Cho Seung-woo

Cho Seung-woo (born March 28, 1980) is a South Korean actor and singer. He is best known for his leading roles in the films The Classic (2003), Marathon (2005), Tazza: The High Rollers (2006), and Inside Men (2015), as well as in the stage musicals Jekyll & Hyde, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Man of La Mancha. He is also known for his leading roles in television dramas The King's Doctor (2012), God's Gift: 14 Days (2014), Stranger (2017, 2020), Life (2018), and Sisyphus: The Myth (2021). Career 2000–2004: Acting debut Cho Seung-woo grew up in a musical family: his father Cho Kyung-soo is a singer, and his older sister Cho Seo-yeon acts in musical theatre. Cho himself also dreamed of becoming a musical actor from an early age, however in 1999 while a student at Dankook University he was persuaded to join auditions for Im Kwon-taek's film Chunhyang, and he ended up winning the part from among a field of 1,000 actors. Chunhyang would screen as the first Korean film in competition at Cannes, although domestically it failed to attract much of an audience. Cho did go on to appear in musicals after his film debut, acting in local productions Subway Line 1 and The Last Empress. Soon he was drawn back into the film industry, however, with a key supporting role in Wanee & Junah (2001), a villainous turn in H (2002), plus a leading role in Who Are U? (2002). In 2003, Cho acted in Kwak Jae-yong's romance The Classic opposite Son Ye-jin, receiving good reviews for his sincere acting. His popularity continued to grow, and in 2004 he appeared in Im Kwon-taek's 99th film Low Life.