Lee Joon Gi | Facts & The List of K-Dramas

Commitment To The Dream

Joon Gi began to dream of becoming an actor after watching a performance of Hamlet. Following his dream, he refused to go into college, as his parents wanted him to do. He followed his heart and moved to Seoul. You might not know that the future actor worked different part time-jobs for several years. After these years, he finally received a scholarship to the Seoul Institute of the Arts (graduated in 2007).

His Handstands Played A Big Role Too

First, Joon Gi debuted as a model (2001), and only after some time he received his first major role in a K-drama. In 2005, he started in the popular series “The King and the Clown”. How did a relatively unknown actor get the main role in such a series? The producer revealed that he chose him after seeing how the actor did handstands! However, not everything was that easy. The actor had to compete with more than 3000 actors and go through four auditions to earn the spot.

Joon Gi decided to do a handstand and split his legs to make an impression. Not only this made him stand out from many other actors, but it was also included in an actual scene of the series!

The TV drama gained commercial as well as a critical success, and Joon Gi won many various awards for his role in it. The once-unknown actor suddenly rose to fame.

The Birth of the “Flower Boy” Image

In the series, Lee Joon Gi played a male clown with feminine traits. During the shooting, he had to speak in a higher-pitched voice and to continuously stay in the effeminate character.

“The King and the Clown” is an unusual sageuk set in Joseon Dynasty. After playing the historical person Gong Gil, the actor earned the name of the “flower boy”. However, he didn’t want to be remembered only as a “pretty boy” icon. Since then, Lee has tried his best to diminish this image.

The New Image of the Top Action Star

Despite the flower boy image, Lee became known for his action scenes. He rarely needs a stunt double for such scenes. He has black belts in Hapkido, Taekwondo, and Taekkyeon. The talented actor is passionate about different martial arts. Aside from the ones already mentioned, he also learned Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Thai kickboxing, Systema, and Parkour.

“Time Between Dog and Wolf” became the first action drama for Joon Gi. The actor took on the leading role, an avenging NIS agent. This role gave him the chance to show off his talents in martial arts and shed the “flower boy” image. Lee even received the Excellence Award for his role in this series at the MBC Drama Awards.

The Scene Stealer

Director Paul W.S. Anderson reached out to Joon Gi to suggest to him the role in the Sony Pictures movie “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” without an audition. In one of his interviews, the director said he was impressed with the actor’s stunt skills and memorable gaze after noticing him in some fan-made video on Youtube.

Lee Joon Gi starred alongside Milla Jovovich, who complimented him on his stunts and his ability to not use the help of stunt doubles overall. In her interview with KBS Entertainment Weekly, the actress called Lee a true scene-stealer.

Lee Joon Gi K-Dramas

Prince Charming of Historical Dramas

Besides rom-coms and action series, Lee Joon Gi starred in a great variety of historical Korean dramas.

Iljimae

The SBS period action drama “Ilijimae” was one of his first series of this genre. He played the leading role of a Robin Hood-like hero during the Joseon period. His character turns into the hero at night. He takes from the corrupt rich officials and gives them to unprotected poor people.

Why Ilijimae? The interesting thing is that he leaves the image of a plum tree branch every time he sneaks into someone’s property. Yet, the protagonist has one more purpose to do the things he does. Above all, he wants to find a sword. The owners of the sword with which his parents were murdered, to be precise.

In 2008, the actor was given the Top Excellence Award (SBS) for his performance in the historical.

Gunman in Joseon

Lee gained critical acclaim for his performance as well as action scenes in “Gunman in Joseon”, another historical drama. The actor got the title of the Outstanding Korean Drama Actor for the second time!

In the series, Lee played a swordsman whose family had been destroyed. His father was murdered for no reason, while his sister was taken into slavery. The 19th century, Joseon. The main character aims to avenge all the tortures his family went through. The swordsman takes on the new identity and takes action. He is driven by his vengeful thoughts but eventually becomes a hero for the people (like in the series mentioned above).

Scholar Who Walks the Night

Soon after his work in the series “Gunman in Joseon”, Joon Gi became a cast member in “Scholar Who Walks the Night”, another historical. This time, it turned out to be not a usual period drama. It’s the vampire series, which mixes the typical historical with fiction. Lee received the “Top Ten Stars” award for his performance.

In the drama, Lee Joon Gi plays the scholar, the main character of the story. He dedicates his life to a noble mission, trying to free the country from the evil vampire creature. Watching the series, you will follow his interesting adventure, where he accidentally turns into a vampire but does his best to hold onto his human part.

Arang and the Magistrate

This horror-romance Korean drama is considered a period drama, but you won’t have to deal with the historical part too much. The K-drama became highly successful. It became his first series after being discharged and gained him the Outstanding Korean Drama Actor award.

The fantasy series is inspired by “The Legend of Arang “, the old folk tale written in Joseon Korea. The story centers on a killed magistrate’s daughter, or her ghost, to be precise. The beautiful ghost interfered in the lives of every new magistrate. Eventually, she happens to meet a stubborn man.

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo

Lee Joon Gi also starred in the popular historical K-drama “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo”. Yes, it’s another historical in his drama list! It’s a Korean take on “Scarlet Heart”, the Chinese TV drama. The sageuk became popular not only in Asia but also in North America and many other parts of the world.

The K-drama tells the story taking place back in the Goryeo era, but with a fantasy twist. The fantasy element lies in that a 21st-century girl travels many years back. Out of the blue, her soul transfers into the body of a woman living in the Goryeo era (Hae Soo). Furthermore, she is not a regular citizen but lives in the Royal Palace.
Lee Joon Gi stars in the series as Wang So, the fourth Prince. He happens to be the most neglected and introverted of all princes, but the strongest. Fate brings him and Hae Soo together, and that’s when many interesting events start to unfold.

Crime Dramas

Apart from many rom-coms that earned him the title of the “flower boy” and countless historicals, Joon Gi also starred in many thrillers or let us also call them crime dramas. Here are some of them.

The Flower of Evil

Joon Gi has received positive feedback for his successfully portraying the relationship in a married couple. Like in the series previously mentioned, the actor played an antisocial character hiding many secrets about his identity.

First, we are introduced to a loving father, husband, as well as a successful entrepreneur. We think we see who he is, but the truth is we know just a little. One day, his wife is assigned to investigate the case connected to the fifteen-year-old case of serial murders. Gradually, she finds out about the antisocial personality disorder of her husband and tries to reveal other secrets he is hiding.

Lawless Lawyer

This one became the first legal drama for Joon Gi where he played a lawyer. Similar to some of his roles in historicals mentioned above, Lee plays a character full of vengeful thoughts who goes after rich and powerful people who break the law but are remained unpunished.

Here, Lee portrays a guy who had a difficult childhood. He had been through many tough fights and evaded the law quite often. After the death of his mother, he swore to avenge her tragic end of life. The boy grew up to become a lawyer and began using his fists and wits to go after those who broke the law.

Lee Joon Gi Facts

• Lee Join Gi started his career path as a model, not an actor! He debuted as a model for the minimalist clothing brand So Basic.
• The actor likes dancing and singing for his fans, releasing his music since 2006. He has performed on many fan meetings for his fans and even has gone on tours.
• Initially, Lee wanted to become a singer. When he was younger, he auditioned for many entertainment agencies.
• The actor was the Ambassador for the 2008 Seoul Hallyu Festival and Korea Tourism Organization (2009).
• In his childhood, Joon Gi had been signed for martial arts lessons. Initially, his father did so to keep him out of trouble. Kettle did he know that his son will need those skills for specific roles. Now, Lee also finds time to practice martial arts.
• You can see Lee in the Chinese drama “Never Said Goodbye”. It’s a beautiful romantic tale where he plays the leading role.
• The actor won the Top Excellence Award (APAN Star Awards) for his performance in the thriller “Two Weeks”. There, he starred as a father trying to save his daughter from leukemia.

Filmography & Discography

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