# Lee Sung-jae

Lee Sung-jae (Korean: 이성재; born August 23, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Among his notable works include the films Art Museum by the Zoo (1998), Attack the Gas Station (1999), Kick the Moon (2001), and Public Enemy (2002), as well as the television series Gu Family Book (2013).

## Career

Lee Sung-jae in a short period rose to become one of the more versatile and popular actors in Korean cinema. After working for a time on TV (his debut was the MBC drama The Love of Two Women), he launched his film career with the romantic comedy Art Museum by the Zoo opposite superstar Shim Eun-ha. The success of this movie gave him considerable attention and led to him being offered many more roles.
After starring in Ghost in Love opposite Kim Hee-sun, Lee rose to prominence as the leader of a small group of thugs in one of the biggest box-office hits of the late 1990s, Kim Sang-jin's smash comedy Attack the Gas Station. Shortly thereafter he took a role in a very different kind of film, the accomplished black comedy Barking Dogs Never Bite, and his portrayal of a dog-hating lecturer who desperately wants to become a professor received good reviews.
In 2001, Lee acted opposite Ko So-young in A Day, a drama about a young married couple who wish to have a baby; he then appeared alongside Cha Seung-won and Kim Hye-soo in Kick the Moon, another wildly popular comedy by Kim Sang-jin. Lee also had a memorable turn as the villain in Public Enemy, a hugely successful film by hit director and Cinema Service founder Kang Woo-suk.
In 2004 Lee portrayed a mountain climber in the big-budget adventure/melodrama Ice Rain, which was shot in the Canadian Rockies, then played a ballroom dancer in Dance with the Wind, Park Jung-woo's directorial debut (Park wrote the screenplay for many of Kim Sang-jin's films). Other notable roles include real-life fugitive Ji Kang-hun in 2006's Holiday, and a sculptor in 2010 3D erotic film Natalie.
Among the television series he's starred in include 2008 romantic comedy Lawyers of the Great Republic of Korea, and 2012 hit cable drama How Long I've Kissed.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1998 | Art Museum by the Zoo | Chul-su | |
| 1999 | Ghost in Love | Kantorates | |
| 1999 | Attack the Gas Station | No Mark | |
| 2000 | Barking Dogs Never Bite | Go Yoon-joo | |
| 2001 | A Day | Seok-yoon | |
| 2001 | Kick the Moon | Park Young-jun | |
| 2002 | Public Enemy | Jo Kyu-hwan | |
| 2004 | Ice Rain | Kang Joong-hyun | |
| 2004 | Dance with the Wind | Park Pung-shik | |
| 2004 | Shinsukki Blues | Shin Suk-ki | |
| 2005 | Holiday | Ji Kang-heon | |
| 2006 | Daisy | Jeong Woo | |
| 2007 | The Mafia, The Salesman | Gye Doo-Sik | |
| 2010 | Dreams Come True | 1st Squad Leader | |
| 2010 | Natalie | Hwang Jun-Hyuk | |
| 2011 | Song of Dreams | U-Reuk | |
| 2018 | Human, Space, Time and Human | Politician | |
| 2022 | Carter | Kim Jong-hyuk | Netflix Film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1995 | The Love of Two Women | |
| 1997 | Yesterday | Yoon Min-soo |
| 1998 | Beyond the Horizon | |
| 1998 | Lie | Suh Joon-hee |
| 2006 | Stranger than Paradise | No Yoon-jae |
| 2008 | Lawyers of the Great Republic of Korea | Han Min Gook |
| 2011 | Poseidon | Kwon Jung-ryool |
| 2012 | How Long I've Kissed | Kim Tae-oh |
| 2012 | The Sons | Yoo Hyun-ki |
| 2013 | Gu Family Book | Jo Gwan-woong |
| 2013 | The Suspicious Housekeeper | Eun Sang-chul |
| 2014 | The King's Face | King Seonjo |
| 2015 | Warm and Cozy | Song Jung-geun |
| 2016 | Secret Healer | Choi Hyun-seo |
| 2016 | Don't Dare to Dream | Kim Rak |
| 2018 | Goodbye to Goodbye | Han Sang-jin |
| 2019 | Abyss | Oh Yeong-cheol |
| 2019 | Diary of a Prosecutor | Jo Min-ho |
| 2021–2022 | Show Window: The Queen's House | Shin Myung-seob |
| 2022–2023 | Red Balloon | Ji Nam-cheol |

### Variety show

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2013 | I Live Alone | Cast member | Ep. 1-37 |
| 2015 | Law of the Jungle in Indochina | Cast member | |
| 2016 | Flower Crew | Cast member | |

## Awards

| Year | Award ceremony | Category | Nominee(s) / Work(s) | Result |
| 1999 | 35th Baeksang Arts Award | Best New Actor | Art Museum by the Zoo | Won |
| 1999 | 19th Korean Association of Film Critics Award | Best New Actor | Art Museum by the Zoo | Won |
| 1999 | 7th Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best New Actor | Art Museum by the Zoo | Won |
| 1999 | 36th Grand Bell Awards | Best New Actor | Art Museum by the Zoo | Won |
| 1999 | 20th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best New Actor | Art Museum by the Zoo | Won |
| 2000 | 36th Baeksang Arts Awards | Popularity Award | Attack the Gas Station | Won |