Cho Seung-woo (born March 28, 1980) is a South Korean actor and singer. He is best known for his leading roles in the films '' The Classic'' (2003), ''

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair di ...

'' (2005), '' Tazza: The High Rollers'' (2006), and ''

Inside Men ''Inside Men'' is a British television drama series, consisting of four episodes, transmitted from 2 to 23 February 2012 on BBC One. The series was filmed in Bristol between June and August 2011, with filming taking place over a 10-week peri ...

'' (2015), as well as in the stage musicals '' Jekyll & Hyde'', ''

Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig and the Angry Inch may refer to: * ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (musical), 1998 ** ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (soundtrack), 1999 * ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (film), 2001 {{disambig ...

,'' and ''

Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay '' I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cerva ...

''. He is also known for his leading roles in television dramas ''

The King's Doctor ''The King's Doctor'' (; lit. ''Horse Doctor'') is a 2012 South Korean television series depicting Baek Gwang-hyeon (1625–1697), Joseon Dynasty veterinarian, starring Cho Seung-woo and Lee Yo-won. It aired on MBC from October 1, 2012 to M ...

'' (2012), '' God's Gift: 14 Days'' (2014), ''

Stranger A stranger is a person who is unknown to another person or group. Because of this unknown status, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity and character can be ascertained. Different classes of strangers have been identified ...

'' (2017, 2020), ''Life'' (2018), and '' Sisyphus: The Myth'' (2021).

Career

2000–2004: Acting debut

Cho Seung-woo grew up in a musical family: his father Cho Kyung-soo is a singer, and his older sister Cho Seo-yeon acts in musical theatre. Cho himself also dreamed of becoming a musical actor from an early age, however in 1999 while a student at

Dankook University Dankook University (commonly referred to as Dankook), abbreviated as DU or DKU, is a prestigious private research university in Yongin and Cheonan, South Korea. The university was established in 1947. It was the first university established aft ...

he was persuaded to join auditions for

Im Kwon-taek Im Kwon-taek (born December 8, 1934) is one of South Korea's most renowned film directors. In an active and prolific career, his films have won many domestic and international film festival awards as well as considerable box-office success, and h ...

's film '' Chunhyang'', and he ended up winning the part from among a field of 1,000 actors. ''Chunhyang'' would screen as the first Korean film in competition at

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ci ...

, although domestically it failed to attract much of an audience."Actors and Actresses of Korean Cinema: Cho Seung-woo"
. ''Koreanfilm.org.'' Retrieved 2012-10-25. Cho did go on to appear in musicals after his film debut, acting in local productions '' Subway Line 1'' and '' The Last Empress''. Soon he was drawn back into the film industry, however, with a key supporting role in ''

Wanee & Junah ''Wanee & Junah'' (; lit. "Wa-ni and Jun-ha") is a 2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defini ...

'' (2001), a villainous turn in '' H'' (2002), plus a leading role in ''Who Are U?'' (2002). In 2003, Cho acted in

Kwak Jae-yong Kwak Jae-yong (born 22 May 1959) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He studied physics at Kyung Hee University. He achieved success with his debut film ''Watercolor Painting in a Rainy Day'' in 1989, but the failure of his next t ...

's romance '' The Classic'' opposite

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 ...

, receiving good reviews for his sincere acting. His popularity continued to grow, and in 2004 he appeared in Im Kwon-taek's 99th film ''

Low Life A low-life (or lowlife) is a term for a person who is considered morally unacceptable by their community. Examples of people society often labels low-lives include aggressive panhandlers, bullies, criminals, drug dealers, freeloaders, hobos, ...

''.

2005: Breakthrough with ''Marathon'' and ''Jekyll & Hyde''

Cho's breakthrough would come in early 2005 with the smash hit ''

'', where he played an

autistic The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

young man who only finds release in running. The film sold over 5 million tickets, and at age of 26, Cho won several awards for his performance including Best Actor at the 2005

Grand Bell Awards The Grand Bell Awards (), also known as the Daejong Film Awards, is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards retains prestige as the oldest co ...

, Best Actor at 2005

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspap ...

in film category, as well as Best Actor in the foreign film category at China's

Hundred Flowers Awards The Hundred Flowers Awards () are, together with the Golden Rooster Awards, the most prestigious film awards honouring the best in Chinese cinema, as well as Hong Kong cinema and the Cinema of Taiwan, they are classified as the Chinese equiv ...

. Nonetheless, he continued to pursue his career in musicals, with critically acclaimed appearances in ''

'' and ''

Jekyll and Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

''. His success at pursuing both film and musicals make him an unusual case among contemporary actors.

2006–2009: Continued success

Cho starred in '' Love Phobia'' (2006) opposite then-girlfriend

Kang Hye-jung Kang Hye-jung (born January 4, 1982) is a South Korean actress. Making her film debut in arthouse film ''Nabi'' (2001), she rose to stardom and critical acclaim in Park Chan-wook's 2003 revenge thriller '' Oldboy''. A rising star early in her ...

; both were praised for their acting, but the melodrama wasn't a commercial success. He then headlined '' Tazza: The High Rollers'' with

Kim Hye-soo Kim Hye-soo (; born September 5, 1970) is a South Korean actress. Kim was one of the most popular teen stars in the 1980s and 1990s. She is known for her headstrong independence and regularly playing strong-willed, sophisticated women. Kim bega ...

, the 2006 film adaptation of

Huh Young-man Huh Young-man (born June 26, 1947) is a South Korean manhwa artist. Early life Huh Young-man was born Heo Hyeong-man in present-day Yeosu, a far southern coastal city of what is now South Jeolla Province, South Korea in 1947. He was the third ch ...

's same-titled

manhwa (; ) is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to South Korean comics. is greatly influenced by Japanese Manga comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its reach to many other countries. T ...

, which went on to become one of the biggest Korean blockbuster hits of all time. He followed that with ''

Go Go 70s ''Go Go 70s'' () is a 2008 South Korean musical drama film set in the 1970s. Plot South Korea in the 1970s was in the Dark Ages of Park Chung-hee's military dictatorship, but it was also an era of revolutionary upheaval with regards to culture. Af ...

'', about a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

band during the height of the

Park Chung-hee Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...

military regime A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...

; and ''

The Sword with No Name ''The Sword with No Name'' (; ) is a 2009 South Korean film based on a fictionalized account of Empress Myeongseong. The film sold 1,671,387 tickets nationwide. Plot Mu-myeong is a bounty hunter during the Joseon Dynasty who lives day-to-day by ...

'', in which he played a fictional royal guard in love with

Empress Myeongseong Empress Myeongseong or Empress Myungsung (명성황후 민씨; 17 November 1851 – 8 October 1895In lunar calendar, the Empress was born on 25 September 1851 and died on 20 August 1895), informally known as Empress Min, was the official wife ...

(

Soo Ae Park Soo-ae (; born 16 September 1979), known mononymously as Soo Ae, is a South Korean actress best known for portraying Kim In-hae in the 2013 film ''The Flu'' and Oh Soo-yeon in the 2018 film '' High Society''. Soo Ae began her career on tele ...

2010–present: Comeback

After completing his

mandatory military service Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

, Cho made his comeback in the 2010 production of ''Jekyll and Hyde''. The musical was especially meaningful to Cho since the actor rose to stardom when the show premiered in Korea in 2004. Cho's much-anticipated return to the stage was marked with controversy following reports that his salary would be the highest for any musical theatre actor in Korean history. While producers feared that demands for similarly high fees could follow (which could eventually put them out of business), others said that the fee was justified, based on the hope that Cho would help spark a renaissance in a once-vibrant but now-stagnant musical theatre industry. And true enough, when tickets went on sale, the demand was so high that the online reservation server broke down after 15 minutes, with all of the performances in which Cho was scheduled to appear already sold out. His 2011 sports movie '' Perfect Game'' revisited one of the most exciting matches in Korean baseball history, between Choi Dong-won of the

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants ( ko, 롯데 자이언츠) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation, which also owns the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Pr ...

and

Sun Dong-yeol Sun Dong-yol (; or ; born January 10, 1963) is a South Korean retired baseball pitcher and former manager. He was a pitcher in the KBO League and Nippon Professional Baseball, and the former manager of the Samsung Lions and the Kia Tigers ...

of the

Haitai Tigers Kia Tigers ( ko, KIA 타이거즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982 and based in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Until 2001, they were known as the Haitai Tigers. The Tigers are a members of the KBO League and are ...

in the summer of 1987, which ended in a tie after being extended 15 innings; the rivalry between the two was further heated up by regionalism at the time with Choi representing the

Gyeongsang Province Gyeongsang ( ko, 경상도, ''Gyeongsang-do''; ) was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon dynasty. Gyeongsang was located in the southeast of Korea. The provincial capital was Daegu. The region was the birthplace of the Kingd ...

and Sun, the

Jeolla Province Jeolla Province (, ) was one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Kingdom of Joseon in today Southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju Metropolitan City as wel ...

. Cho starred as Choi opposite

Yang Dong-geun Yang Dong-geun (; born June 1, 1979) or YDG is a South Korean actor, rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and breakdancer. Yang majored in Theatrical Performance at Yong-In University. Biography Yang enlisted for mandatory military ser ...

as Sun. That same year, Cho also took on the lead role in the musical ''

Zorro Zorro ( Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilant ...

''. After lead actor

Ju Ji-hoon Ju Ji-hoon (born May 16, 1982) is a South Korean actor and model. His first leading role was in the 2006 hit drama ''Princess Hours''. His other notable works include ''The Devil'', ''Antique'', ''Mask'', '' Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds'' ...

quit due to vocal chord problems, Cho joined the 2012 stage production of '' Doctor Zhivago'' just two weeks ahead of opening, turning the musical into a hit. He and

Ryu Deok-hwan Ryu Deok-hwan (; born June 12, 1987) is a South Korean actor. Career Ryu Deok-hwan began his career as a child actor on stage at age 6. Among his early TV drama appearances was a role on the popular ''Lifetime in the Country'' which he played ...

then played

conjoined twins Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are twins joined '' in utero''. A very rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 births to 1 in 189,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence ...

in actress Ku Hye-sun's sophomore directorial effort ''

The Peach Tree ''The Peach Tree'' () is a 2012 South Korean film directed by actress Ku Hye-sun. It stars Cho Seung-woo and Ryu Deok-hwan as conjoined twin brothers who fall in love with the same woman played by Nam Sang-mi. The film premiered at the 2011 Busan ...

''. Cho made his small screen debut in 2012 with ''

'', a period drama based on a true story about a

Joseon 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 ...

-era low-class veterinarian specializing in the treatment of horses who rises to become the royal physician. Cho won the highest award ("Daesang," or Grand Prize) at the

MBC Drama Awards The MBC Drama Awards () is an awards ceremony presented by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) for outstanding achievements in Korean dramas aired on its network. It is held annually in December. Unlike its counterparts in KBS and SBS, MBC ...

for his performance in ''The King's Doctor'', then returned to the stage in 2013 in ''Hedwig'', reprising one of his most memorable musical roles. Cho continued working in television. He portrayed the poet

Yi Sang Kim Hae-Gyeong ( hangul: 김해경, hanja: 金海卿, September 23, 1910 – April 17, 1937), also known as his pen name Yi Sang ( hangul: 이상, hanja: 李箱) was a writer and poet who lived in Korea under Japanese rule. He is well-known ...

in ''Crow's-Eye View'', a single-episode anthology as part of MBC's Drama Festival. Cho then starred in the 2014

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

God's Gift - 14 Days ''God's Gift – 14 Days'' () is a 2014 South Korean television series written by Choi Ran (the writer of '' Iljimae''), starring Lee Bo-young, Cho Seung-woo, Kim Tae-woo, Jung Gyu-woon and Kim Yoo-bin. It aired on SBS from March 3 to April ...

'', playing a private investigator who helps a mother (

Lee Bo-young Lee Bo-young (; born January 12, 1979) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for starring in the television dramas '' My Daughter Seo-young'' (2012), '' I Can Hear Your Voice'' (2013), ''Whisper'' (2017), ''Mother'' (2018), ''When My Love ...

) save her child. Cho reprised one of his most beloved roles in ''Jekyll and Hyde'' for the musical's 10th anniversary in late 2014, and the 18,700 tickets sold out in just 10 minutes. Because of his ticket power, he was chosen as among the top 30 most influential people in Korean popular culture in 2006, and for four consecutive years in 2010 to 2014. Cho next plays a heroic prosecutor who uncovers bribery in the halls of power in ''

'', a 2015 film adaptation of

Yoon Tae-ho Yoon may refer to: *Yoon (Korean name), the ninth most common Korean family name *Yoon, stage name of Shim Ja-yoon, member of K-Pop group STAYC *Yōon, a feature of the Japanese language *Prabda Yoon Prabda Yoon ( th, ปราบดา หยุ� ...

webtoon Webtoons (), are a type of digital comic that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones. While webtoons were mostly unknown outside of Korea during their inception, there has been a surge in popularity internationally t ...

''The Insiders''. ''

'' was a box office success with more than 7 million admissions, becoming Cho's highest-grossing film. In his interview in July 2016, Cho said that after completion of his performance for the musical ''

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet St ...

'', he decided to take a three-year hiatus from musical to focus on film. In 2017, Cho starred in tvN's mystery thriller drama ''

'', playing a prosecutor who lacks empathetic abilities. The series was a hit and gained favorable reviews for its tight plot, gripping sequences and strong performances. Cho's performance in the Stranger also won him an

Baeksang Arts Award The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspa ...

for Best Actor in TV category. In 2018, Cho starred in the period film '' Feng Shui'', the third installment of the "divining art trilogy" by Han Jae-rim. He also starred in JTBC's medical drama ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

''. In 2020, Cho revived his role in Stranger Season 2 as Hwang Simok.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Musical theatre

Music video appearances

Concerts

Discography

Bibliography

Ambassadorship

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, Seung-woo 1980 births People from Seoul Dankook University alumni Male actors from Seoul 21st-century South Korean male actors South Korean male film actors South Korean male musical theatre actors South Korean male stage actors South Korean male television actors Living people