Summary

Lee Jung - jae has garnered increase recognition across the globe for his performance inSquid Game , but plenty of other films and TV shows are made excellent by his talent . Season 2 ofSquid Gamecan’t do soon enough , but in the meanwhile , many piece of music of media boast the work of Lee , and come up the same itchiness as the series . work across a variety of genres , Lee has been the romantic steer , horrible villain , and virtuously equivocal antiheroand has elevated the character of the content by rising to the occasion no matter what the script call for .

Lee get down his start in mould and K - dramas in the 1990s , and his vocation has increase since then . For the most part , he has acted in film after his breakout movie office , but for the right part , it ’s clear that he ’s willing to re - enter the goggle box sphere . Now that he is gaining extrusion in the international orbit , it ’s safe to say that there will be enough more to add up from Lee in the future , include theStar WarsTV showAcolyte​​​​​​.

Now that he is gaining prominence in the international sphere , it ’s safe to say that there will be plenty more to come from Lee .

Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun in Squid Game (2021).

Lee Jun - jae teases a potential twist towards the dark side of wealth that his Squid Game type , Gi - hun , face in the breakout show ’s time of year 2 .

10An Affair (1998)

Woo In

Though Lee was in several prominent K - dramas up until this point , his role as Woo In in the filmAn Affairput him on the function and led to his picture show career . His character , Woo In , has a scandalous affair with his fiancé ’s honest-to-god sister , Seo - hyun ( Lee Mi - sook ) . However , the film does n’t pad the story and uses a quieter , more ruminative tone to communicate the root . Despite knowing what they ’re doing is incorrect , neither party can end the feelings they have for each other , andit ’s easy to see how Seo - hyun could fall in honey with Lee ’s performance .

9Hunt (2022)

Park Pyong-ho

The explosive activeness filmHuntfeatures Lee Jung - jaeas Park Pyong - ho and also wasthe first movie helmed by Lee as the director . Huntis a precisely choreographed action mechanism film that would take exception any managing director , especially as a debut , but Lee pulls off both his performance and makes smart pick in his steering . A period piece that take place in the ' 80s , Huntdraws inspiration fromJames Bondand other movies in the undercover agent musical genre but distinguishes itself as a alone offer that explore a period of history that ’s often overlooked .

8Il Mare (2000)

Han Sung-hyun

Il Marenot only solidified Lee ’s power to be a wild-eyed lead , butit also inspired the U.S. adaptation , The Lake House , starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves . However , before the American twist on the film , Il Maremade a sweet and moving case for Lee as a sensitive leading man , and though it did n’t achieve outstanding plaudit , it ’s increase in popularity since the film ’s initial release . The fantastical assumption does n’t take off from what is essential to the moving-picture show ’s success : the empathic performance by Lee and his costar .

Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves are two of the big stars in Hollywood , and their onscreen chemistry in two blockbusters spur dating rumor .

7Sandglass (1995)

Baek Jae-hee

Sandglasswas not Lee ’s first maraud into K - drama , but it was the one that made him a ' 90s heartthrob in South Korea for his carrying into action of Baek Jae - hee . The series only run for one season , but the cultural impact it made was astounding . Viewership and vital reception continue eminent with every installment of the series , andit was n’t only Lee but every actor on the political program who was pierce into stardom . What made the show so authoritative was that though a wild-eyed love trigon was a major plot of land point , so was the political history that unfold in the setting .

6City Of The Rising Sun (1999)

Hong-ki

Jung Woo - sung team up with Lee inCity of the Rising Sun , a film about the major power of friendship . Hong - ki ( Lee ) and Do - chul ( Jung ) become best booster from their first meeting , and their kinship is a incontrovertible representation of platonic male love . However , their unlike animation philosophies get in the way and threaten to deflower the friendly relationship that has apace become the highlight of their lifetime . Lee is not always a sympathetic character in the film , but his personal magnetism jump through the screenand makes it impossible not to root for him to win over Do - chul once again .

5Deliver Us From Evil (2020)

Ray

Lee is at his most fearsome as Ray inDeliver Us From Evil . He is a roughshod mankind on a mission of retaliation against the man who killed his comrade . Kim In - nam ( Hwang Jung - min ) , the humans who killed Ray ’s brother , drop much of the movie running from Ray ’s ira and searching for his daughter , whom Ray is using as a cat’s-paw . fancy Lee in so crimson and extreme a role is a divergencefrom his common typecast . However , he slips into the character seamlessly , which helped the film achieve its many nominating speech and wins at the Blue Dragon Film Awards .

4The Housemaid (2010)

Hoon

Lee is the rich and herculean Hoon inThe Housemaid , a late remaking of the 1960 movie of the same name directed by Kim Ki - young . As with his other function , Lee is not afraid to show the dangerous effects of sexism and toxic maleness in his word picture of his character . Though he has wealth and influence , he has an affair with the maid who lives with him and his pregnant wife , which countersink him and his family down a direful and violent past . Eun - yi ( Jeon Do - yeon ) , the maid , is driven to despair by the behaviour of Hoon and his wife .

The film attempts to dress down the personal effects of classism and how the upper class lives in South Korea , as well as the cultural perceptions around mental illness and ego - scathe . Similar to other sexual thrillers , The Housemaiddraws the viewer in with its sumptuousness and charm , but there ’s an undercurrent of darkness throughout the film that let out itself through the twist at the end . Lee ’s choice to be in the movie illustrateshis committedness to stories that interact with societal and political military issue that he has demonstrated throughout his career .

The film attempts to do down the effects of classism and how the upper course lives in South Korea , as well as the cultural sensing around genial illness and self - injury .

Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves in two movies

3The Thieves (2012)

Popie

Lee is n’t the protagonist inThe Thieves , as his character , Popie , is the leader of the criminal ring but is n’t the nitty-gritty of the love triangle . The Thievesis a thrilling joyride that holds its own against some of the great heist films of the twenty - first century . After Popie and his team steal an expensive and well - known item , they go on the run and unite up with an even great criminal mastermind . However , he and two of his friend were call for in a romanticistic web in the past , which complicates their present ambitiousness .

Forming a new grouping , alike toOcean ’s Eleven , the squad plan to slip a priceless diamond , but the promiscuous - hearted note of the film before long turn sour as many part go bad in the process of get it . Even though the darkness of the film comes of a sudden , it heightens the quality of the movieand allow Lee to show the profoundness of his character . The play of the rip-off and the worked up profoundness of the loss were all elements that made the film enormously popular in South Korea , breaking several box office criminal record ( viaBox Office Mojo ) .

2Assassination (2015)

Yem Sek-jin

As Yem Sek - jin , Lee plays a Korean resistance fighter in a period pieceabout the Nipponese occupation of Korea . The film is a twisting fictionalisation of what the body of work of resistance members might have front like in the 1930s . Yem is a complex character who has his allegiance split between the country he loves and the power of the Nipponese government . cross many age and involving a big cast of part , the film is resonant of a sweeping blockbuster , and though the many intersectant plot points can become convoluted , it ’s still an enjoyable film .

1Squid Game (2021 - )

Seong Gi-hun

Squid Gamebecame a runaway striking for Netflix after premiere in 2021 , and Lee Jung - jae ’s functioning as Gi - hun anchored the entire serial . Gi - hun will return inSquid Gameseason 2 , promising a familiar nerve in the next iteration of the severe game . The series is a satirization of class disparity and uprise to prominence because of its dead body - horror elementsand the gamey stakes that the contestants face . Lee ’s character is one of the few who make it to the end of the games and find out the maniacal accuracy behind them .

Due to its success , the show has catapult Lee into fame outside of South Korea and into world-wide marketplace . Still , this new international fame is merely the up-to-the-minute recognition of his talents . His ability to hold a serial as vivid and fast - pace asSquid Gamecame from years of being an icon in South Korean film and television . Throughout this time , he portrayed many complex characters . However , now that all-embracing audiences have an awareness of his talent , they can search his existent and significant filmography .

Tony Khan and Sting merged image

Lee-Jun-jae-Squid-Game-An-Affair

hunt

Lee Jung-jae and Jung Woo-sung in Hunt

Lee Jung-jae in Il Mare

Lee Jung-jae in TV series Sandglass

Lee Jung-jae and Jung-Woo-sung in City of the Rising Sun

Lee Jung-jae in The Housemaid

Lee Jung-jae and the cast of The Thieves

Lee Jung-jae in Assassination