| Choi Min-sik | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 22, 1962 Seoul, South Korea |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1989 - present |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 최민식 |
| Hanja | 崔岷植 |
| Revised Romanization | Choe Min-sik |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ch'oe Minsik |
Choi Min-sik (born January 22, 1962) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his critically acclaimed roles in Oldboy and I Saw the Devil.
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Min-sik was born on January 22, 1962 in Seoul, South Korea.
Along with Song Kang-Ho, he is one of the premiere Korean actors both domestically and on the global scene. Choi started his career as a theatrical actor before adding film roles, first with parts in Park Jong-won's films Kuro Arirang and Our Twisted Hero and later in the 1990s by appearing as a police investigator in No. 3 and as a North Korean agent in Korea's most successful film ever at that point, Shiri.
In the 2000s, aided by the success of Shiri, Choi continued to get versatile lead roles first as a gangster in Failan and then as a 19th-century painter in Chihwaseon. In 2003, he took on the role that brought him international attention as revenge-seeking Oh Dae-su in Oldboy.
At various points during 2006, Choi (and several other Korean filmmakers, though separately from Choi) demonstrated in Seoul and at the Cannes Film Festival against the Korean decision to reduce the Film Quota from 146 to 73 days.
In November 2008 after Universal confirmed they would try to make a Hollywood adaption of Oldboy, Choi admitted to many French media reporters that he was upset at Hollywood for using what he described as low-style pressure tactics on Asian and European film makers so they could remake foreign movies in the United States. In 2010, Choi starred in the thriller I Saw the Devil alongside Lee Byung-hun which is directed by Kim Ji-woon.[1]