Cho Seung-woo (; born March 28, 1980) is a South Korean actor and singer. He is best known for his leading roles in the films The Classic (2003), Marathon (2005), Tazza: The High Rollers (2006), and Inside Men (2015), as well as in the stage musicals Jekyll & Hyde, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Man of La Mancha. He is also known for his leading roles in television dramas The King's Doctor (2012), God's Gift: 14 Days (2014), Stranger (2017–2020), Life (2018), Sisyphus: The Myth (2021), and Divorce Attorney Shin (2023).
Career 2000–2004: Acting debut Cho Seung-woo grew up in a musical family: his father is a singer, and his older sister acts in musical theatre. Cho himself also dreamed of becoming a musical actor from an early age, however in 1999 while a student at Dankook University he was persuaded to join auditions for Im Kwon-taek's film Chunhyang, and he ended up winning the part from among a field of 1,000 actors. Chunhyang would screen as the first Korean film in competition at Cannes, although domestically it failed to attract much of an audience."Actors and Actresses of Korean Cinema: Cho Seung-woo" . Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
Cho did go on to appear in musicals after his film debut, acting in local productions Subway Line 1 and The Last Empress. Soon he was drawn back into the film industry, however, with a key supporting role in Wanee & Junah (2001), a villainous turn in H (2002), plus a leading role in Who Are U? (2002). In 2003, Cho acted in Kwak Jae-yong's romance The Classic opposite Son Ye-jin, receiving good reviews for his sincere acting. His popularity continued to grow, and in 2004 he appeared in Im Kwon-taek's 99th film Low Life.
2005: Breakthrough with Marathon and Jekyll & Hyde Cho's breakthrough would come in early 2005 with the smash hit Marathon, where he played an autistic young man who only finds release in running. The film sold over 5 million tickets, and aged 26, Cho won several awards for his performance including Best Actor at the 2005 Grand Bell Awards, Best Actor at 2005 Baeksang Arts Awards in film category, as well as Best Actor in the foreign film category at China's Hundred Flowers Awards. Nonetheless, he continued to pursue his career in musicals, with critically acclaimed appearances in Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Jekyll and Hyde. His success at pursuing both film and musicals make him an unusual case among contemporary actors.
2006–2009: Continued success
Cho starred in Love Phobia (2006) opposite then-girlfriend Kang Hye-jung; both were praised for their acting, but the melodrama wasn't a commercial success. He then headlined Tazza: The High Rollers with Kim Hye-soo, the 2006 film adaptation of Huh Young-man's same-titled manhwa, which went on to become one of the biggest Korean blockbuster hits of all time. He followed that with Go Go 70s, about a rock and roll band during the height of the Park Chung Hee military regime; and The Sword with No Name, in which he played a fictional royal guard in love with Empress Myeongseong (Soo Ae).
2010–present: Comeback After completing his mandatory military service, Cho made his comeback in the 2010 production of Jekyll and Hyde."Cho Seung-woo set on starring in Jekyll & Hyde since '09" . 10Asia. October 26, 2010. The musical was especially meaningful to Cho since the actor rose to stardom when the show premiered in Korea in 2004."Cho Seung-woo to Make Post-Army Comeback in Jekyll and Hyde" . The Chosun Ilbo. August 10, 2010. Cho's much-anticipated return to the stage was marked with controversy following reports that his salary would be the highest for any musical theatre actor in Korean history. While producers feared that demands for similarly high fees could follow (which could eventually put them out of business), others said that the fee was justified, based on the hope that Cho would help spark a renaissance in a once-vibrant but now-stagnant musical theatre industry. And true enough, when tickets went on sale, the demand was so high that the online reservation server broke down after 15 minutes, with all of the performances in which Cho was scheduled to appear already sold out.. Korea JoongAng Daily. December 15, 2010.
His 2011 sports movie Perfect Game revisited one of the most exciting matches in Korean baseball history, between Choi Dong-won of the Lotte Giants and Sun Dong-yeol of the Haitai Tigers in the summer of 1987, which ended in a tie after being extended 15 innings; the rivalry between the two was further heated up by regionalism at the time with Choi representing the Gyeongsang Province and Sun, the Jeolla Province. Cho starred as Choi opposite Yang Dong-geun as Sun."Actor Cho Seung-woo cast in a new baseball film" . 10Asia. April 13, 2011."Cho Seung Woo: 'I Want to Break Record of Other Baseball Movies'" . KBS Global. December 19, 2011."Interview: Actor Cho Seung-woo – Part 1" . 10Asia. December 26, 2011."Interview: Actor Cho Seung-woo – Part 2" . 10Asia. December 26, 2011. That same year, Cho also took on the lead role in the musical Zorro."Cho Seung Woo Takes on Challenge of Major Musical" . KBS Global. July 12, 2011.
After lead actor Ju Ji-hoon quit due to vocal chord problems, Cho joined the 2012 stage production of Doctor Zhivago just two weeks ahead of opening, turning the musical into a hit."Cho Seung-woo lands lead role in musical Doctor Zhivago" . 10Asia. January 16, 2012. He and Ryu Deok-hwan then played conjoined twins in actress Ku Hye-sun's sophomore directorial effort The Peach Tree."Cho Seung-woo Set to Return to the Big Screen" . The Chosun Ilbo. February 24, 2011.
Cho made his small screen debut in 2012 with The King's Doctor, a period drama based on a true story about a Joseon-era low-class veterinarian specializing in the treatment of horses who rises to become the royal physician."Cho Seung-woo to make small screen debut in Jewel in the Palace director's next series" . 10Asia. May 8, 2012. Cho won the highest award ("Daesang," or Grand Prize) at the MBC Drama Awards for his performance in The King's Doctor, then returned to the stage in 2013 in Hedwig, reprising one of his most memorable musical roles.
Cho continued working in television. He portrayed the poet Yi Sang in Crow's-Eye View, a single-episode anthology as part of MBC's Drama Festival. Cho then starred in the 2014 time travel thriller God's Gift: 14 Days, playing a private investigator who helps a mother (Lee Bo-young) save her child.
Cho reprised one of his most beloved roles in Jekyll and Hyde for the musical's 10th anniversary in late 2014, and the 18,700 tickets sold out in just 10 minutes. Because of his ticket power, he was chosen as among the top 30 most influential people in Korean popular culture in 2006, and for four consecutive years in 2010 to 2014.
Cho next plays a heroic prosecutor who uncovers bribery in the halls of power in Inside Men, a 2015 film adaptation of Yoon Tae-ho's webtoon The Insiders. Inside Men was a box office success with more than 7 million admissions, becoming Cho's highest-grossing film.
In his interview in July 2016, Cho said that after completion of his performance for the musical Sweeney Todd, he decided to take a three-year hiatus from musical to focus on film.
In 2017, Cho starred in tvN's mystery thriller drama Stranger, playing a prosecutor who lacks empathetic abilities. The series was a hit and gained favorable reviews for its tight plot, gripping sequences and strong performances. Cho's performance in the Stranger also won him an Baeksang Arts Award for Best Actor in TV category.
In 2018, Cho starred in the period film Feng Shui, the third installment of the "divining art trilogy" by Han Jae-rim. He also starred in JTBC's medical drama Life.
In 2020, Cho revived his role in Stranger Season 2 as Hwang Simok.
In 2023, Cho played the titular role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera in Busan, Seoul and Daegu, alternating the part with Choi Jae-rim, Julian Jootaek Kim, and Jeon Dong-seok.
Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes 2000 Chunhyang Lee Mong-ryong 2001 Ahmijimong Ahn Ji-hoon Web film Wanee & Junah Lee Young-min 2002 Who Are U? Ji Hyung-tae YMCA Baseball Team Young coachman Cameo H Shin Hyun 2003 The Classic Oh Joon-ha 2004 Low Life Choi Tae-woong 2005 Marathon Yoon Cho-won 2006 Love Phobia Cha Jo-kang Tazza: The High Rollers Kim Gon(Go-ni) 2008 Go Go 70s Im Sang-kyu 2009 The Sword with No Name Mu-myung(Yo-han) 2011 Perfect Game Choi Dong-won 2012 The Peach Tree Choi Sang-hyun 2015 Assassination Kim Won-bong Cameo Inside Men Woo Jang-hoon 2018 Feng Shui Park Jae-sang
Television series
Year Title Role Notes 2012 The King's Doctor Baek Gwang-hyun 2013 Drama Festival – "Lee Sang That Lee Sang" Lee Sang Single drama 2014 God's Gift: 14 Days Ki Dong-chan 2017-2020 Stranger Hwang Shi-mok Season 1–2 2018 Life Koo Seung-hyo 2021 Sisyphus: The Myth Han Tae-sul 2023 Divorce Attorney Shin Shin Sung-han 2026 The East Palace the King
Music video appearances Year Title Artist 2005 "Another Side of Memory" Boohwal YouTube "Prayer to Overcome Sadness" YouTube
Stage Musical theatre Year Title Role Theater Date Notes 2000 Blood Brothers Beggar(Narrator) Hagjeon Blue Small Theater 2001 The Last Empress Gojong Seoul Arts Center Subway Line 1 Newsboy Hagjeon Green Small Theater 2002 The Sorrows of Young Werther Werther Sejong Center for the Performing Arts 2003 Carmen Don José Universal Arts Center 2004–2005 Jekyll & Hyde Jekyll/Hyde COEX Auditorium 2005 Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig/Tommy Daehangno Live Theater 2006 Jekyll & Hyde Jekyll/Hyde Seoul Arts CenterNational Theater of Korea Subway Line 1 Salesperson Hagjeon Green Small Theater Cameo 2007 Rent Roger Davis Daehangno Seensee Musical Theater Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig/Tommy Daehangno Theater SH Man of La Mancha Miguel de Cervantes/Don Quixote LG Art Center Pump Boys and Dinettes Delivery man Daehangno Art Cente Cameo 2010–2011 Jekyll & Hyde Jekyll/Hyde Charlotte Theater 2011 Subway Line 1 Singer Hagjeon Blue Small Theater 03.10, 03.13, 03.14 Cameo Blood Brothers Beggar(Narrator) 2011–2012 Zorro Don Diego de la Vega/Zorro Samsung Electronics Hall 2012 Doctor Zhivago Yuri Zhivago Charlotte Theater 2013 Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig/Tommy Baekam Art Hall 2013–2014 Man of La Mancha Miguel de Cervantes/Don Quixote Chungmu Art Hall 2014 Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig/Tommy Baekam Art Hall 10th Anniversary 2014–2015 Jekyll & Hyde Jekyll/Hyde Samsung Electronics Hall 10th Anniversary 2015 Man of La Mancha Miguel de Cervantes/Don Quixote D Cube Art Center 10th Anniversary 2015–2016 Werther Werther Seoul Arts Center 15th Anniversary 2016 Hedwig: New Makeup Hedwig/Tommy Hongik University Daehangno Art Center Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd Charlotte Theater 2018–2019 Jekyll & Hyde Jekyll/Hyde Charlotte Theater 2019–2020 Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd Charlotte Theater 2021 Man of La Mancha Miguel de Cervantes/Don Quixote Charlotte TheaterChungmu Arts Center 15th Anniversary Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig/Tommy Chungmu Arts Center 2023 The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom Dream TheaterCharlotte Theatre
Musical concerts Year Title Notes/ 2004 Musical Story Show with Lee Seok-joon Ep. 10뮤지컬 배우-팬 수다떨고 노래하는 '이야기쇼...' 인기행진 / Ep. 16뮤지컬 배우 온라인에서 만난다 Autumn Night Concert KT&G Family Concert with The Seoul Shinmun 2005 Hedwig and the Angry Inch Concert 2007 Musical Story Show with Lee Seok-joon Ep. 100컬처홀릭 '뮤지컬 이야기쇼' 100회 마감 2008 HEDWIG 10th Anniversary! Hedwig Concert with John Cameron Mitchell and Oh Man-seok Cameo Musical Concert, I Am Nam Sam: 30th Anniversary of 's Musical Life 2009 Korean National Police University Annual Concert For Public 2010 Summer Night Concert
Stage play Year Title Role Theater Date Notes/ 2024 Hamlet Hamlet CJ Towol Theater October 18 – November 17
Discography