Kam Woo-sung (born October 1, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his portrayal of a court jester serving a despotic king in the hit period film The King and the Clown.
Kam Woo-sung | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 1, 1970 |
| Other names | Gam Woo-sung Gam Wu-seong Kam Woo-seong Karm Woo-sung |
| Education | Seoul National University – Oriental Painting |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Agent | Bright Entertainment |
| Spouse |
Kang Min-Young (m. 2006) |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 감우성 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Gam U-seong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kam Usŏng |
Career
editKam Woo-sung majored in Oriental painting at the Seoul National University, then made his acting debut in the 1991 television drama Our Paradise. Through his roles on TV in the following decade, Kam became known for playing gentle and intellectual upper-middle-class men, notably in Hyun-jung, I Love You. Then in 2002, he successfully subverted this image in his first film, the critically acclaimed Marriage Is a Crazy Thing, in which he played a commitment-phobic professor having a passionate affair.
More characters followed in a variety of genres: a man trapped in a confusing and haunting sequence of events in Song Il-gon's mystery film Spider Forest;[1] the PTSD-afflicted leader of a South Korean squadron in Vietnam who looks into the mysterious disappearance of 18 soldiers in the horror thriller R-Point; and a son struggling to fake Korea's reunification to fulfill an ailing father's wish in the comedy A Bold Family.[2]
In late 2005, Kam reached a turning point in his 15-year career when he starred in The King and the Clown. Jang Hyuk was originally cast in the leading role of a court jester during the reign of Joseon Dynasty tyrant King Yeonsan, but after Jang was implicated in a draft-dodging scandal, Kam was brought in to replace him.[3] He trained extensively over two months in the art of Korean traditional performance, including street opera, and acrobatic, rope and mask dances.[4] The low-budget film unexpectedly broke box office records to become (at the time) the highest grossing Korean film of all time. Critics praised Kam's "powerful energy and wit,"[5] and his performance garnered acting recognition, including Best Actor at the 2006 Grand Bell Awards.[6][7]
He returned to television in Alone in Love (2006), which was lauded for its realistic portrayal of a divorced couple.[8] Back on the big screen, Kam reunited with previous A Bold Family costar (and close friend in real life) Kim Su-ro in Big Bang (2007),[9][10] followed by the ensemble romantic comedy My Love and crime thriller The Outlaw (2010).[11] Kam was listed as one of the highest paid entertainers on the KBS network in 2011, earning ₩440 million for playing Geunchogo of Baekje in the 60-episode series The King of Legend.[12]
Though appearing less frequently in projects, Kam has starred in melodramas My Spring Days (2014), Should We Kiss First? (2018) and The Wind Blows (2019) in recent years.[13][14][15]
Personal life
editAfter dating for 15 years, Kam married actress Kang Min-Young in Australia in 2006.[16]
Discography
editSingles
edit| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "I Will" | 2014 | My Spring Days OST |
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Marriage Is a Crazy Thing | Kim Jun-Yeong |
| 2004 | R-Point | Choi Tae-In |
| Spider Forest | Kang Min | |
| 2005 | A Bold Family | Kim Myung-Seok |
| The King and the Clown | Jang-Saeng | |
| 2007 | Big Bang | Park Man-Su |
| My Love | Jang Se-Jin | |
| 2010 | The Outlaw | Oh Jeong-Su |
Television series
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Our Paradise | Art student | |
| Woohwangcheongsimhwan | Hyun | MBC Best Theater | |
| 1992 | A Story of Long Distance Couple | Choi Wang-jae | MBC Best Theater |
| Investigation of Memory | Choi Jong-gwan | MBC Best Theater | |
| Enchantment | Cho Hoon-bae | ||
| 1993 | At Our Last Winter | Geon-woo | MBC Best Theater |
| Trumpet Flower | Chae I-eon | ||
| Stormy Season | Choi Han-yeong | ||
| Women's Generation | Kim Hyun-seok | MBC Best Theater | |
| A Tale of Childhood | Yong-sik | MBC Best Theater | |
| Jeremy | Jeremy | MBC Best Theater | |
| 1994 | The White Journey | Cho Seong-gyu | MBC Best Theater |
| A Verse of Sad Father | Cha Dong-hwa | Special drama | |
| 1995 | A Three-color Friendship | Tae-hyung | Special drama |
| To Make a Man | Meong Tae-min | ||
| 1997 | The Mountain | Choi Seong-gyu | |
| Instinct | Lee Jun-seob | ||
| 1998 | Shy Lovers | Choi Myung-il | |
| Song of the Wind | Song In-gyu | ||
| 1999 | Michiko | Han Dong-wook | Special drama |
| I'm Still Loving You | Kim Hyung-jun | ||
| 2000 | Say It with Your Eyes | Jang Ki-woong | |
| Medical Center | Kim Seung-jae | ||
| 2001 | Stars Rise Even in the Day | Gab-soo | Special drama |
| 2002 | Hyun-jung, I Love You | Kim Beom-soo | |
| 2006 | Alone in Love | Lee Dong-jin | |
| 2010 | The King of Legend | King Geunchogo | |
| 2014 | My Spring Days | Kang Dong-ha | |
| 2018 | Should We Kiss First? | Son Mu-han | |
| 2019 | The Wind Blows | Do Dae-cheol | [17] |
| 2021 | Joseon Exorcist[a] | Kim Tae-jong | [18] |
Awards
edit| Year | Ceremony | Awards | Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | MBC Drama Awards | Popularity Award | I'm Still Loving You |
| Best couple Award (with Chae-Lim) | |||
| 2002 | Grimae Awards | Best Actor | Hyun-jung, I Love You |
| MBC Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award (Actor in a Miniseries) | ||
| Women Viewers Film Awards | Best Actor [19] | Marriage is a Crazy Thing | |
| Korean Film Awards | Best New Actor [20] | ||
| Korea Best Dresser Swan Award | Swan Award (Actor in Film) | ||
| 2004 | Women Viewers Film Awards | Most Hopeful Actor Award | Spider Forest |
| 2006 | Grand Bell Awards | Best Actor | King and the Clown |
| Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Actor [21] | ||
| Blue Dragon Awards | Best Couple Award (with Lee Joon-Ki) | ||
| 2008 | National Tax Service | Prime Minister Commendation | |
| 2018 | Ministry of Health and Welfare | Minister Commendation | |
| Korea Broadcasting Awards | Best Actor | Should We Kiss First? | |
| Korea Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award[22] | ||
| SBS Drama Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang)[23] | ||
| Best Couple[24] |
Notes
edit- ^ cancels complete broadcast of show due to history distortion and Chinese style props. The show faced a massive amount of criticism leading to sponsorships and advertisements pulling out.
References
edit- ^ Lee, Seung-jae (1 September 2004). "A Mystery Thriller: Spider Forest". The Dong-a Ilbo. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ ""The Story Is on Unification!": Funny, But That's It". HanCinema. The Dong-a Ilbo. 2 June 2005.
- ^ Lee, Hoo-nam; Lee, Min-a (22 January 2006). "These kings of the cinema aren't clowning around". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ Kim, Tae-jong (20 December 2005). "Getting Serious About Clowning". The Korea Times via Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
- ^ "The King and the Clown Bursts with Sheer Energy". The Chosun Ilbo. 3 January 2006. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ Noh, Jean (24 July 2006). "King And The Clown rings Korea's Grand Bell". Screen International. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ Chung, Ah-young (23 July 2006). "King and the Clown Wins 7 Grand Bell Awards". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ Han, Eun-jung (12 March 2006). "After Big Screen Success Son Ye-jin Returns to TV". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ Kim, Tae-jong (20 November 2006). "Two Friends to Co-Star in New Movie". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ "New Movie: Big Bang". The Dong-a Ilbo. 8 March 2007. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
- ^ ""My Love" Is Loathsomely Sweet". HanCinema. The Korea Times. 20 December 2007.
- ^ "KBS' Highest-Paid Stars Revealed". The Chosun Ilbo. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ Jin Eun-soo (18 July 2014). "Leads chosen for My Spring Days". Korea JoongAng Daily.
- ^ "'키스 먼저 할까요' 감우성 "4년 만에 복귀, 느낌이 좋아 선택"". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 20 February 2018.
- ^ Kim, Joo-hyeon (January 29, 2019). "감우성 측 "JTBC '바람이 분다', 검토하고 있는 작품 중 하나" (공식입장)". Beff Report (in Korean). Retrieved April 10, 2019.
- ^ 영화배우 감우성 아내 강민아. The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 18 June 2007. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ^ "Kam Woo-sung, Kim Ha-neul to Star in New TV Soap". The Chosun Ilbo. May 2, 2019.
- ^ "'조선구마사' 감우성 "재미와 활력 선사하는 작품 위해 노력할 것"". Chosun. November 18, 2020.
- ^ 제7회 여성관객영화상: 여성의 욕망에 꽃을 던져라!. Cine21 (in Korean). 23 December 2002. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ '감우성의 재발견' ... 드디어 충무로 정상에. Joins.com (in Korean). 21 July 2006. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
- ^ '왕의 남자' 감우성-'타짜' 김혜수, 춘사대상영화제 남녀주연상. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 27 October 2006. Archived from the original on 18 December 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
- ^ Jeon, Aram (October 2, 2018). [종합] '2018 KDA' 유동근, 대상 영예...'같이 살래요' 4관왕 '쾌거' [[Comprehensive] '2018 KDA' Dong Keun Lee, Grand Prize 'Let's live together' 4 crowns 'comfort']. Xports News (in Korean) – via Naver.
- ^ Lee, Jihyun (January 1, 2019). [SBS 연기대상] 감우성·김선아, 공동 대상..베스트 커플상까지(종합) [[SBS Drama Awards] Gam Woo-sung, Kim Sun-ah, co- grand prize.. Best Couple Award (Comprehensive)]. News1 (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 31, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ Lee, Jihyun (January 1, 2019). [SBS 연기대상] 감우성·김선아, 공동 대상..베스트 커플상까지(종합) [[SBS Drama Awards] Gam Woo-sung, Kim Sun-ah, co- grand prize.. Best Couple Award (Comprehensive)]. News1 (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 31, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
External links
edit
- Kam Woo Sung at Bright Entertainment
- Kam Woo-sung on Twitter
- Kam Woo-sung at the Korean Movie Database
- Kam Woo-sung at IMDb
- Kam Woo-sung at HanCinema
