (10 June 2009). "MBC's new series a Triple threat". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  7. ↑ Yi, Chang-ho (20 November 2008). "LEE Jung-jae fights over KIM Ok-vin". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  8. 1 2 Lee, Claire (29 July 2012). "'I'm more motivated than ever'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  9. ↑ 이정재, 석사학위로 졸업해요. Star News (in Korean). 22 August 2008. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  10. ↑ 이정재, "햄릿" 으로 생애 첫 연극 도전. Y-Star (in Korean). 10 December 2008. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  11. ↑ "Hamlet for the Holidays". TheSeoulite. 14 December 2008. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  12. ↑ "The Housemaid". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  13. ↑ Guillen, Michael (29 September 2010). "TIFF 2010: THE HOUSEMAID (HANYO, 2010)—The Evening Class Interview With Im Sang-Soo & Lee Jung-jae". The Evening Class. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  14. ↑ Kim, Heidi (8 March 2011). "Korean pics nab wins at Portugal's Fantasporto". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  15. ↑ Cho, Jae-eun (13 June 2012). "The Thieves all-star cast set to steal show". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  16. ↑ "Kim Hye Soo and Lee Jung Jae in Sexy Photo Shoot for Vogue Korea". Soompi. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  17. ↑ Oh, Mi-jung (4 August 2012). "Interview: Lee Jung Jae Praises Kim Soo Hyun for Lightening the Mood on Set". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  18. ↑ Oh, Mi-jung (5 August 2012). "Interview Part I: Lee Jung Jae Will Now Only Concentrate on Acting". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  19. ↑ Oh, Mi-jung (5 August 2012). "Interview Part II: Lee Jung Jae on His Personal Life and His Future". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  20. ↑ "Main Film: el Fin Del Mundo". News from Nowhere. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  21. ↑ Lee, Woo-young (11 June 2012). "Three Korean artists invited to world’s largest contemporary art fair". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  22. ↑ Kwon, Mee-yoo (11 June 2012). "Korean artists go to dOCUMENTA Kassel". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  23. ↑ Son, Kyung-eun (14 June 2012). "Korea makes strong showing at dOCUMENTA". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  24. ↑ "Lee Jung-jae narrates SBS art show". Korea JoongAng Daily. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
  25. ↑ Suk, Monica (22 June 2012). "A-list Korean actors gears up to bring new film noir action pic". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  26. ↑ Son, Jin-ah (20 September 2012). "New World cranked up". StarN News. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  27. ↑ Lee, Hye-ji (21 September 2012). "Top Film Stars Wrap Up Shooting New Noir Action Pic". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  28. ↑ Lee, Mi-ji (18 January 2013). "The New World Lee Jung Jae talks about difficulties he had to overcome". StarN News. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
  29. ↑ Lee, Rachel (21 January 2013). "3 actors to show off talent in Sinsegae". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  30. ↑ Hong, Grace Danbi (9 March 2013). "Lee Jung Jae Becomes Family with JYJ and Song Ji Hyo". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
  31. ↑ Lee, Hye-ji (28 August 2012). "The Thieves stars Lee Jung-jae, Kim Hye-soo join Song Kang-ho's 1st historical film". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  32. ↑ Ahn, Sung-mi (26 November 2014). "Herald Interview: Lee Jung-jae returns as invincible fighter". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2014-11-28.
  33. ↑ "Lee Jung-jae Proves He Has Yet to Peak". The Chosun Ilbo. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-06.
  34. ↑ Lim, Ju-ri (28 November 2014). "Lee makes about-face in Big Match". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
  35. ↑ Ma, Kevin (6 September 2014). "Choi Dong-hoon begins Assassination shoot". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  36. ↑ Jin, Min-ji (24 April 2015). "Lee Jung-jae to star in Chinese film". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  37. ↑ "Lee Jung-jae to Star in Korea-China Co-Production". The Chosun Ilbo. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  38. ↑ Jin, Eun-soo (31 October 2015). "Operation remembers the Battle of Incheon". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  39. ↑ "Lee Jung-jae to Appear in War Film with Liam Neeson". The Chosun Ilbo. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  40. ↑ "Wild at Heart". W Korea via IV Design (in Korean). November 2005. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  41. ↑ Sunwoo, Carla (18 January 2012). "Lee Jung-jae says he and Daesang heir are just friends". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  42. ↑ "Actor Lee Jung Jae Denies Rumors of Marrying Lim Sae Ryung". Soompi. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  43. 1 2 Lee In-kyung, Lee Jin-ho (18 January 2012). "Lee Jung Jae is Not Going to Get Married". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  44. ↑ "Lee Jung-jae Admits Dating Daesang Heiress". The Chosun Ilbo. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
  45. ↑ Sung, So-young (2 January 2015). "Lee Jung-jae confirms relationship". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
  46. ↑ Cathy Rose A. Garcia, Han Sang-hee (27 March 2008). "Dining With The Stars". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  47. ↑ Choe, Min-ji (25 October 2011). "Lee Jung Jae Still Calls Jung Woo Sung 'Woo Sung-ssi'". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  48. ↑ Yoon, Sarah (27 May 2015). "Korea's 'most stylish actress' Shin Min-a disappoints at awards gala". K-pop Herald. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  49. ↑ "Actor Lee Jeong-Jae, 'Asia star awards' second award in BIFF". Innolife. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-12.

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