Lee Sun-kyun

Lee Sun-kyun(Korean:이선균; March 2, 1975 – December 27, 2023) was a South Korean actor. Internationally, he was best known for his role inBong Joon-ho'sAcademy Award–winning filmParasite(2019), for which he won aScreen Actors Guild Awardalong with his castmates. He received several other awards, including a nomination for anInternational Emmy Award.
Lee debuted as an actor in 2000 and performed in TV dramas and musical theatre. The dramasCoffee PrinceandBehind the White Tower(both 2007) brought Lee mainstream popularity, which he followed withPasta(2010),Golden Time(2012) andMy Mister(2018).
Meanwhile, on the big screen, he received a Best Actor award from theLas Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festivalfor his role inPaju(2009), followed by critical acclaim for mystery thrillerHelpless(2012), romantic comedyAll About My Wife(2012), andcrime/black comedyA Hard Day(2014). Lee also continued to collaborate with directorHong Sang-soo, and hisarthouse filmswith Hong includeNight and Day(2008),Oki's Movie(2010), andNobody's Daughter Haewon(2013).
On December 27, 2023, Lee died from suicide at the age of 48. At the time of his death, Lee had been investigated for alleged drug consumption.
Lee Sun-kyun was born inSeoulon March 2, 1975.He attended theKorea National University of Artsin 1994, and graduated in the first ever class of its School of Drama with aBachelor of Fine Arts.
Lee made his debut as the lead actor in the 2000 short filmPsycho Drama.In 2001, he made his stage acting debut as Brad Majors in thestage musicalThe Rocky Horror Show,and his television debut in the sitcomLovers.
Lee eventually achieved his breakthrough in 2007 with the critically laudedmedical dramaWhite Towerand the highly popular romantic seriesCoffee Prince.He was nominated for Best New Actor in Television during the43rd Baeksang Arts Awards.BesidesCoffee Prince, he worked with director Lee Yoon-jung two other times—in the sports-themedTaereung National Villagein 2005, and in the slice-of-life dramaTriplein 2009.
Despite his burgeoning fame, Lee then turned to low-budgetarthouse filmsto polish his acting caliber. He appeared in films directed byHong Sang-soo, suchNight and Day,Lost in the Mountains,Oki's Movie,Nobody's Daughter HaewonandOur Sunhi.Hong had been renowned for his realistic portrayal of ordinary lives in his films.Lee also headlinedPaju,for which he won the Best Actor award at theLas Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festivalheld in Spain. Film distributor Myung Film quoted the judging committee as handing Lee high points for portraying the anguish his character felt for loving his wife's younger sister.
Lee successfully shook off his "gentle" TV drama image inPasta, where he played a brilliant-but-abrasive chef.The series' popularity made him a bankable romantic leading man.Petty Romancereunited him with hisMy Sweet Seoulco-starChoi Kang-hee,andone-upmanshipaction comedyOfficer of the Year(also known asArrest King) soon followed.
Lee showed his support for the revival of Drama Special (formerlyDrama City) by starring inOur Slightly Risque Relationship(his acting was later recognized at theKBS Drama Awards). He continually defended the importance of the short drama format as a training ground for young talent, acknowledging its contribution to his own career.
In 2012, he starred in two consecutive well-reviewed big-screen hits—mystery thrillerHelplessand romantic comedyAll About My Wife.Reuniting withPastadirector Kwon Seok-jang, Lee played atraumadoctor inGolden Time.His third collaboration with Kwon wasMiss Korea, a drama set amidst theIMF crisisin the 1990s.
Lee returned to the theater opposite wifeJeon Hye-jininMike Bartlett's stage playLove, Love, Lovein 2013.The following year, he headlined the filmA Hard Day, which screened at theDirectors' Fortnightsection of the2014 Cannes Film Festival, and became a critically acclaimedsleeper hitat the box office.
In 2015, Lee starred in thecourtroom dramafilmThe Advocate: A Missing Body.
In 2018, Lee starred in the critically acclaimed television seriesMy Mister.The same year he starred in the action thriller filmTake Point.In 2019, Lee starred in the legal television seriesProsecutor Civil War.
In 2019, Lee had a starring role in the critically acclaimed filmParasiteas Park Dong-ik (Nathan;박동익;Bak Dongik), the Park family father.Parasitewas directed byBong Joon-hoand became the first South Korean film to win thePalme d'Oras well as theAcademy Award for Best Picture.The cast ofParasite, including Lee, also received anSAG Awardfor Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
In 2021, Lee played a neuroscientist trying to solve the mysterious death of his family by hacking into the brains of the deceased.Dr. Brainis the first Korean-language show produced forApple TV+. As the drama series debut of renowned filmmakerKim Jee-woon, the sci-fi thriller is based on the Korean webtoon of the same name.For his performance he was nominated for a Best Actor award for the 50thInternational Emmy Awards.The same year, Lee appeared in the political drama filmKingmakeras political strategist.He received a nomination for Best Actor for his role in the film at the58th Baeksang Arts Awards; however, the award went to his costarSul Kyung-gu.
In 2023, Lee starred alongsideLee Ha-nee (Honey Lee)in Lee Won-suk's comedyKilling Romance. While the film received a tepid reaction upon release, it has since become a cult favorite in Korea, and made its North American debut at the 22nd New York Asian Film Festival on July 14, 2023.In that same year, Lee also starred alongsideJung Yu-miin the critically acclaimed horror filmSleep.
Lee married his wife, actressJeon Hye-jin, on May 23, 2009.Their agency announced that their first son was born on November 25, 2009.The couple's second son was born on August 9, 2011.
On October 19, 2023, it was revealed that Lee was booked for internal investigation over suspected drug use.As a result, he voluntarily dropped out ofNo Way Out, an upcoming thriller drama serial which just started its production days before the revelation of his alleged drug use.On October 24, he was charged on suspicion of using cannabis and psychoactive drugs, according toIncheon Metropolitan Police Agency, and was summoned for questioning on October 28.Lee was also given a travel ban to prevent him from leaving the country during the course of investigations.Initial test results of Lee's hair samples revealed that Lee tested negative for drugs, and further investigations were expected as of November 2023.Lee first requested the police to conduct an additionallie detector testthrough his lawyer. The complaint is that it is unfair to be accused of drug use in a situation where there is only a statement and no physical evidence.After a third interrogation, which lasted over 19 hours, Lee admitted that he might have possibly taken drugs which were given to him by a hostess who he had been at a bar with, but said he was unaware that what he was given were illegal drugs, and that he had been deceived into doing so as part of a blackmail attempt.Due to Lee's public persona as a "family man", and South Korean society's high moral expectations of public figures and strong social disapproval of both infidelity and drug use, Lee and the investigation was heavily covered by South Korean media.Korean opposition party questioned the coverage of Lee's suspected drug use, stating that it took away public's attention from unfavorable developments involving the government and rulingPeople Power Partywhich member and Justice MinisterHan Dong-hooncommented that "the drug use issue was unrelated to politics".
On December 27, 2023, at 10:30 a.m., Lee was found dead at the age of 48 inside his car at the road parking lot nearbyWaryong Parkin central Seoul.In the passenger seat was acharcoal briquettecommonly used insuicideviacarbon monoxide poisoningin South Korea.The police earlier received a report from his wife that Lee had left home after "writing a memo akin to asuicide note".Lee's funeral was held at the funeral hall of Seoul National University Hospital, and he was buried on the 29th in Yeonhwajang,Suwon.Lee's death came amidst multiple suspected suicides among South Korean celebrities, and an analysis article byCNNsaid it cast a spotlight on the high-pressure environment in South Korea's entertainment industry.Following Lee's death, a woman was arrested following allegations she had blackmailed him,and has been sent to prosecution.DirectorBong Joon-hoand other prominent figures demanded an inquiry into the role of South Korean media and police in Lee's death.On December 19, 2024, two women, a bar hostess surnamed Kim and a former actress surnamed Park who extorted₩350 million (2023) (US$268,063.15) from Lee were sentenced to 3.5 years and to 4 years and 2 months, respectively, with the judge stating that the extortion attempts had contributed to Lee's death.