Lee Byung-hun

Lee Byung-hun is a South Korean actor known for his performances across television and cinema. His prominent Korean films include Joint Security Area, A Bittersweet Life, The Good, the Bad, the Weird, I Saw the Devil, Masquerade, Inside Men, Ashfall, and No Other Choice. On television, he has starred in series such as All In, Iris, Mr. Sunshine, Our Blues, and Squid Game. Internationally, he is recognized for playing Storm Shadow in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and its sequel, alongside roles in Red 2, Terminator Genisys, and The Magnificent Seven.

Born in Seoul, Lee was raised with a younger sister, Lee Eun-hee, who won Miss Korea in 1996. He earned a degree in French Literature from Hanyang University and studied Theater and Cinematography at Chung-Ang University's Graduate School. Lee began his career in 1991 after a KBS talent audition, making his television debut in Asphalt My Hometown. He gained further visibility through roles in Asphalt Man and the romantic film The Harmonium in My Memory.

Lee achieved a major breakthrough in 2000 starring in Park Chan-wook's Joint Security Area. His role as a border-guard soldier earned him Best Actor at the Busan Film Critics Awards, while the movie became the highest-grossing South Korean film of its time. His pan-Asian stardom grew through television melodramas including Beautiful Days and All In, winning the Grand Prize at the SBS Drama Awards for All In. In 2005, he drew critical praise for his leading role in Kim Jee-woon's action film A Bittersweet Life, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

Lee reteamed with director Kim Jee-woon for the 2008 film The Good, the Bad, the Weird, playing his first antagonist. The role boosted his global profile and led to his Hollywood debut in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2009, he starred in the hit espionage series Iris, receiving the Grand Prize at the KBS Drama Awards. He followed with Kim Jee-woon's I Saw the Devil and the period drama Masquerade, playing dual roles in the latter, which surpassed 10 million admissions and won him Best Actor at the Grand Bell Awards.

During the 2010s, Lee expanded his international career, appearing in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Red 2, Terminator Genisys, and The Magnificent Seven. In South Korea, he headlined the political crime thriller Inside Men, which became the top-grossing R-rated film at the domestic box office and secured him multiple Best Actor awards. His subsequent work included films such as Master, The Fortress, Ashfall, and The Man Standing Next, as well as a leading role in the 2018 television drama Mr. Sunshine, which won him the Grand Prize at the APAN Star Awards.

In recent years, Lee appeared in Emergency Declaration, Concrete Utopia, and No Other Choice, earning a Golden Globe nomination for the latter. On television, he starred in Our Blues and portrayed the Front Man in Netflix's Squid Game. Lee is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and became the first South Korean actor to present at the Academy Awards. He and Ahn Sung-ki were also the first South Korean actors to leave their hand and foot prints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.