Lee Jung-jae

Lee Jung-jae is a South Korean businessman, actor, and former model. He is one of South Korea's most successful actors. Lee, who was born in Seoul, began his career as a fashion model before moving on to television, where he starred in the campus drama Feelings (1994) and the drama Sandglass (1995). He was nominated for Best Actor at the Blue Dragon Film Awards for City of the Rising Sun (1999), the Fantasporto Director's Week for The Housemaid (2010), and the Buil Film Awards for Assassination (2015).

Lee rose to international prominence in 2021 for his portrayal of Seong Gi-hun, the main protagonist of Netflix's survival drama Squid Game. He was nominated for numerous awards for his performance, including the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series, making him the first male actor from Asia and Korea to receive individual nominations in those categories across all three award shows. He was named Gallup Korea's Film Actor of the Year in December 2021.