Kim Myung-min (, born October 8, 1972) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the television series Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin (2004), White Tower (2007), Beethoven Virus (2008), Six Flying Dragons (2015–2016), and Law School (2021), as well as the films Closer to Heaven (2009) and the Detective K film series. Praised for his acting skills, he is often called "The Acting Expert".
Career
Early years
Kim Myung-min debuted as an actor when he won the 6th SBS public talent audition in 1996.Cineline: Cineline profile of Kim Myung Min last retrieved: 16 April 2000Cine21: 그가 그린 마음의 지옥도, <소름>의 김명민 last retrieved: 16 April 2000Mydaily: 김명민 대상의 원동력과 값진 의미? last retrieved: 16 April 2000 Over the next five years he appeared in a number of television series in various supporting roles.
Kim' first leading role came with critically appraised 2001 horror film Sorum, the feature debut of the director Yoon Jong-chan, telling the story of a taxi driver moving into a decrepit building that hides several dark secrets. For this part Kim received Best New Actor award at 2001 Busan Film Critics Awards and Director's Cut Awards
Building on his new status of a lead actor, Kim started to work on several film projects, many of which however ended unfinished, mostly due to financial problems. At that time he also suffered from injuries incurred while he was shooting action scenes.
When he starred in the 2004 KBS family drama More Beautiful than a Flower, he was expected to have a successful career as a lead actor. However, he was badly injured while performing a stunt and his film contracts kept being withdrawn. This series of unfortunate events led him to quit stage acting in 2004. Kim then decided to end his acting career and emigrate to New Zealand with his family following the birth of his son. A turning point came in his career when he was given the opportunity to play the lead role in the 2004-2005 historical drama Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin after producers viewed his work in More Beautiful than a Flower. The 104-episode TV series based on the life of Korea's hero of the Imjin War put Kim in the spotlightKBS World via Hancinema: "Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-shin" Gains Popularity in China last retrieved: 7 December 2008 and brought him a host of awards including Grand Prize at KBS Drama Awards.
Mainstream success Kim was then cast in leading roles, playing a comical ex-gangster in Bad Family and a detective in Open City. He then played a surgeon in two productions: the television series White Tower and film Wide Awake. White Tower was a critical and ratings hit in South Korea, gaining praise for its acting (particularly by Kim), writing, direction, and its intelligent and uncompromising story without concessions to melodrama or romance. Kim won the Best Actor awards at the year-end Baeksang Arts Awards and Grimae Awards, and was chosen as the Best Performer of the year by producers.
Subsequently, his performance as a maestro in the 2008 TV series Beethoven Virus created a sensation in Korea referred to as "Kang Mae Syndrome" and again earned him acclaim from critics and viewers.KBS World via Hancinema: Kang "Mae Syndrome" Sweeps Marketing last retrieved: 7 December 2008 Kim received the Grand Prize (Daesang) at the MBC Drama Awards and his second Baeksang for Best Actor in television. In late 2008, it was announced that his next project was a film about a character living with Lou Gehrig's disease, titled Closer to Heaven. To realistically portray the role of the dying patient, Kim painstakingly lost 20 kilos during the course of the filming. Kim was widely commended for this feat, and won Best Actor Awards in Korea's leading film ceremonies, the 46th Grand Bell Awards and the 30th Blue Dragon Film Awards.Park, Sun-young. "'Closer to Heaven' actors win Blue Dragon awards ". Korea JoongAng Daily. 3 December 2009. Retrieved on 11 November 2009. Closer to Heaven was followed by another film, Man of Vendetta, where Kim portrayed the role of a father for the first time.
In January 2011, Kim took on the role of Joseon's Sherlock Holmes in historical comedy-mystery film Detective K: Secret of the Virtuous Widow. He then starred in sports movie, Pacemaker, where he played a marathon runner. Summer of 2012 saw Kim as a pharmaceutical agent in disaster movie Deranged. The film, directed by Park Jung-woo became the fastest Korean film in 2012 to reach 2 million admissions, eight days after its July 5 release date.<Deranged> fastest to 2 million admissions in 2012 ". Korean Film Biz Zone. 18 July 2012. Retrieved on 23 September 2012. and topped the box office for three consecutive weeks.Lucia Hong. ""Deranged" continues to perch atop the box office ". 10Asia, 16 July 2012. Retrieved on 23 September 2012. Kim then starred in The Spies, his second collaboration with Woo Min-ho, director of his 2010 film, Man of Vendetta. The film is centered on a North Korean agent and his three comrades who are working undercover in South Korea.
Kim made a comeback to the small screen after four years in satire dramedy The King of Dramas, where he played a drama production company CEO.Lee Hye. "Kim Myung-min to turn into TV series producer in new comedy" . 10Asia, 25 July 2012. Retrieved on 23 September 2012. He next played a brilliant but cynical lawyer who gets into an accident and loses his memory in A New Leaf (2014). In 2015, Kim reprised his role as Detective K in Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island, the second installment in the Detective K series. The historical television series Six Flying Dragons followed, in which he played Jeong Do-jeon, who served as the first prime minister of the Joseon dynasty. He next starred in the disaster film Pandora, portraying the aftermath of an explosion in a nuclear plant. Crime drama Proof of Innocence followed, where Kim played a former cop-turned-legal broker.
In 2017, Kim starred in the noir film V.I.P, playing a police detective, followed by mystery thriller A Day. The same year, he was cast in the period comedy film Monstrum. In 2018, Kim again reprised his role as Detective K in Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead, the third installment in the Detective K series. The same year, he returned to the small screen in the melodrama The Miracle We Met. which won him another Grand Prize at the KBS Drama Awards. In 2019, Kim starred in the war film The Battle of Jangsari. In 2021, he starred in the legal drama series Law School playing a prosecutor-turned-professor who teaches criminal law. In 2022, it was reported that the contract with agency C-JeS Entertainment Kim's has expired. Later the same day it was confirmed that the original agency contract had expired.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role 2001 Sorum Yong-hyun 2003 Into the Mirror Ha Hyun-su 2007 Return Ryu Jae-woo 2008 Open City Jo Dae-yeong 2009 Closer to Heaven Baek Jong-woo 2010 Man of Vendetta Joo Young-soo2011 Detective K: Secret of the Virtuous Widow Kim Min "Detective K" Pacemaker Joo Man-ho2012 Deranged Jae-hyuk The Spies Section Chief Kim 2015 Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island Kim Min "Detective K"2016The Great Actor (cameo) Pandora Seok-ko Hang Proof of Innocence Choi Pil-jae2017VIPChae Yi-doA DayKim Joon-young 2018 Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead Kim Min ("Detective K")MonstrumYoon-gyeom2019The Battle of JangsariLee Myung-joon
Television series Year Title Role 1999 KAIST Kim Hyun-moo 2000 Some Like it Hot Choi Jin-sang Look Back in Anger Kim Suk-gyu 2001 A Father and a Son Jae-doo 2004 More Beautiful Than a Flower Jang In-chul Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin Yi Sun-sin 2006 Bad Family Oh Dal-geon 2007 Behind the White Tower Jang Joon-hyuk 2008 Beethoven Virus Kang Gun-woo / Kang Mae 2012 The King of Dramas Anthony Kim 2014 A New Leaf Kim Seok-joo 2015–16 Six Flying Dragons "Sambong" Jeong Do-jeon 2018 The Miracle We Met Song Hyun-chul (A) 2021 Law School Yang Jong-hoon 2024 Your Honor Kim Kang-heon Double Spy Bong Tae-il
Music video appearances Year Song title Artist1999"Blue" Lee Kyung-sub2001"Landscape" Lee Jung-bong
Discography Year Title2009 Kim Myung-min Classics Maestro
Ambassadorship 2010 Seoul National University Bundang Hospital Goodwill Ambassador 2009 Korea Dental Association, "Ambassador for Oral Hygiene" 2008 Kia Soul CUV 2007 Oral Health Care Campaign, "OQ Publicity Ambassador" 2007 National Election Commission, "Clean Election Publicity Ambassador" 2007 Yeon-se Severance Health Publicity Ambassador 2006 National Pension Service 2005 Social Welfare Society 2005 The Great Admiral Lee Soon-shin Festival
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2000 MBC Drama Awards Best New Actor Some Like It Hot 2001 2nd Busan Film Critics AwardsSorum 4th Director's Cut Awards 22nd Blue Dragon Film Awards 2002 38th Baeksang Arts AwardsBest New Actor (Film) 2004 KBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor More Beautiful Than a Flower 2005 41st Baeksang Arts AwardsBest Actor (TV)Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin 18th Grimae Awards Best Actor KBS Drama AwardsGrand Prize Top Excellence Award, Actor 6th Korea Visual Arts Festival Photogenic Award 2006 33rd Korea Broadcasting Awards Best Talent SBS Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, ActorBad Family PD Award Fighting Adversity Award 2007 19th Korean Broadcasting Producers Award. Best PerformerImmortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin MBC Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, ActorWhite Tower 43rd Baeksang Arts AwardsBest Actor (TV) 20th Grimae Awards Best Actor 2008 20th Korean Broadcasting Producers Award Best Performer MBC Drama AwardsGrand PrizeBeethoven Virus Top Excellence Award, Actor 9th Broadcaster Awards Best Performance The 2nd Korea Drama AwardsGrand Prize Top Excellence Award, Actor 4th Seoul International Drama Awards Best Actor 2009 45th Baeksang Arts AwardsBest Actor (TV) 21st Korean Broadcasting Producers Award Best Performer 36th Korea Broadcasting Association Awards Best Actor 46th Grand Bell AwardsCloser to Heaven Popularity Award 30th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Actor 2010 7th Max Movie Awards 2011 20th Buil Film Awards Detective K: Secret of the Virtuous Widow 2012 49th Grand Bell Awards Pacemaker SBS Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries The King of Dramas 2014 MBC Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor A New Leaf 2015 Korean Film Actors Guild Awards Top Star Award Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island SBS Drama AwardsTop Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial DramaSix Flying Dragons 2016 5th APAN Star Awards 2018 32nd KBS Drama AwardsGrand PrizeThe Miracle We Met Top Excellence Award, Actor Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length Drama Best Couple Netizen Award 2024 44th Golden Cinema Film Festival Best Actor in Drama Your Honor
Listicles + Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement Publisher Year Listicle Placement Forbes 2010 Korea Power Celebrity 16th The Screen20192009–2019 Top Box Office Powerhouse Actors in Korean Movies 23rd
References
External links MM Entertainment (Kim Myung-min's Agency) Kim Myung-min International Official Site Kim Myung-min Japan Official Site Kim Myung-min Japan Official Site