Choi Min-sik

This is a Korean name; the family name is Choi.
Choi Min-sik

Choi Min-sik at the 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, July 9, 2009
Born (1962-01-22) January 22, 1962
Seoul, South Korea
Nationality South Korean
Occupation Actor
Years active 1989–present
Agent C-JeS Entertainment
Religion Buddhism
Korean name
Hangul 최민식
Hanja 崔岷植
Revised Romanization Choe Min-sik
McCune–Reischauer Ch'oe Minsik

Choi Min-sik (Hangul: 최민식 Korean pronunciation: [tɕʰwe minɕʰik]; born January 22, 1962) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his critically acclaimed roles in Oldboy (2003) and The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014). He also starred alongside Scarlett Johansson in the 2014 French film, Lucy.

Together with Song Kang-ho and Sol Kyung-gu, Choi is considered to be among the most talented and critically acclaimed South Korean actors.[1]

Early life and education

Choi was born on January 22, 1962 in Seoul, South Korea.[2] When he was in third grade, Choi was diagnosed with tuberculosis and told that he could not be cured. He claims to have regained his health by a month-long stay in the mountains.[3]

Career

Graduating with a degree in theatre from Dongguk University,[4] Choi began his career as a theatre actor. He then started filming, playing roles in Park Jong-won's early movies, like Kuro Arirang and Our Twisted Hero. He continued to act on stage, as well as in television dramas like The Moon of Seoul with Han Suk-kyu.[1]

In 1997 he played a police investigator in Song Neung-han's No. 3, and then accepted a role in Kim Jee-woon's debut film The Quiet Family. The first real success came with his role of a North Korean agent in Shiri in 1999. The film was not only critically acclaimed but also achieved box office success. Choi received the Best Actor award at Grand Bell Awards for his portrayal. In the same year he also took part in a stage production of Hamlet, and then starred in Happy End, where he portrayed a man who is cheated on by his wife. In 2001 he took the role of a gangster opposite Cecilia Cheung in Failan.[1]

A year later he portrayed Jang Seung-eop, a Joseon painter in Im Kwon-taek's Chihwaseon,[5] which was awarded the Best Director prize in Cannes. In 2003 he starred in Park Chan-wook's Oldboy, which made him popular not only in South Korea but overseas, as well.[6][1]

He continued displaying his versatility in 2004 and 2005, playing a trumpet player in Springtime, a struggling former boxer in Ryoo Seung-wan's Crying Fist, and a child murderer in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, the last film in Park Chan-wook's revenge trilogy.[1]

In 2005 he and Song Kang-ho were accused by director and Cinema Service head Kang Woo-suk of being greedy for money and demanding profit share for "contribution" when no contribution was done. Kang later rescinded the statement and apologized.[7][8][9][10]

At various points during 2006, Choi (and other South Korean film industry professionals, together and separately from Choi) demonstrated in Seoul[11][12] and at the Cannes Film Festival against the South Korean administration's decision to reduce the Screen Quotas from 146 to 73 days as part of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.[13][14][15] As a sign of protest, Choi returned the prestigious Okgwan Order of Cultural Merit which had been awarded to him, saying, "To halve the screen quota is tantamount to a death sentence for Korean film. This medal, once a symbol of pride, is now nothing more than a sign of disgrace, and it is with a heavy heart that I must return it."[16]

In the next four years, Choi went on a self-imposed exile from making films,[17][18] begun in protest over the screen quota but also partly due to the studios' reluctance to hire the outspoken and politically active actor. Instead he returned to his theater roots in the 2007 staging of The Pillowman, his first play in seven years.[19][20]

During the retrospective on Choi held at the 14th Lyon Asian Film Festival in November 2008,[21][22] the actor was asked his reaction to the upcoming remake of Oldboy, and he admitted to the French reporters present that he was upset at Hollywood for using what he described as pressure tactics on Asian and European filmmakers so they could remake foreign movies in the United States.[23]

Choi made his comeback in Jeon Soo-il's 2009 art film Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells, in which he was the only South Korean actor working with locally cast Tibetan actors.[24][25]

Though Kim Jee-woon's 2010 thriller I Saw the Devil drew criticism from some quarters for its ultra-violent content, reviewers agreed that Choi's performance as a serial killer was memorable.[26][27]

He did voice acting for Leafie, A Hen into the Wild, which in 2011 became the highest grossing South Korean animated film in history.[28] In his 2012 follow-up Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time, Choi played another complex, layered antihero, and the Yoon Jong-bin film was both a critical and box office hit.[29][30][31]

Choi's next film was Park Hoon-jung's New World, a 2013 noir about an undercover cop in the world of gangsters, which also became successful critically and commercially.[32][33]

For his English-language debut, Choi appeared in Luc Besson's Lucy (2014), in the role of a gangster who kidnaps a girl and forces her to become a drug mule (Scarlett Johansson), but she inadvertently acquires superhuman powers.[34][35][36][37][38]

He then played Yi Sun-sin in the blockbuster period epic The Admiral: Roaring Currents about the Battle of Myeongnyang, regarded as one of the admiral's most remarkable naval victories.[39][40][38] Roaring Currents became the all-time most watched film in South Korean film history, the first ever to reach 15 million admissions and the first local film to gross more than US$100 million.[41][37]

Filmography

Choi Min-sik at the New York Asian Film Festival, on June 30, 2012

Television

Theater

Awards

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Paquet, Darcy. "Actors and Actresses of Korean Cinema: Choi Min-shik". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
  2. ↑ Jobling, Alison (30 April 2005). "Choi Min Sik - Korean Chameleon". YesAsia. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  3. ↑ Sunwoo, Carla (30 January 2012). "Actor Choi Min-sik reveals that he nearly died in grade three.". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  4. ↑ Kim, Sang-yoo (4 November 2010). "Dongguk Conquers Movie Screens and TV shows". Dongguk University News Clipping. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  5. ↑ "Interview with Main Actor, Choi Min-sik". Kino International. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
  6. ↑ "The Break-Up Artist". The Chosun Ilbo. 9 November 2003. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  7. ↑ Chun Su-jin, Park Jeong-ho (30 June 2005). "Director says actors are getting greedy". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  8. ↑ "Stars Miffed by Money-Grubbing Slur". The Chosun Ilbo. 29 June 2005. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  9. ↑ "Kang Woo-suk Apologizes to Song Kang-ho and Choi Min-shik". KBS Global. 30 June 2005. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  10. ↑ "Choi Min-shik, Song Kang-ho Accept Kang Woo-suk's Apology". KBS Global. 1 July 2005. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  11. ↑ "Korean Screen Quota Reduced From July". Twitch Film. 6 January 2006. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  12. ↑ "Scores of Stars Mobilize to Fight Against Quota Cuts". The Chosun Ilbo. 8 February 2006. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  13. ↑ Gowman, Philip (15 May 2006). "Choi Min-sik to stage screen-quota protest at Cannes". The Korea Times via London Korean Links. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  14. ↑ Bertolin, Paolo (23 May 2006). "Koreans, French Fight Hollywood Domination". The Korea Times via Soompi. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  15. ↑ Yi, Chang-ho (30 May 2006). "Cannes Backs Anti-screen Quota Cut Protests". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  16. ↑ "Old Boy Returns Medal in Screen Quota Protest". The Chosun Ilbo. 7 February 2006. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  17. ↑ "Choi Min-sik: Mr. Vengeance". Subway Cinema. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  18. ↑ "NYAFF 2012 Exclusive Interview: Choi Min-sik". The Diva Review. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  19. ↑ "Choi Min-sik to Act in Theater Play". KBS Global. 22 March 2005. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  20. ↑ Choi, Min-woo (20 February 2007). "Film star back on stage for The Pillowman". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  21. ↑ Han, Sang-hee (22 October 2008). "Film Fests Offer Retrospective, Award to Korean Movie Stars". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  22. ↑ Yi, Chang-ho (24 October 2008). "CHOI Min-sik retrospective at Lyon fest". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  23. ↑ "Choi Min-sik: Korean Film Legend and International Star [NYAFF 2012]". vCinemaShow. 2012. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  24. ↑ "Choi Min-sik Rediscovers His Passion for Acting". The Chosun Ilbo. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  25. ↑ Lee, Hyo-won (31 May 2009). "Choi Min-sik Escapes Oncreen to Himalaya". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  26. ↑ Seo, So-ya (20 August 2010). "A shocking look at the corrosive power of evil". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  27. ↑ Sung, So-young (27 August 2010). "Violent films raise alarms". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  28. ↑ "Leafie wins APSA Best Animated Feature". Korean Film Biz Zone. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  29. ↑ Lee, Claire (1 February 2012). "Choi Min-sik returns as layered villain". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  30. ↑ Lee, Ga-on (14 February 2012). "INTERVIEW: Actor Choi Min-shik - Part 1". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  31. ↑ Lee, Ga-on (14 February 2012). "INTERVIEW: Actor Choi Min-shik - Part 2". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  32. ↑ Kubas-Meyer, Alec (5 July 2012). "Choi Min-sik's next film is like The Departed, he's a cop". Flixist. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  33. ↑ Lee, Rachel (21 January 2013). "3 actors to show off talent in Sinsegae". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  34. ↑ Tae, Sang-joon (5 September 2013). "CHOI Min-sik Will Star in Luc Besson's LUCY". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  35. ↑ Park, Si-soo (6 April 2014). "Korean stars grace Hollywood movies". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2014-04-07.
  36. ↑ Chung, Joo-won (28 July 2014). "Choi Min-sik kicks butt in Hollywood film Lucy". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  37. 1 2 Kwon, Mee-yoo (3 August 2014). "Choi Min-sik sweeping box office in Korea, US". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  38. 1 2 Lee, Ji-hye (17 October 2014). "Roaring Currents & Lucy CHOI Min-shik: Balancing Korea in one hand and Hollywood in the other". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
  39. ↑ Baek, Byung-yeul (30 June 2014). "Joseon's war hero back on screen: Choi Min-sik's Roaring Currents retraces 16th century maritime battle against Japan". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2014-07-04.
  40. ↑ Lee, Eun-sun (4 August 2014). "Yi movie sweeps audiences away". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  41. ↑ "Roaring Currents Most Successful Korean Film of All Time". The Chosun Ilbo. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
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