Shin Sung-rok (born November 23, 1982) is a South Korean actor. He frequently appears in films and television series, but is better known an active in musical theatre.
Shin Sung-rok | |
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Born | (1982-11-23) November 23, 1982 (age 39) Seoul, South Korea[1] |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2003–present |
Agent | Sangyoung ENT |
Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in) |
Spouse | Unknown (m. 2016) |
Children | 1 |
Korean name | |
Hangul | |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Sin Seong-rok |
McCune–Reischauer | Sin Sŏng-rok |
Shin had initially aspired to become a basketball player together with his brother Je-rok, who is two years younger.[2] Both brothers attended Whimoon High School, known as one of Seoul's top high school basketball programs.[3] An injury prompted Shin to reconsider another career and he transferred to Anyang Arts High School.[3] He majored in Theater and Film at the University of Suwon but subsequently dropped out after being cast in a play.[3][4][5]
Shin made his acting debut in 2003, but found it difficult to find acting jobs since directors were reluctant to cast the 189 centimeter-tall aspiring actor in supporting or minor roles. Thinking he would have a better chance if he gained more acting experience and honed his craft on the stage, Shin switched gears and joined the theater company Hakchon.[6][7]
When Shin performed in his first musical Moskito, there were only 20-25 audience members in the 500-seat hall. Despite feeling depressed and frustrated, he said the experience made him strong and helped him become an actor with plenty of guts.[5]
While doing the musical Dracula, Shin was cast in his first substantial onscreen role, in the risqué cable drama Hyena (2006).[6] Supporting roles in dramas and films followed, notably in Thank You (2007) and My Life's Golden Years (also known as All About My Family, 2008). He also appeared on season 1 of the MBC dating reality show We Got Married as a "fake couple" with female comedian Kim Shin-young.
Mainstream breakthrough still eluded Shin, but in theater his star was rising. In 2007, Shin was picked from 400 auditionees for the lead role Solomon in Dancing Shadows, a musical adaptation of the realist play Forest Fire by celebrated Korean playwright Cha Beom-seok.[4] He later received a Best New Actor nomination from the Korea Musical Awards.[8]
As Shin starred in one hit musical after another, he continued to impress critics with his acting performances, his strong and powerful baritone vocals and his delicate and clear alto notes.[9] He is now considered a top musical star, even drawing fans from outside Korea to his shows.[10]
Definitely Neighbors (2010) further boosted his TV profile; for his role as a difficult chef who falls in love with an older divorcee, Shin won Best Supporting Actor in a Weekend/Daily Drama at the 2010 SBS Drama Awards.[6][11] His most popular drama yet was the romantic comedy My Love from the Star (2013), in which he appeared as a villainous businessman.[12][13] This was followed by supporting roles in the 2014 series Trot Lovers (as a talent agency CEO), Liar Game (as the host of a reality show), and The King's Face (as a face reader).[14][15][16]
Despite branching out to film and television, Shin has maintained that his heart will always belong to the stage, and has stated, "I feel more affection toward the stage [rather than TV]. I think it is the stage where actors learn life and understand the meaning of acting. It is where I learned how to act and where I gained confidence. I think the core of my life will remain on the stage" (The Korea Herald, 2007).[4] "The musical is like my old home and it made me what I am now, so I can't stop performing the musicals however busy I get" (The Korea Times, 2009)[5]
In September 2021, Shin decided not to renew his contract with HB Entertainment.[17] Later on September 27, 2021, Shin signed a contract with Screening ENT.[18]
Shin has a younger brother. Shin Jae-rok is a former professional basketball player who had short stints with Anyang KT&G Kites and Changwon LG Sakers before retiring. He became a chef and has since opened his own restaurant.[19] Both of them appeared on July 30, 2015 KBS talk show Happy Together.
Shin began dating ballerina Kim Joo-won in 2011; Kim was a principal dancer with the Korea National Ballet for 15 years from 1988 to 2003, and currently teaches at Sungshin Women's University.[20] The pair broke up after four years of dating in August 2015.[21]
In June 2016 Shin married a non-celebrity office worker in Hawaii.[22][23][24] In November the same year, Shin became a father to a daughter.[25]
Year | Title | Role | Network | Ref. |
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2002 | Shoot for the Stars | SBS | ||
2003 | A Problem at My Younger Brother's House | SBS | ||
2006 | Hyena | Lee Seok-jin | tvN | |
2007 | Thank You | Choi Seok-hyun | MBC | |
Drama City "I'm a Very Special Lover" | Lee Jin-ho | KBS2 | ||
2008 | The Art of Seduction | Hyun-soo | OCN | |
One Mom and Three Dads | Na Hwang Kyung-tae | KBS2 | [26] | |
My Life's Golden Age | Go Kyung-woo | MBC | ||
2010 | Definitely Neighbors | Jang Gun-hee | SBS | |
2013 | My Love from the Star | Lee Jae-kyung | SBS | |
2014 | Trot Lovers | Jo Geun-woo | KBS2 | |
Liar Game | Kang Do-young | tvN | ||
The King's Face | Kim Do-chi | KBS2 | ||
2016 | On the Way to the Airport | Park Jin-suk | KBS2 | [27] |
2017 | Man Who Dies to Live | Kang Ho-rim | MBC | [28] |
2018 | Return | Oh Tae-seok | SBS | [29] |
2018–2019 | The Last Empress | Lee Hyuk | [30] | |
2019 | Vagabond | Gi Tae-woong | [31] | |
Perfume | Seo Yi-do | KBS2 | [32] | |
2020 | Kairos | Kim Seo-jin | MBC | [33] |
2022 | Doctor Lawyer | Jayden Lee | [34] |
Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | All for Love | Basketball player | |
2007 | The Worst Guy Ever | Kwon Jae-hoon | |
2008 | Lovers of Six Years | Lee Jin-sung | |
2010 | Bloody Innocent | Dong-shik | |
Finding Mr. Destiny | Captain Choi (cameo) | ||
2011 | The Story of My Life | Sung-rok | |
Pitch High | Kang Dae-hyun (cameo) | ||
2016 | The Age of Shadows | Jo Hwe-ryung | [35] |
2017 | The Prison | Chang-gil | [36] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | We Got Married Season 1 | Cast | With Kim Shin-young (Ep. 42, 45-54) | |
2020 | Double Casting | Host | [37] | |
2020–2021 | Master in the House | Cast Member | Ep. 102–177 | [38][39] |
2022 | O Cine | Host | [40] | |
Year | Title | Role | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | Moskito | [41][42] | |
Singin' in the Rain | Dong-hyun | ||
2006 | Dracula | Dracula | |
Finding Kim Jong-wook | Kim Jong-wook | [43] | |
Passion of the Rain | |||
2007 | Dancing Shadows | Solomon | [4] |
Hamlet | Prince Hamlet | [44] | |
Separated Man and Woman | Kang Yeon-oh | ||
Finding Kim Jong-wook | Kim Jong-wook/First Love | ||
2008 | Separated Man and Woman | Kang Yeon-oh | |
Fiddler on the Roof | Perchik | [45][46] | |
2009 | My Scary Girl | Hwang Dae-woo | [5] |
Roméo et Juliette | Romeo | [9] | |
2009-2010 | Jack the Ripper | Daniel | |
2010 | Monte Cristo | Edmond Dantès | [47][48] |
The Story of My Life | Thomas Weaver | [49][50] | |
Tick, Tick... Boom! | Jon | [51] | |
2010-2011 | Hero | An Jung-geun | [52] |
2011 | Monte Cristo | Edmond Dantès | [53] |
2013 | Closer | Dan | |
Carmen | Don José | ||
2014 | Le Roi Soleil | Louis XIV | [54] |
2015 | Elisabeth | Death | |
2016 | Daddy Long Legs | Jervis | [55] |
Mata Hari | Ladoux | [56][57][58] | |
Monte Cristo | Edmond Dantès | [59][60][61] | |
2017 | Daddy Long Legs | Jervis Pendleton | [62] |
2017-2018 | Hourglass | Park Tae Soo | [63][64][65] |
2018 | The Devotion of Suspect X | Yukawa | |
Daddy Long Legs | Jervis Pendleton | ||
2019 | Daddy Long Legs | Jervis Pendleton | [66] |
2019-2020 | Rebecca | Maxim de Winter | [67][68] |
2020-2021 | Monte Cristo | Edmond Dantès | [69][70] |
2021 | The Dracula | Dracula | [71] |
2021-2022 | Jekyll & Hyde | Jekyll/Hyde | [72][73] |
2022 | Elisabeth das Musical | Death | [74] |
2022–2023 | Sweeney Todd | Sweeney Todd | [75] |
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
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2007 | 13th Korea Musical Awards | Best New Actor | Dancing Shadows | Nominated | [8] |
2008 | MBC Drama Awards | Best New Actor | My Life's Golden Age | Nominated | |
2010 | SBS Drama Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Weekend/Daily Drama | Definitely Neighbors | Won | [11] |
2014 | 7th Korea Drama Awards | Hot Star Award | My Love from the Star | Won | [76] |
3rd APAN Star Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | |||
22nd Korea Culture and Entertainment Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama | Won | |||
SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama Special | Won | [77] | ||
KBS Drama Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Trot Lovers and The King's Face | Won | ||
2017 | MBC Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Man Who Dies to Live | Won | [78] |
2018 | SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Wednesday-Thursday Drama | The Last Empress | Won | [79] |
Best Character | Return | Won | |||
2019 | 12th Korea Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor | Perfume | Nominated | [80] |
KBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Nominated | |||
Netizen Award, Actor | Nominated | ||||
Best Couple Award with Ko Won-hee | Nominated | ||||
SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Vagabond | Nominated | [citation needed] | |
2020 | SBS Entertainment Awards | Best Entertainer Award | Master in the House | Won | [81] |
MBC Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Monday-Tuesday Miniseries | Kairos | Won | [82] | |
Best Couple Award with Lee Se-young | Nominated |
General | |
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National libraries |