Born in 1982, Hyun Bin, known for his finely chiselled features, started his career in 2003 with a minor part in the TV rom-com series <Bodyguard>. He gained recognition playing a laconic bodyguard in <Ireland> (2004) and an egocentric restaurant owner in <My Lovely Sam-soon> (2004-2005), thus earning the nickname of “prince of melodramas” and becoming the embodiment of urban chic to the eyes of many. After his movie debut in the martial arts comedy <...More

Born in 1982, Hyun Bin, known for his finely chiselled features, started his career in 2003 with a minor part in the TV rom-com series <Bodyguard>. He gained recognition playing a laconic bodyguard in <Ireland> (2004) and an egocentric restaurant owner in <My Lovely Sam-soon> (2004-2005), thus earning the nickname of “prince of melodramas” and becoming the embodiment of urban chic to the eyes of many. After his movie debut in the martial arts comedy <Spin Kick> (2004), he enjoyed tremendous success in 2006 with his first lead role in <A Millionaire’s First Love>, playing an arrogant kid born with a silver spoon in his mouth who can claim his grandfather’s inheritance only if he graduates from a public high school in the countryside. Later that year, he won the popularity award at the Baeksang Arts Awards. Not content to be known only for his look, Hyun made it a point to diversify his career by taking on more challenging roles. His standout turn as a gangster in Kwak Kyungtaek’s <Friend, Our Legend> (2009), the TV series adaptation of the director’s hit crime drama <Friend> (2001), was instrumental in proving that he was also an acting talent to keep an eye on. After starring in the smash hit romantic fantasy series <Secret Garden> (2010-2011), thanks to which he received the Grand Prize in the television category of the Baeksang Arts Awards, Hyun landed his first international project in the Seattle-set <Late Autumn> (2010), co-starring Chinese actress Tang Wei. After Lee Joonki’s <Come Rain, Come Shine> (2011), a film in which he was paired with Lim Soojung, Hyun was conscripted into the Marine Corps to perform military service. Following his discharge, the star chose <The Fatal Encounter> (2014) as his comeback project. The big budget period film, which saw the idol take on the role of the famed King Jeongjo of Joseon Dynasty, had a respectable run with more than 3 million admissions but Hyun’s impassive performance failed to impress moviegoers. He experienced a career resurgence since 2017 thanks to the buddy cop film <Confidential Assignment> (2016), in which the laughs come from the contrast between Hyun’s strict demeanor and neat appearance as an elite North Korean detective and Yoo Haejin’s idiosyncratic clumsiness and franticness as a South Korean detective. The film attracted 7.8 million viewers to become one of the most successful releases that year. After playing a hostage taker confronting Son Yejin’s police officer in <THE NEGOCIATION> (2018), it was in a totally different context that he reunited with Son in the smash hit melodrama series <Crash Landing on You> (2019-2020), which saw him portray once again a North Korean character, but this time helping and eventually falling in love with a South Korean businesswoman who crash-landed on the other side of the Military Demarcation Line. In 2022, Hyun was back on the big screen, reprising his role in <Confidential Assignment 2: International> (2021), as well as being once again an actor in a hostage situation, this time as a top negociator, in Yim Soonrye’s <The Point Men> (2021).Less