Choi Woo-shik

Choi Woo-shik (; born March 26, 1990) is a Canadian actor based in South Korea. He first gained recognition for starring in the film Set Me Free and the television series Hogu's Love (2015) before coming to international prominence for his roles in the films Train to Busan (2016) and Parasite (2019) both of which were critical and commercial successes with the latter winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the Academy Award for Best Picture. He has since starred in the television series Our Beloved Summer (2021–2022) and A Killer Paradox (2024), as well as the films The Policeman's Lineage (2022) and Wonderland (2024).

Early life and education Choi was born in Seoul, South Korea, the younger of two sons. He migrated to Vancouver, Canada with his family when he was ten years old where he spent the next ten years of his life. He attended high school at Pinetree Secondary School. His English name is Edward Choi and he goes by the nickname Eddie. He is fluent in English and Korean.

In 2010, while attending Simon Fraser University, then-20-year-old Choi was given permission by his parents to attend an acting audition in South Korea, subsequently leading to him making his acting debut. Whilst in Korea, Choi enrolled at Chung-Ang University, where he majored in cultural studies, Supporting roles followed, and Choi was cast in crime drama Special Affairs Team TEN as detective Park Min-ho. Choi reprised his role when the series was renewed for a second season in 2013. He made his big screen debut that same year, starring as a supporting character in the film Flu and Secretly, Greatly. In the interim, Choi played several characters on television series such as Rooftop Prince, You Are My Destiny and Pride and Prejudice.

In 2014, Choi took on his first leading role in the coming-of-age independent film Set Me Free. He played the role of Young-jae, a sixteen-year-old student living in a group home, who pretends that he wants to become a priest in order to prolong his stay at the home. The film was well received by critics, and Choi was praised for his portrayal of the protagonist's inner conflict. He won several awards for his acting, including Actor of the Year at the Busan International Film Festival. Later that year, Choi also starred in the action comedy film Big Match, playing the role of genius hacker Guru.

Choi starred as the titular character in the romantic comedy cable series Hogu's Love. The series began airing on February 9, 2015. Choi also took part in the R-rated Hong Kong-Singaporean film In the Room later that year. The film featured an anthology of characters, set in a single-room brothel at a hotel in Singapore.

2016–2020: Rising fame and international breakthrough Choi first gained international recognition with the blockbuster zombie thriller film Train to Busan, where he played the role of high school baseball player, Yong-guk. Premiering at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 13, the film was a critical and commercial success, going on to gross over $93.1 million worldwide. He followed this up with a short, but memorable role as a truck driver in action-adventure film Okja. This marked his first collaboration with director Bong Joon-ho and featured an international cast, including Tilda Swinton and Paul Dano. Okja was screened in several independent theatres domestically, and released on streaming platform Netflix worldwide.

Choi continued starring in several other films after this, including The Princess and the Matchmaker and Monstrum. In 2018, Choi was cast as a mysterious assassin called the "Nobleman" in the action film The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion. The dark persona of the Nobleman was a shift from the characters Choi usually played. In a press interview, co-star Park Hee-soon remarked that Nobleman could be Choi's once-in-a-lifetime character.

In 2019, Choi reunited with director Bong Joon-ho for the black comedy thriller film Parasite. Choi played the main character Ki-woo, the son of a poor family, who schemes to become employed by a wealthy family by infiltrating their household and posing as unrelated, highly qualified individuals. Choi was first approached by Bong after their first collaboration with Okja in 2016, who told the actor to "stay skinny" to play the character. Parasite premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2019, where it became the first South Korean film to win the Palme d'Or, and was the first film to win with a unanimous vote since Blue Is the Warmest Colour at the 2013 Festival. Among other numerous accolades, Parasite won a leading four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards. It became the first South Korean film to receive Academy Award recognition, as well as the first film in a language other than English to win Best Picture. The cast also won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards. In addition to his role as Ki-woo in Parasite, Choi performed the end credits song "Soju One Glass," which made the shortlist for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

2021–present: Leading roles In December 2021, Choi starred in the SBS drama Our Beloved Summer He starred in Netflix's crime thriller series A Killer Paradox in 2024 which was based on the popular webtoon of the same name. He then starred in the Netflix series Melo Movie in 2025.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2011 Etude, Solo Hwang Kyeong-min Short film 2012 Circle of Crime 2013 Secretly, Greatly Yoon Yoo-joon Flu Jeong-Jin Cameo 2014 Set Me Free Young-jae 2015 In the Room Min-jun Singaporean film 2016 Train to Busan Yong-guk 2017 Okja Kim Woo-shik 2018 Golden Slumber Joo-ho Cameo The Princess and the Matchmaker Nam Chi-Ho The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion Gwi Gong-Ja (Nobleman) Monstrum Officer Hur 2019 Rosebud young Soon-cheol Parasite Kim Ki-woo / Kevin (alias) The Divine Fury Father Choi Cameo 2020 Time to Hunt Ki-hoon 2022 The Policeman's Lineage Choi Min-jae 2024 Wonderland Hyun-soo 2026 Number One Ha-min

Television series Year Title Role Notes 2011 The Duo Young Gwi-dong Living in Style Na Joo-ra Deep Rooted Tree Young Jung Gi-joon / Ga Ri-on 2011–2013 Special Affairs Team TEN Park Min-ho Season 1–2 2012 Rooftop Prince Do Chi-san Family Yeol Woo-bong Culprit Among Friends Young Do-hyun Drama special 2013 Who Are You? Hee-koo Cameo (episode 10, 12–13) Principal Investigator: Save Wang Jo-hyun! Boo Joong-shik Drama special 2014 You're All Surrounded Choi Woo-shik Cameo (episode 4) You Are My Destiny Lee Yong Pride and Prejudice Lee Jang-won 2015 Hogu's Love Kang Ho-gu 2017 Fight for My Way Park Moo-bin Cameo (episode 1–7) The Package Kim Gyung-jae 2021–2022 Our Beloved Summer Choi Woong / Go-oh 2024 A Killer Paradox Lee Tang 2025 Melo Movie Ko Gyeom Would You Marry Me? Kim Woo-joo 2027 Whale Star: The Gyeongseong Mermaid Kang Ui-hyeon

Web series Year Title Role Notes 2013 Someday Chae Man-sik 2015 Dream Knight Past student Cameo 2017 The Boy Next Door Park Gyu-tae

Television shows Year Title Role 2012 I'm Real Cast member 2013–2014 2015 Law of the Jungle in Nicaragua 2020 Summer Vacation 2021 Youn's Stay 2022 In the Soop: Friendcation 2023 Jinny's Kitchen Jinny's Kitchen Team Building 2024 Jinny's Kitchen Season 2

Music video appearances

Discography Title Year Album "Some Guys" 2017 The Boy Next Door OST "Soju One Glass" 2019 Parasite OST "Poom" 2021 "Polaroid" 2022 In the Soop: Friendcation OST

Accolades Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result APAN Star Awards 2022 Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Our Beloved Summer Best Couple Choi Woo-shik Our Beloved Summer Asia Artist Awards 2020 Popularity Award (Actor) Choi Woo-shik 2021 Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards 2024 Best Lead Actor Asian Film Awards 2020 Best Supporting Actor Parasite Blue Dragon Film Awards 2014 Best New Actor Set Me Free Blue Dragon Series Awards 2024 Best Actor A Killer Paradox TIRTIR Popular Star Award Choi Woo-sik Buil Film Awards 2015 Best New Actor Set Me Free 2019 Best Actor Parasite Brand Customer Loyalty Awards 2022 Best Male Actor Our Beloved Summer Busan Film Critics Awards 2015 Best New Actor Set Me Free Busan International Film Festival 2014 Actor of the Year Chunsa Film Art Awards 2017 Special Popularity Award Choi Woo-shik 2019 Best Actor Parasite Critics' Choice Awards 2020 Best Acting Ensemble Director's Cut Awards 2019 Best Actor Korean Association of Film Critics Awards 2015 Best New Actor Set Me Free Korea First Brand Awards 2019 Best Actor (Film) Choi Woo-shik Max Movie Awards 2015 Best New Actor Set Me Free 2016 Rising Star Award Choi Woo-shik SBS Drama Awards 2021 Director's Award Our Beloved Summer Top Excellence Award for an Actor in a Mini-Series (Romance/Comedy) Best Couple Award Choi Woo-shik Our Beloved Summer 2025 Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Romance/Comedy Drama Would You Marry Me? Screen Actors Guild Awards 2020 Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Parasite Korean Film Actors Association Star Award 2015 Popular Actor Award Choi Woo-shik Wildflower Film Awards 2015 Best New Actor Set Me Free

Listicles