Choi Woo-shik (Korean: 최우식; born March 26, 1990) is a Korean–Canadian actor. He first gained widespread recognition for his leading role in the film Set Me Free (2014). He then co-starred in the films Train to Busan (2016) and Parasite (2019), both of which received international critical acclaim and success, with the latter of which winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Early life
Choi was born in Seoul, South Korea, the youngest of two sons. He immigrated to Canada with his family when he was in grade five, living in British Columbia, where he spent the next ten years of his life. He attended high school at Pinetree Secondary School in Coquitlam. His English name is Edward and he goes by the nickname Eddie.
In 2011, while in third year at Simon Fraser University, then-21-year-old Choi was given permission by his parents to attend an acting audition in Korea, subsequently leading to him making his acting debut. Whilst in Korea, Choi enrolled at Chung-Ang University, where he majored in cultural studies.
Career
2011–2015: Early years
Choi made his acting debut in the period drama The Duo in 2011. 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 (film) 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 9 February 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–present: 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 Confidential Assignment and 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 bubbly 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 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 21 May 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.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Etude, Solo | Short film | ||
| 2012 | Circle of Crime – Director’s Cut | |||
| 2013 | Secretly, Greatly | Yoon Yoo-joon | ||
| Flu (film) | Jeong Jin | Cameo Appearance | ||
| 2014 | Set Me Free | Young-jae | ||
| Big Match | Guru | |||
| 2015 | In the Room | Min-jun | Singaporean film | |
| 2016 | Train to Busan | Yong-guk | ||
| 2017 | Confidential Assignment | Kang Hyuk-jin | ||
| Okja | Kim Woo-shik | |||
| 2018 | Golden Slumber | Joo-ho | Cameo appearance | |
| The Princess and the Matchmaker | Nam Chi-ho | |||
| The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion | Nobleman | |||
| Monstrum | Officer Hur | |||
| 2019 | Rosebud | Young Soon-cheol | ||
| Parasite | Kim Ki-woo/Kevin (alias) | |||
| The Divine Fury | Father Choi | Cameo appearance | ||
| 2020 | Time to Hunt | Ki-hoon | ||
| 2021 | Past Lives | |||
| Wonderland | Netflix film | |||
| The Policeman’s Lineage |
Television series
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Duo | young Gwi-dong | MBC | ||
| Living in Style | Na Joo-ra | SBS | |||
| Deep Rooted Tree | young Jung Gi-joon / Ga Ri-on | ||||
| Special Affairs Team TEN | Park Min-ho | OCN | |||
| 2012 | Rooftop Prince | Do Chi-san | SBS | ||
| Shut Up Family | Yeol Woo-bong | KBS2 | |||
| Drama Special – “Culprit Among Friends” | young Do-hyun | ||||
| 2013 | Special Affairs Team TEN Season 2 | Park Min-ho | OCN | ||
| Who Are You? | Hee-koo | tvN | Cameo, Episodes 10, 12 | ||
| Drama Festival – “Principal Investigator: Save Wang Jo-hyun!” | Boo Joong-shik | MBC | |||
| 2014 | You’re All Surrounded | Choi Woo-shik | SBS | Cameo, Episode 4 | |
| You Are My Destiny | Lee Yong | MBC | |||
| Pride and Prejudice | Lee Jang-won | ||||
| 2015 | Dream Knight | Naver TV Cast | Cameo | ||
| Hogu’s Love | Kang Ho-gu | tvN | |||
| My Fantastic Funeral | Park Dong-soo | SBS | Two-part special | ||
| 2017 | Fight for My Way | Park Moo-bin | KBS2 | Cameo, Episode 1-7 | |
| The Package | Kim Gyung-jae | jTBC | |||
| The Boy Next Door | Park Gyu-tae | Dingo Studios | |||
| TBA | That Year, We Are | TBA |
Variety show
| Year | Title | Network | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Real Mate in Australia, Rooftop Prince Trio | QTV | Cast member | |
| 2013–2014 | Beating Hearts | SBS | ||
| 2015 | Law of the Jungle in Nicaragua | |||
| 2020 | Summer Vacation | tvN | ||
| 2021 | Youn’s Stay |
Music video appearances
| Year | Song title | Artist | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | “My Old Story” | IU | |
| 2015 | “Congratulations” | DAY6 | |
| 2017 | “That Moment” | Im Seulong | |
| “You Were Beautiful” | DAY6 |
Discography
| Year | Song title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | “Some Guys” (with Jang Ki-yong) | From an OST of the web series The Boy Next Door |
| 2019 | “Soju One Glass” | From the OST of Parasite |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Busan International Film Festival | Actor of the Year | Set Me Free | Won | |
| 2015 | Max Movie Awards | Best New Actor | Nominated | ||
| Busan Film Critics Awards | Won | ||||
| Wildflower Film Awards | Won | ||||
| Buil Film Awards | Nominated | ||||
| Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Won | ||||
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | Won | ||||
| The Korea Film Actors’ Association Awards | Popular Actor Award | Won | |||
| 2016 | Max Movie Awards | Rising Star Award | N/A | Won | |
| 2017 | Chunsa Film Art Awards | Special Popularity Award | Won | ||
| 2019 | Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Actor | Parasite | Nominated | |
| Buil Film Awards | Nominated | ||||
| Director’s Cut Awards | Nominated | ||||
| Korea First Brand Awards | Best Actor (Film) | N/A | Won | ||
| 2020 | Critics’ Choice Awards | Best Acting Ensemble | Parasite | Nominated | |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Won | |||
| Asian Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | |||
| Asia Artist Awards | Popularity Award (Actor) | N/A | Nominated |