Cha Seung-won

Cha Seung-won
Born	(1970-06-07) June 7, 1970 Anyang, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Occupation	Actor
Agent	YG Entertainment
Religion	Roman Catholicism[1]
Spouse(s)	Lee Soo-jin (m. 1989)[1]
Korean name
Hangul	차승원
Hanja	車勝元
Revised Romanization	Cha Seung-won
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'a Sŭng-wŏn

Cha Seung-won (born June 7, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He began his career as an in-demand fashion model in the 1990s, before embarking on an acting career. Cha achieved stardom through the hit comedy films Kick the Moon (2001), Jail Breakers (2002), My Teacher, Mr. Kim (2003) and Ghost House (2004). After proving his versatility in other genres, notably the period thriller Blood Rain (2005), Cha's popularity continued with the television series Bodyguard (2003), City Hall (2009), and The Greatest Love (2011).

Career

Cha Seung-won dropped out of Sungkyunkwan University,^[1] and began a successful career as a fashion model in 1988.^[2] He was cast in the TV sitcom New York Story, which would eventually pave the way for his debut in film.^[3]

Although his debut film Holiday In Seoul (1997) and many of his subsequent roles did not establish him as a major star, he attracted attention in 2000 for his performance as an arsonist in the firefighting film Libera Me. The following summer, the runaway success of Kim Sang-jin's comedy Kick the Moon (over 4.3 million tickets sold) secured his place in the industry as a leading actor with strong star appeal.^[3] Since then, Cha has become one of the few surefire box office draws in the country. In a 2005 survey of influential movie producers, he was ranked among the top ten most bankable stars.^[4]

In early 2003, Cha took on a slightly more serious role as a corrupt schoolteacher who is transferred to a country school in the film My Teacher, Mr. Kim. The film grossed over 2.4 million admissions and drew Cha additional praise for his acting abilities (he would later team up again with director Jang Gyu-seong for 2007 comedy Small Town Rivals^[5]). His next role, in Ghost House, reunited him with director Kim Sang-jin in a successful comedy about a man who buys a dream home, only to discover it is haunted by a young female ghost.^[3]

In 2005 Cha put aside the comic roles he had become known for and appeared in the grisly period thriller Blood Rain.^[6][7] The film's unexpectedly robust commercial success confirmed Cha's popularity among Korean audiences.^[3] He further proved his versatility in Jang Jin's Murder, Take One (also known as The Big Scene).^[8][9][10]

Cha starred in his first melodrama Over the Border (2006), about a North Korean defector.^[11][12][13] He then reunited with director Jang Jin in My Son (2007), and he said his experience as a father helped a lot in learning the character.^[14] Stylish crime thrillers Eye for an Eye (2008),^[15] and Secret (2009) followed.^{[16][17][18][19]}

Cha returned to television in 2009, in the political fairytale City Hall penned by writer Kim Eun-sook.^[20][21][22] 2010 was a busy year for him,^[23][24] with Cha appearing in two films, the Lee Joon-ik-helmed period actioner Blades of Blood,^[25] and Korean War film 71: Into the Fire,^[26][27][28] followed by spy series Athena: Goddess of War.^{[29][30][31][32]}

In 2011 his character in the hit romantic comedy series The Greatest Love, arrogant top star "Dokko Jin," became a mini pop culture phenomenon, giving rise to numerous commercial deals and parodies, as well as awards for Cha.^[33][34][35]

Cha made his theater debut in 2012 in the stage play Bring Me My Chariot Fire alongside Japanese actors Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Ryoko Hirosue, Teruyuki Kagawa, and Korean veteran actor Kim Eung-soo. Set in the historically turbulent early 1900s, the plot focuses on the friendship of artists from Korea and Japan who work together to preserve traditional Korean arts.^[36][37][38]

In 2014, Cha signed with the talent agency YG Entertainment.^[39][40]

Personal life

Cha married early when he was an eighteen-year-old college freshman in 1989. He and wife Lee Soo-jin have two children, son Cha No-ah (born 1989, christened as Noah) and daughter Cha Ye-ni (born 2003, christened as Rachel).^[41][42]

On August 3, 2013, Cha posted a public apology on his Me2day account after his son Cha No-ah was accused of sexually assaulting his teenage girlfriend (the charges were later dropped). Cha No-ah is a professional online gamer, but he was removed from the LG-IM team in June after he was indicted for marijuana use.^[43][44][45]

Filmography

Films

Television series

Music video appearances

Variety shows

Theater

Commercials/Endorsements

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Cha Seung-won on Me2day (Korean)
• Cha Seung-won fan cafe at Daum (Korean)
• Cha Seung-won at HanCinema
• Cha Seung-won at the Internet Movie Database
• Cha Seung-won at the Korean Movie Database