Cha Tae-hyun
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Cha Tae-hyun (; born March 25, 1976) is a South Korean actor, singer, television personality, radio DJ and
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...
. He is best known for his lead roles in the box-office hit comedies ''
My Sassy Girl ''My Sassy Girl'' ( ko, 엽기적인 그녀, Yeopgijeogin Geunyeo, That Bizarre Girl) is a 2001 South Korean romantic comedy film directed by Kwak Jae-yong, starring Jun Ji-hyun and Cha Tae-hyun. The film is based on a true story told in a series ...
'' (2001), ''
Scandal Makers ''Scandal Makers'' () is a 2008 South Korean film written and directed by Kang Hyeong-cheol and starring Cha Tae-hyun, Park Bo-young and Wang Seok-hyeon. This was director Kang's first film and the highest grossing Korean film of the year. The ...
'' (2008), ''
Hello Ghost ''Hello Ghost'' () is a 2010 South Korean comedy film about a man's multiple suicide attempts. After the most recent one, he discovers he can see a group of ghosts. The ghosts agree to leave him alone under the condition that he fulfill their req ...
'' (2010) and fantasy drama action hit '' Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds'' (2017) as well as the television series ''
Jeon Woo-chi Jeon Woo-chi (, 14?? ~ 15??) was a Taoist scholar during the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He is known by many as the most prominent "sorcerer" in Korean history, and a representative trickster from old Korean literature. His art name was Woosa (), w ...
'' (2012), '' The Producers'' (2015) and '' Police University'' (2021). He made his directorial debut with the variety-drama ''
Hit the Top ''Hit the Top'' () is a South Korean television series starring Yoon Shi-yoon, Lee Se-young, Kim Min-jae and Cha Tae-hyun. The drama aired on KBS2, from June 2 to July 22, 2017, on Fridays and Saturdays at 23:00 ( KST) for 32 episodes. ''Hit t ...
'' (2017), in which he also starred. From 2012 to 2019, he was a cast member of the variety show '' 2 Days & 1 Night''. He is a co-founder of the talent management agency
Blossom Entertainment Blossom Entertainment () is a talent management agency based in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 2012, its roster includes actors Cha Tae-hyun, Yang Se-jong, and Lim Ju-hwan. Foundation Blossom Entertainment was co-founded by actor Cha Tae-hyun and ...
.


Career


1995–2000: Beginnings

Cha Tae-hyun started his career as a silver medalist in a 1995 KBS Talent Contest. Over the next several years he would star in a large number of TV dramas such as ''Sunflower'' and '' Happy Together'', while also appearing in numerous TV commercials. He was the radio DJ for
KBS Cool FM KBS Cool FM (Hangul : KBS 쿨FM)(also known as KBS 2FM Hangul : KBS 제2FM방송) is a 24-hour Hot AC music radio station of the Korean Broadcasting System. It plays mostly older K-pop Music from the 90s compared to KBS Happy FM which plays th ...
's ''FM Popular Music with Cha Tae-hyun'' from 1999–2000, and made a minor film debut in the comedy ''Hallelujah''.


2001–2007: ''My Sassy Girl'' and musical debut

In 2001, he rose to fame through the hugely successful romantic comedy ''
My Sassy Girl ''My Sassy Girl'' ( ko, 엽기적인 그녀, Yeopgijeogin Geunyeo, That Bizarre Girl) is a 2001 South Korean romantic comedy film directed by Kwak Jae-yong, starring Jun Ji-hyun and Cha Tae-hyun. The film is based on a true story told in a series ...
'' where he acted alongside
Jun Ji-hyun Jun Ji-hyun (born Wang Ji-hyun on 30 October 1981), also known by her English name Gianna Jun, is a South Korean actress and model. She has received multiple awards, including two Grand Bell Awards for Best Actress and a Daesang (Grand Prize) f ...
. Cha's expressive acting established him as a recognized star in Korea as well as the Asian region at large, and he extended his fame by releasing his debut album ''Accident''. His next film '' Lovers' Concerto'' (2002), a tragic melodrama with actresses
Son Ye-jin Son Ye-jin (born Son Eon-jin on January 11, 1982) is a South Korean actress. She rose to fame in 2003 for '' The Classic'' and '' Summer Scent'', which were followed by the commercially successful ''A Moment to Remember'' (2004) and ''April Snow ...
and
Lee Eun-ju Lee Eun-ju (December 22, 1980 – February 22, 2005) was a South Korean actress. She was the star of hit films including ''Taegukgi'' and ''The Scarlet Letter''. She died by suicide at age 24. Life and career Born in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, Sou ...
, also proved to be a popular success. From 2003, however, Cha's casting choices proved to be less inspired. He appeared in three comedies -- ''Crazy First Love'', '' Happy Ero Christmas'' and ''
Two Guys Two Guys from Harrison (later shortened to Two Guys) is a former discount store chain founded in 1946 by brothers Herbert and Sidney Hubschman in Harrison, New Jersey, originally selling major appliances such as televisions. The chain acquired ...
'' —that were widely criticized by audiences for their weak scripts and lack of creativity. He released his second album ''The Book'' later that year. His 2005 films—the relationship film ''
Sad Movie ''Sad Movie'' is a 2005 South Korean romantic melodrama film with an ensemble cast. The film was released in South Korean theaters on October 20, 2005, and had a total of 1,066,765 admissions nationwide.My Girl and I ''My Girl and I'' (; lit. ''A Heavy Seas Warning'') is a 2005 South Korean film directed by Jeon Yun-su. It is a remake of the Japanese film ''Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World'', adapted from the novel ''Socrates in Love'' by Kyoichi K ...
'' opposite
Song Hye-kyo Song Hye-kyo (; born November 22, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She gained international popularity through her leading roles in the television dramas ''Autumn in My Heart'' (2000), '' All In'' (2003), ''Full House'' (2004), ''That Winter, th ...
, the remake of Japanese hit film ''
Crying Out Love in the Center of the World is a 2004 Japanese drama film directed by Isao Yukisada and based on the novel ''Socrates in Love'' by Kyoichi Katayama. The story follows a man ( Takao Osawa) who returns to his hometown and listens to audio diaries recorded by his school swe ...
'' —were box office disappointments. 2007's '' Highway Star'', in which he played a masked
trot The trot is a ten-beat diagonal horse gait where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about . A very slow trot is someti ...
singer, was a moderate success. Cha hosted
KBS Cool FM KBS Cool FM (Hangul : KBS 쿨FM)(also known as KBS 2FM Hangul : KBS 제2FM방송) is a 24-hour Hot AC music radio station of the Korean Broadcasting System. It plays mostly older K-pop Music from the 90s compared to KBS Happy FM which plays th ...
's ''Mr. Radio'' from 2007–2008, and was awarded Best Radio DJ at the 2007 KBS Entertainment Awards alongside Ahn Jae-wook. He then portrayed the town's jester who has the intelligence of a six-year-old in '' BABO'' (which means "fool" in Korean), a film adaptation of
Kang Full Kang Full (or Kang Pool, ) is the pen name of Kang Do-young (born December 7, 1974), a South Korean webtoon artist. Though he had no formal training in art or writing, Kang launched a website in 2002 to display his comics. Kang's webtoons quick ...
's popular online comic.


2008–2012: Revived popularity and ''2 Days & 1 Night''

Cha regained his top star status when his comedy flick ''
Scandal Makers ''Scandal Makers'' () is a 2008 South Korean film written and directed by Kang Hyeong-cheol and starring Cha Tae-hyun, Park Bo-young and Wang Seok-hyeon. This was director Kang's first film and the highest grossing Korean film of the year. The ...
'' became the number one film of 2008, attracting 8.2 million moviegoers and ranking among Korea's biggest hits of all time. The film centers on a radio talk show host, who was ex- idol, who must face unforeseen consequences of a love affair when he was a teen, when he discovers that he already has a daughter (
Park Bo-young Park Bo-young (, born February 12, 1990) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the hit films ''Scandal Makers'' (2008), '' A Werewolf Boy'' (2012) and ''On Your Wedding Day'' (2018), and the television series '' ...
) and a grandson (Wang Seok-hyun) at the age of 30. As a result of the film's success, the advertising industry named Cha as the top male celebrity endorser of 2009. He reunited with '' BABO'' director
Kim Young-tak Kim Young-tak (born 1976) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Kim wrote and directed the comedy film ''Hello Ghost'' (2010). The comedy was a local hit - the 9th highest grossing Korean film in 2010, and won him the Best New Dir ...
in 2010's ''
Hello Ghost ''Hello Ghost'' () is a 2010 South Korean comedy film about a man's multiple suicide attempts. After the most recent one, he discovers he can see a group of ghosts. The ghosts agree to leave him alone under the condition that he fulfill their req ...
'', a film about a man who after several suicide attempts, becomes possessed by four different ghosts. It was another box office success at 3 million tickets sold, and Cha's performance led him to be dubbed as "Korea's Jim Carrey." Based on a true story, his 2011 film '' Champ'' depicts the relationship between a recently injured racehorse named Woo-bak and the jockey who tries to tame her. Cha spent time with the horse before and during filming, luring his four-legged partner with a combination of carrots and sugar cubes. In 2012, he became a regular cast member of the second season of popular variety program '' 2 Days & 1 Night'', and remained as a member until 2019. The show, which focuses on introducing various places in Korea to the viewers while the cast takes on different missions, has consistently scored high viewership ratings.


2013–2018: Continued success and directorial debut

Cha played his first historical role in ''
The Grand Heist ''The Grand Heist'' (; lit. "Gone With the Wind") is a 2012 South Korean historical comedy film about a gang of 11 thieves who try to steal ice blocks from the royal storage, ''Seobingo'', during the last years of the Joseon era. It was released ...
'', as the leader of a
Joseon era Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
group of thieves who band together to steal ice. The action-comedy film was produced by his brother Cha Ji-hyun. He took on another saeguk role as the titular character in TV series ''
Jeon Woo-chi Jeon Woo-chi (, 14?? ~ 15??) was a Taoist scholar during the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He is known by many as the most prominent "sorcerer" in Korean history, and a representative trickster from old Korean literature. His art name was Woosa (), w ...
'', an impish
Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...
wizard who becomes an unlikely hero. In 2014, he starred as an
introverted The traits of extraversion (also spelled extroversion Retrieved 2018-02-21.) and introversion are a central dimension in some human personality theories. The terms ''introversion'' and ''extraversion'' were introduced into psychology by Carl J ...
man with dynamic
visual acuity Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...
who works at a CCTV control center in the comedy film '' Slow Video'', his third collaboration with director Kim Young-tak. This was followed by '' The Producers'' in 2015, in which Cha played a hot-headed but soft-hearted
television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...
. In 2016, Cha reprised his role in ''
My New Sassy Girl ''My New Sassy Girl'' () () is a 2016 South Korean-Chinese romantic comedy film directed by Joh Keun-shik, and starring Cha Tae-hyun and Victoria Song. This film, a sequel to ''My Sassy Girl'' (2001), was released in China on April 22, 2016 and r ...
'', a sequel to the 2001 hit film. However, the film did not live up to its predecessor and was a failure at the box office. The same year, he reunited with ''My Sassy Girl'' co-star
Jun Ji-hyun Jun Ji-hyun (born Wang Ji-hyun on 30 October 1981), also known by her English name Gianna Jun, is a South Korean actress and model. She has received multiple awards, including two Grand Bell Awards for Best Actress and a Daesang (Grand Prize) f ...
in a
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
in SBS's fantasy drama ''
The Legend of the Blue Sea ''The Legend of the Blue Sea'' () is a 2016–2017 South Korean television series starring Jun Ji-hyun and Lee Min-ho. Inspired by a classic Joseon legend from Korea's first collection of unofficial historical tales about a fisherman who captures ...
''. In 2017, Cha starred in the romantic comedy '' Because I Love You'', playing a gifted composer who connects people in love; the film was again produced by his brother Cha Ji-hyun. He next starred in KBS2's variety-drama ''
Hit the Top ''Hit the Top'' () is a South Korean television series starring Yoon Shi-yoon, Lee Se-young, Kim Min-jae and Cha Tae-hyun. The drama aired on KBS2, from June 2 to July 22, 2017, on Fridays and Saturdays at 23:00 ( KST) for 32 episodes. ''Hit t ...
'', which he also directs. The same year, Cha starred in the fantasy blockbuster '' Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds'', based on the webtoon of the same name by Joo Ho-min. In 2018, Cha starred in the romance drama ''
Matrimonial Chaos ''Matrimonial Chaos'' () is a 2018 South Korean television series starring Cha Tae-hyun, Bae Doona, Lee El and Son Suk-ku. It is a remake of the 2013 Japanese TV series of the same title, broadcast by Fuji TV. It aired on KBS2's Mondays and Tues ...
'', a remake of the Japanese television series of the same title.


2019–present

In March 2019, Cha was reported to have engaged in gambling, which was discovered through
Jung Joon-young Jung Joon-young (born February 21, 1989) is a South Korean former singer-songwriter, radio DJ, host, actor, television personality and convicted serial rapist. Jung first gained recognition in the 2012 season of the musical reality competiti ...
's phone's text messages during the police's investigation of the latter for illicit sex video crimes. Cha subsequently issued a formal statement of apology and withdrew from all his shows. In 2020, Cha was cast in the crime detective drama '' Team Bulldog: Off-Duty Investigation''. In 2021, Cha starred in
KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...
drama '' Police University'', playing Yoo Dong-man, a detective-turned-professor at the National Police University.


Personal life

Cha's father, Cha Jae-wan, was an assistant director for special effects at KBS, and his mother Choi Su-min, now retired, was a
voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentation ...
artist. His brother is film producer Cha Ji-hyeon. On June 1, 2006, Cha married his high school sweetheart, pop lyricist Choi Suk-eun. They dated for 13 years; she was his first and only girlfriend. They have three children, a son (Cha Soo-chan) and two daughters (Cha Tae-eun, Cha Su-jin). In 2011, Cha revealed on SBS talk show ''
Healing Camp, Aren't You Happy ''Healing Camp, Aren't You Happy'' (), or simply known as ''Healing Camp'', is a South Korean talk show which began airing on July 18, 2011, on Seoul Broadcasting System, SBS. It is hosted by comedian Lee Kyung-kyu, broadcaster Kim Je-dong, and a ...
'' that he has a
panic disorder Panic disorder is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by reoccurring unexpected panic attacks. Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear that may include palpitations, sweating, shaking, short ...
.


Filmography


Film


Television series


Web series


Variety show


Radio program


Discography


Studio albums


OST


Singles


Awards and nominations


Listicles


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cha, Tae-hyun K-pop singers IHQ (company) artists South Korean pop singers South Korean male film actors South Korean male television actors South Korean television presenters South Korean radio presenters Male actors from Seoul Singers from Seoul 1976 births Living people 20th-century South Korean male actors 21st-century South Korean male actors South Korean television directors 21st-century South Korean male singers Seoul Institute of the Arts alumni Chung-Ang University alumni Kyonggi University alumni Best New Actor Paeksang Arts Award (television) winners