Cha Seung-won

Cha Seung-won (born June 7, 1970) is a South Korean actor, who began his career as an in-demand fashion model in the 1990s. 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 in the period thriller Blood Rain (2005) and the melodrama My Son (2007), Cha's popularity continued with the television series Bodyguard (2003), City Hall (2009), The Greatest Love (2011), Hwayugi (2017), One Ordinary Day (2021), and Our Blues (2022). Career Cha dropped out of Sungkyunkwan University, and began a successful career as a fashion model in 1988. He was cast in the TV sitcom New York Story, which would eventually pave the way for his debut in film. 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. 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. 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). 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.