South Korean actor
Uhm Tae-woong
(born April 5, 1974) is a South Korean actor. He made his acting debut in 1998, but initially struggled to emerge from under the shadow of his older sister, popular singer-actress
Uhm Jung-hwa
. After several years of small roles and work in one-act dramas, Uhm began to gain recognition after his villainous turn in the romantic comedy
Sassy Girl Chun-hyang
. In 2005, he made his breakthrough in the critically acclaimed
Resurrection
, followed by another revenge-themed series
Lucifer
in 2007. Since then, he has starred in diverse leading roles on film and television, notably in
Forever the Moment
(2008),
Chaw
(2009),
Cyrano Agency
(2010),
Architecture 101
(2012), and
Man from the Equator
(2012).
Career
1998?2004: Struggling actor
Uhm Tae-woong was unsure which college course to take, so he initially joined Kyungmin College's theater department because his crush was there. But even after the girl shifted majors, Uhm stayed after having befriended a fellow student who would become his current manager, and began acting in earnest.
[1]
Uhm made his acting debut in 1998 at the age of 24, and began playing
bit parts
and
supporting roles
in films,
television dramas
and
music videos
. Among these was the 2003 blockbuster
Silmido
, in which he played a member of a suicide
commando unit
trained to kill
Kim Il-sung
in the 1960s. Starring veteran actors
Sol Kyung-gu
and
Ahn Sung-ki
,
Silmido
drew over 10 million admissions, and Ahn encouraged Uhm, saying he "would turn into a true actor."
[
citation needed
]
Uhm continued to go on auditions with little success, partly from the long shadow cast by his older sister, popular singer-actress
Uhm Jung-hwa
.
[2]
Then in 2004, Uhm played a dying man in the acclaimed
Drama City
episode
Blue Skies of Jeju Island
, a well-received performance for which he won his first acting trophy at the 2004
KBS Drama Awards
.
2005: Breakthrough
Uhm began his rise to popularity with the 2005 romantic comedy series
Sassy Girl Chun-hyang
, a modern retelling of the classic Korean folktale
Chunhyangjeon
. But instead of the villainous magistrate of the folktale, Uhm played a talent agency executive who becomes obsessed with the heroine.
[3]
But it was
Resurrection
later that year that cemented his stardom. He had originally been cast as the antagonist, but after lead actor
Park Yong-woo
dropped out three weeks before filming due to scheduling conflicts, director Park Chan-hong took a risk and cast Uhm as the protagonist.
[4]
Playing
dual roles
as two very different
identical twins
, one of whom embarks on a quest for revenge, it was Uhm's first leading role in a TV series.
[5]
Despite low ratings,
Resurrection
was a critical hit and gained a
cult following
, and one review praised Uhm for "the kind of acting expected from
Song Kang-ho
and
Choi Min-sik
," not from a young little-known actor who'd previously appeared in a few projects in supporting roles.
[6]
[7]
His growing fanbase nicknamed him "the UhmForce" (derived from
Star Wars
), and he received an Excellence Award from the 2005 KBS Drama Awards and a Best TV Actor nomination from the
2006
Baeksang Arts Awards
.
[8]
2006?2008: Leading roles continue
In 2006, he and
Resurrection
leading lady
Han Ji-min
were cast in
Wolf
, but an on-set accident that injured Han and co-star
Eric Mun
led to production being halted and the series was cancelled after airing only three episodes.
[2]
[9]
Uhm moved on to
Stranger Than Paradise
, in which he played the manager of a singer, the same woman his long-lost brother also falls in love with. He also joined the ensemble cast of
Kim Tae-yong
's critically acclaimed film
Family Ties
, playing a reckless but charming man who suddenly shows up at his sister's door with a live-in partner 20 years his senior. For this role, Uhm won Best New Actor at the
Chunsa Film Art Awards
.
In 2007, Uhm, reunited with
Resurrection'
s director Park Chan-hong and writer Kim Ji-woo in
Lucifer
, the second in Park and Kim's
noir
vengeance trilogy that explore the conflict between good and evil, and sin and punishment. He gave another memorable lead performance as a detective hunting down a serial killer while attempting to atone for his past. Uhm also starred in December romance
My Love
, in which his character is a
Free Hugs
activist who returns to Korea after six years overseas in the hopes of finding his ex-girlfriend.
Finally no longer known as simply "Uhm Jung-hwa's kid brother,"
[2]
he continued building a diverse filmography in 2008. In
Yim Soon-rye
's
sleeper hit
Forever the Moment
, Uhm played the tough coach of the
National Women's Handball Team
(and received a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the
Blue Dragon Film Awards
). In
Lee Joon-ik
's
Sunny
, he played a newly married Korean soldier conscripted during the
Vietnam War
. And in
Iri
, he played a cab driver taking care of his mentally impaired sister in the aftermath of the
Iri Station Explosion
.
2009?2010: Ratings and box-office success
In 2009, Uhm played a celebrity manager who is threatened by an unknown man and driven to the extremes in
Handphone
.
[10]
This was followed by the
black comedy
Chaw
, in which his character is a policeman battling with a mutant boar. Uhm then starred as 7th-century
Silla
general
Kim Yushin
in the popular
period drama
Queen Seondeok
, for which he received a Top Excellence Award at the
2009 MBC Drama Awards
.
[11]
[12]
[13]
Romantic comedy
Cyrano Agency
was the 8th most commercially successful Korean film of 2010, and in it, Uhm played a theater actor-turned-
dating coach
whose ex-girlfriend is being pursued by his client.
[14]
[1]
While in
Dr. Champ
, after his character's
ice hockey
career was ended by injury, he became a cranky
sports medicine
doctor reminiscent of
Gregory House
.
[15]
2011?2013: Reality show
In 2011, Uhm joined the cast of
2 Days & 1 Night
, a popular variety-
reality show
which travels throughout Korea, featuring small towns and their inhabitants.
[16]
Through it, viewers discovered the real-life shy, dorky personality behind Uhm's intense screen persona.
[17]
Meanwhile, he continued with his acting projects. He acted opposite
2 Days & 1 Night
co-star
Joo Won
in
S.I.U.
, as two detectives who team up against corruption in their ranks.
[18]
In 2012, Uhm played one half of a quirky terminally ill couple in
Never Ending Story
,
[19]
[20]
[21]
and an architect building his first love's house in
Architecture 101
(the latter was a box-office hit, breaking records at the time as the top-grossing Korean melodrama of all time).
[22]
He returned to television in another revenge-themed drama,
Man from the Equator
. Uhm drew praise for his performance as a blind man, and received an Excellence Award from the
2012 KBS Drama Awards
, as well as a Best TV Actor nomination from the
2013 Baeksang Arts Awards
.
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
In 2013, he made a
guest appearance
in Joo Won's spy comedy series
7th Grade Civil Servant
. Uhm then reunited with
Man from the Equator
director Kim Yong-soo in
The Blade and Petal
, a period drama set in
Goguryeo
. He played
Yeon Gaesomun
's fictional illegitimate son who has a forbidden romance with the princess whose father, the
king
, was
killed
by Yeon in a coup.
[27]
[28]
Veteran actor
Park Joong-hoon
then cast Uhm in the lead role in Park's directorial debut
Top Star
. He played a manager who dreams of becoming an actor.
[29]
[30]
Later that year, Uhm left
2 Days & 1 Night
along with other regulars
Lee Soo-geun
,
Sung Si-kyung
, and
Yoo Hae-jin
.
[31]
2014: Cable dramas
In early 2014, Uhm played an arrogant film director who falls in love with a divorcee in
Can We Fall in Love, Again?
, which aired on cable channel
jTBC
.
This was followed later in the year by
Righteous Love
from
tvN
, in which his character's marriage is put to the test after his wife has an affair, so as a
marine researcher
he sets out to prove that her new romance is "invalid."
[32]
2015: Back to variety
In January 2015, Uhm and his daughter Ji-on began appearing in
The Return of Superman
, a reality show in which male celebrities take care of their young children for 48 hours.
[33]
He left the program in October 2015.
Personal life
Uhm's father, Uhm Jin-ok, was a public school music teacher who died from a motorcycle accident before Uhm had turned 100 days old. After his father's death, his family (consisting of his mother, Yoo Gyeong-sook, three older sisters, and him as the youngest) faced serious financial problems. His older sister
Uhm Jung-hwa
entered show business as a pop singer and released her first album in 1993 (earning the label "
Madonna
of Korea"); she later turned to acting.
On the November 4, 2012 episode of
2 Days & 1 Night
, Uhm made the surprise announcement that he was engaged to ballerina Yoon Hye-jin, and that they were expecting their first child. The daughter of veteran actor Yoon Il-bong and niece of veteran actor
Yoo Dong-geun
, Yoon was a
principal dancer
with the
Korea National Ballet
before she moved to the
Les Ballets de Monte Carlo
. They were introduced by Uhm's older sister Uhm Jung-hwa.
[34]
[35]
[36]
[37]
[38]
The couple wed on January 9, 2013 at
Conrad Hotel Seoul
.
[39]
[40]
[41]
2 Days 1 night
co-star
Sung Si Kyung
and singer
Yoo Hee Yeol
sang on their wedding.
[42]
Their daughter, Uhm Ji-on, was born on June 18, 2013.
[43]
Filmography
Film
Television series
Variety show
Music video
Theater
Discography
Awards and nominations
Year
|
Award
|
Category
|
Nominated work
|
Result
|
2004
|
KBS Drama Awards
|
Best Actor in a One-Act Drama/Special
|
Blue Skies of Jeju Island
|
Won
|
2005
|
KBS Drama Awards
[45]
|
Excellence Award, Actor
|
Resurrection
,
Sassy Girl Chun-hyang
|
Won
|
Best Couple Award
with
Han Ji-min
|
Resurrection
|
Won
|
2006
|
42nd Baeksang Arts Awards
[46]
|
Best Actor (TV)
|
Nominated
|
14th
Chunsa Film Art Awards
|
Best New Actor
|
Family Ties
|
Won
|
2007
|
KBS Drama Awards
|
Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries
|
Lucifer
|
Nominated
|
2008
|
29th Blue Dragon Film Awards
|
Best Supporting Actor
|
Forever the Moment
|
Nominated
|
2009
|
MBC Drama Awards
[47]
|
Top Excellence Award, Actor
|
Queen Seondeok
|
Won
|
2010
|
SBS Drama Awards
|
Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Planning Drama
|
Dr. Champ
|
Nominated
|
2011
|
KBS Entertainment Awards
[48]
|
Grand Prize (Daesang)
shared with entire cast
|
2 Days & 1 Night
|
Won
|
Top Entertainer Award
|
Won
|
2012
|
5th Korea Drama Awards
|
Grand Prize (Daesang)
|
Man from the Equator
|
Nominated
|
1st K-Drama Star Awards
|
Excellence Award, Actor
|
Nominated
|
KBS Drama Awards
|
Top Excellence Award, Actor
|
Nominated
|
Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length Drama
|
Won
|
PD Award
|
Won
|
2013
|
49th Baeksang Arts Awards
|
Best Actor (TV)
|
Nominated
|
KBS Drama Awards
|
Top Excellence Award, Actor
|
The Blade and Petal
|
Nominated
|
Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length Drama
|
Nominated
|
47th Taxpayer's Day
|
Presidential Commendation
[49]
|
?
|
Won
|
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