# Son Suk-ku

Son Suk-ku (Korean: 손석구; Korean pronunciation:; born February 7, 1983) is a South Korean actor. He gained recognition for his roles in the television series Matrimonial Chaos (2018), Designated Survivor: 60 Days (2019), D.P. (2021–2023), My Liberation Notes (2022), and A Killer Paradox (2024), as well as the films Nothing Serious (2021) and The Roundup (2022).

## Early life

Son was born on February 7, 1983, in Taepyeong-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon, South Korea. He started studying abroad early in middle school and continued his studies in Canada and the United States. He majored in visual arts and film at the School of Art Institute of Chicago, dreaming of becoming a documentary director.
In 2005, during his mandatory military service, he volunteered to join the Zaytun Division, a Republic of Korea Army contingent which carried out peacekeeping and reconstruction missions in war-torn Iraq.

## Career

Son began his acting career, playing a minor role in 2014 film Scarlet Innocence and appeared in Black Stone (2016), Sense8 (2017) and Mother (2018).
His popularity began to rise with his starring role in KBS2 romantic comedy drama Matrimonial Chaos (2018) and his supporting role in the tvN political thriller drama Designated Survivor: 60 Days (2019).
In 2021, he played Captain Im Ji-seop in the Netflix series D.P. The same year, he starred in the romance film Nothing Serious which marked his first big-screen leading role. Son made his directorial debut in the Watcha short film Unframed – Rebroadcast.
In 2022, Son starred in the JTBC slice-of-life drama My Liberation Notes. His portrayal of Mr. Gu, a reclusive alcoholic stranger, earned praise from critics and audiences and he topped the drama performers popularity ranking for five consecutive weeks. The same year, he starred as the villain Kang Hae-sung in the crime action blockbuster The Roundup, which became the highest-grossing film of 2022 in South Korea, selling 12 million tickets. Success of his 2022 projects raised his popularity and recognition.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | Scarlet Innocence | Casino henchman 2 | Bit part |
| 2016 | Black Stone | First Lieutenant | Independent film |
| 2017 | Wedding | Sung-hoon | Short film |
| 2019 | Hit-and-Run Squad | Ki Tae-ho | |
| 2019 | Shimchung Girl | Doctor | |
| 2021 | Nothing Serious | Park Woo-ri | |
| 2021 | Unframed – Rebroadcast | Director, script writer | Short film |
| 2022 | The Roundup | Kang Hae-sang | |
| 2023 | It's Okay! | Dong-wook | Special appearance |
| 2024 | Troll Factory | Im Sang-jin | |
| TBA | Virus | Nam Soo-pil | Special appearance |
| TBA | Dreams | Dong-wook | |

### Television series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2016 | Kidnapping Assemblyman Mr. Clean | Sang-chul's subordinate | special drama |
| 2018 | Mother | Seol-ak | |
| 2018 | Suits | David Kim | |
| 2018 | Matrimonial Chaos | Lee Jang-hyun | |
| 2019 | Designated Survivor: 60 Days | Cha Young-jin | |
| 2019 | Be Melodramatic | Kim Sang-soo | Special appearance (Ep. 10, 12–16) |
| 2021 | Jirisan | Lim Cheol-kyeong | Special appearance (Ep. 6) |
| 2022 | My Liberation Notes | Mr. Gu (Gu Ja-gyeong) | |
| 2025 | Heavenly Ever After | Ko Nak-Joon | |

### Web series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2017 | Sense8 | Detective Mun | Season 2 |
| 2021–2023 | D.P. | Im Ji-seop | Season 1–2 |
| 2022–2023 | Big Bet | Oh Seung-hoon | |
| 2024 | A Killer Paradox | Jang Nan-gam | |
| 2025 | Nine Puzzle | Kim Han Saem | |

### Music video appearances

| Year | Song title | Artist | Ref. |
| 2019 | "Alone" (혼자) | Gummy | |

## Theater

| Year | English title | Korean title | Role | Ref. |
| 2023 | Army on the Tree | 나무 위의 군대 | Recruiter | |

## Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination :
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result |
| APAN Star Awards | 2022 | Excellence Award, Actor in Miniseries | My Liberation Notes | Nominated |
| APAN Star Awards | 2022 | Popularity Star Award, Actor | My Liberation Notes | Nominated |
| APAN Star Awards | 2022 | Best Couple Award | Son Suk-ku (with Kim Ji-won) My Liberation Notes | Nominated |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2019 | Best New Actor – Film | Hit-and-Run Squad | Nominated |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2019 | Best New Actor – Television | Matrimonial Chaos | Nominated |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2023 | Best Actor – Television | My Liberation Notes | Nominated |
| Blue Dragon Series Awards | 2022 | Best Supporting Actor | D.P. | Nominated |
| Brand of the Year Awards | 2022 | Best Actor | Son Suk-ku | Won |
| Buil Film Awards | 2022 | Best New Actor | The Roundup | Nominated |
| Chunsa Film Art Awards | 2022 | Best Supporting Actor | The Roundup | Nominated |
| Director's Cut Awards | 2022 | Best New Actor in film | Nothing Serious | Nominated |
| Grand Bell Awards | 2022 | Best Supporting Actor | The Roundup | Nominated |
| KBS Drama Awards | 2018 | Best New Actor | Suits, Matrimonial Chaos | Nominated |
| Kinolights Awards | 2022 | Actor of The Year (Domestic) | The Roundup, My Liberation Notes | 2nd Place |
| Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | 2022 | Best New Actor | The Roundup | Won |

### Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement :
| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement |
| Cine21 | 2021 | New Actor to watch out for in 2022 | 1st |
| Cine21 | 2024 | "Korean Film NEXT 50" – Actors | Placed |
| Elle Japan | 2022 | Top 16 Hallyu Best Actor | 1st |
| Forbes | 2023 | Korea Power Celebrity 40 | 7th |