Lee Sang-yi (actor)

Lee Sang-yi (; born November 27, 1991) is a South Korean actor, musical actor and singer. He is best known for his roles in '' Once Again'' (2020), '' Youth of May'' (2021), and '' Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha'' (2021). As a singer, he is best known for being a member of the vocal group MSG Wannabe.

Early life and education

Lee's interest in acting was sparked when he took part in an English play during his elementary school years. After attending Jeongji Elementary School and Wonil Middle School, Lee Sang-yi pursued his passion for acting by enrolling in the Department of Theater and Film at Anyang Arts High School. In 2008, during his high school years, Lee won first place in a UCC contest by showcasing his dance skills, covering the choreography for Rain's song "Rainism". He furthered his education by studying at School of Drama, Department of Acting of Korea National University of Arts, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Career

Lee Sang-yi made his professional debut in 2014 with the musical '' Grease''. In the following years, he appeared in various musicals including ''Runway Beat'', ''Legendary Little Basketball Team'', '' Bare: The Musical'', and ''Infinite Power''. For his performance as Jang Seon-je in ''Infinite Power'', he received the award for Best Rookie Actor at the Yegreen Musical Award.

Lee spent five weeks rehearsing and perfecting his dance skills, together with Park Ji-eun to cover the choreography from the popular film '' La La Land''. Their performance was uploaded on YouTube in March 2017 and quickly gained widespread attention and popularity. In April, Lee performed onstage in play Mad Kiss. Later in 2017, he made his first television appearance when he joined the cast of the drama ''Manhole'' and portrayed Oh Dal-soo. In November of the same year he featured in the '' Prison Playbook'' series as Oh Dong-hwan.

In 2018, Lee starred as supporting role in the musical rom-com ''To. Jenny,'' led Kim Sung-cheol and Jung Chae-yeon.

In 2019, Lee played baseball couch Yang Seung-yeop in ''When the Camellia Blooms''.

In 2020, Lee starred in 100 episodes weekend drama ''Once Again'', where he played the role of Yoon Jae-seok, a dentist and the younger brother of one of the show's leads, Yoon Gyu-jin, portrayed by Lee Sang-yeob. Lee's romantic storyline with Lee Cho-hee's character became a fan favorite, and their on-screen couple, known as the Sadon Couple, lovingly called as the "national in-law". In the end of the year they won the Best Couple Award at the 2020 KBS Drama Award. Lee also won Best New Actor Award at the same event. The drama's success helped him gain tremendous popularity.

After a two-year hiatus from musical, Lee returned to perform in the musical ''A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder''. He played the role of Monty Navarro, a man who aims to become a count by eliminating eight heirs of the Dysquith family. Lee's portrayal of Monty Navarro won over the hearts of the audience with his unique 'nerd beauty' and solid acting skills, as he comically searched for the members of the Dysquith family one by one. He received positive feedback for his exceptional character synchronization with Monty Navarro, showcasing his talent as an actor.

Following his success in ''Once Again'', Lee remained busy in 2021. In May 2021, he joined the cast of the '' Youth of May''. His role was Lee Soo-chan, brother of Soo-ryeon and Lee Chang-geun's son, he is a businessman who works at a trading company after returning from his studies in France. He is the oldest child, who places more importance on family than on himself. And also on May, 2021, Lee was revealed as one of the MSG Wannabe members who passed on variety show program Hangout with Yoo and debuted as a member of MSG Wannabe and was part of the sub-unit JSDK.

In June 2021, he was confirmed to star in the tvN drama '' Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha'' in which he portrayed Ji Sung-hyun, a workaholic variety show director who has a bright personality.

From November 2021, Lee reprise his role as Monty Navarro in the musical ''A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder''.

Also in, November, Lee confirmed his appearance in Netflix original Series ''Bloodhounds.'' It depicts a story about three young people who set foot in the world of private loans in pursuit of money and get caught up in a huge force.

At the end of 2021, Lee became an MC for the 2021 MBC Entertainment Awards with Jun Hyun-moo and Kim Se-jeong.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Web series

Television show

Hosting

Music video

Stage

Musical

Theater

Discography

Soundtrack appearances

With MSG Wannabe

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Lee Sang-yi at PLK Good Friends

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Lee Sang-yi at Daum Encyclopedia


Lee Sang-yi at PlayDB


Lee Sang-yi at Naver

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Sang-yi
1991 births
Living people
People from Ansan
21st-century South Korean male actors
South Korean male musical theatre actors
South Korean male actors
South Korean male film actors
South Korean male television actors
Korea National University of Arts alumni
Anyang Arts High School alumni