[CELEB] Lee Jung-jae has a night to remember

Television

Published: 28 Feb. 2022, 16:11 Updated: 01 Mar. 2022, 14:03

[CELEB] Lee Jung-jae has a night to remember

Lee Jung-Jae accepts the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for ″Squid Game″ at the 28th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Barker Hangar on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022, in Santa Monica, California. [AP/YONHAP]

It was a night to remember for actor Lee Jung-jae on Sunday as his name was called out as the winner of the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor at the 28th Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.

A look of utter amazement spread over the actor’s face as he climbed the stage to receive his trophy.

“Oh my, thank you so much,” he said with a trembling voice. “This is truly huge, what’s happened to me [...] Thank you to the global audience for all of your love for ‘Squid Game.’ And thank you, ‘Squid Game’ team. Thank you.”

Lee earned global fame through Netflix Korea's "Squid Game," which became the most-viewed Netflix content of all time. [NETFLIX]

Lee portrayed Gi-hun, or player 456, a middle-aged-man at the end of his luck who becomes one of the 456 contestants invited to participate in a mysterious competition involving a set of traditional children’s games with a deadly twist. Lee ends up becoming the ultimate winner of 45.6 billion won ($38.7 million), but accepts it with a bitter taste left in his mouth as he has to witness the deaths of 455 other contestants. The first season ended with a hint of a continuing story as Gi-hun decides not to board a plane to Los Angeles where his daughter is, with a look of determination to stop the next round of games from happening.

During an online interview with local broadcaster KBS in December, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk said that he is in discussions with Netflix to create both season 2 and 3 of the series, which will center around Gi-hun, “the people he meets, and the people that he will be chasing after.”

After “Squid Game” was released on the streaming service on Sept. 17, it became Netflix’s most-viewed content with more than 140 million households watching the series. The series also broke the record for the longest time in the No. 1 spot on the Top TV Shows in the World on Netflix chart — 46 consecutive days from Sept. 23 to Nov. 7.

Although Lee portrays an indecisive loser he was actually a 90s star, famous for his looks that were especially highlighted in SBS television series “Sandglass” in 1995. Although fictitious, “Sandglass” was the first-ever television series to directly cover the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement (1980) and other significant real-events in Korea’s contemporary history. The show remains one of the most popular television series in the history of Korean television with a whopping average viewership rate of 50.8 percent. Lee portrayed the character of Baek Jae-hee, a silent bodyguard for the female protagonist Yoon Hye-rin (played by Ko Hyun-jung) who was secretly in love with her and comes to her rescue whenever she is in danger.

Lee as heartthrob bodyguard Baek Jae-hee in SBS television series "Sandglass" (1995) [SBS]

Lee continued to feature in films and television series but none of them failed to earn recognition or see any notable success until he starred in director Im Sang-soo’s “The Housemaid” (2010), which was adapted from the 1960 film of the same title by filmmaker Kim Ki-young, a celebrated auteur whom Youn Yuh-jung mentioned in her Oscar acceptance speech in 2021.

“The Housemaid” (1960) centers on the destruction of a family told through the story of femme fatale housemaid Myung-sook. Youn, who shot to stardom by appearing as Myung-sook in Kim Ki-young’s remake of his own film “Woman of Fire”’ (1971), appeared in the 2010 film as an old maid who knows the ins and outs of the family home, while Lee portrayed the patriarchal master of the household, Hun, who has an affair with the maid Eun-yi (played by Jeon Do-yeon).

The film was invited to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival. He then went on to star in director Choi Dong-hoon’s “The Thieves” (2012) as one of the 10 thieves attempting to strike it rich by robbing a casino, which broke the local box office milestone of selling over 10 million tickets.

He went on to portray a variety of characters as an undercover police detective, Grand Prince Suyang who becomes King Sejo (1417-68) of Joseon (1392-1910), a double-faced independence activist, a priest who investigates the corruptive practices of pseudo religions and a cold-blooded yakuza bloodthirsty for revenge in films such as “New World” (2013), “The Face Reader” (2013), “Assassination” (2015), “Svaha: The Sixth Finger” (2019) and “Deliver Us From Evil” (2020).

Lee has featured in a variety of roles spanning over nearly three decades, as a patriarch of a household who lusts after a housemaid in "The Housemaid" (2010), as a sly thief in "The Thieves" (2012), historical figure Grand Prince Suyang in "The Face Reader" (2013) and a two-faced independence activist in "Assassination" (2015). [SIDUS, SHOWBOX]

His first appearance as the Grand Prince Suyang in “The Face Reader” is remembered by local audiences as one of the most formidable and iconic first appearances of all time. The film garnered over 9.2 million ticket sales. His other film “Assassination” also broke the 10-million-ticket milestone.

Lee and Jung Woo-sung's friendship goes back over two decades since they first appeared together in "City of the Rising Sun" (1999). Jung is set to appear in Lee's directorial debut film "Hunt." [UNO FILM]

Lee continues to strive for new challenges. He is set to make his directorial debut through his film “Hunt” later this year, in which he will also star with his longtime friend and actor Jung Woo-sung. The duo’s friendship goes back over two decades when they starred together in “City of the Rising Sun” (1999). Their friendship has been well-known throughout the years, with Jung even publicly mentioning Lee in the credits of Netflix Korea’s space sci-fi series “The Silent Sea” (2021), which Jung worked on as an executive producer. The action film is set in the 1980s when the country’s military regime was at its peak. Lee portrays elite agent Park Pyung-ho who works at the Agency for National Security Planning and is chasing after a North Korean spy while coming to terms with the truth about his country.

Jung is to portray the role of Kim Jung-do, a rival and a colleague of agent Park.

Lee Jung-jae

Date of birth: December 15, 1972
Zodiac sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Seoul
Debut: October 1993 through SBS drama series “Dinosaur Teacher”
Agency: Artist Company

Lee debuted on the small screen through SBS television series “Dinosaur Teacher” in October 1993 and shot to stardom through another SBS drama series “Sandglass” in 1995. Although a 90s star, Lee’s most iconic characters are in films released after 2000, including “The Housemaid” (2010), “The Thieves” (2012), “New World” (2013), “The Face Reader” (2013), “Assassination” (2015) and “Deliver Us From Evil” (2020). He found global fame through Netflix Korea series “Squid Game,” for which he won the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor at the 28th Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. He faces his directorial debut through action film “Hunt,” set to be released later this year.

This information was confirmed by Artist Company on February 28, 2022.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]