Netflix’s Start-Up star Nam Joo-hyuk is K-drama’s hottest actor of the moment, appearing alongside Bae Suzy and in upcoming Korean movie Josée – how much do you know about him?

Dec 1 , 2020

From Start-Up to new movies Josée and Here, K-drama star Nam Joo-hyuk has plenty on his plate right now. Photo: @skawngur/Instagram

He was originally scouted as a model, like Stephanie Lee and ex-girlfriend Lee Sung-kyung, and Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo was his first claim to fame – but he originally wanted to be a basketball star like NBA’s Stephen Curry

It’s only been five years since his TV debut, but Nam Joo-hyuk has already starred in several hit K-dramas alongside Korea’s top actresses, including Bae Suzy in Start-Up and Jung Yu-mi in The School Nurse Files. He’ll also appear opposite Han Ji-min in the movie Josée to be released in December. The duo will reunite in drama Here set to premiere in 2021, which will also star Shin Min-ah.

So what’s with all the buzz surrounding Nam, and how does he have the time and energy for all these projects? Here are a few things we know about him.

He loves working out

On Netflix K-drama interview show The Swoon, the actor once revealed that he prefers to follow rather than to lead. But if he ever was a CEO, he and Suzy joked that he’d be the CEO of a gym – as he’s quite the avid gym-goer and works out regularly. According to Channel Korea, he does four-minute push-ups before going to bed.

He originally wanted to be a basketball star

Nam Joo-hyuk on the runway. Photo: @bignam_china/Twitter

Fun fact: Nam and Stephanie Lee, who plays the role of a designer in Start-Up, are good friends in real life as they are both models. Actress Lee Sung-kyung, who Nam dated after starring in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo, was also first scouted as a model.

But he didn’t want to be either an actor or model when he was young. On the talk show Radio Star, he recalled that he dreamt of becoming a basketball star, playing point and shooting guard on his middle school basketball league. He’s still a big fan of basketball today, even meeting and playing against his idol, NBA player Stephen Curry, on an episode of MBC’s Infinite Challenge.