Meet Park Hee-soon, the drug lord in Netflix’s My Name: he started out in theatre, watched The Godfather to prepare for his role – and could be about to have his own Lee Jung-jae moment

Oct 24 , 2021

Park Hee-soon is currently starring in My Name, Netflix’s latest breakthrough K-drama thriller. Photo: King Kong Entertainment

After the success of Squid Game, it’s no surprise one of Netflix’s most-watched new shows is another K-drama – but this time it’s a gritty revenge thriller

The show’s drug boss Park Hee-soon is in fact a veteran Korean actor who made his name in crime thriller Seven Days and began life on stage in Rocky Horror

Currently ranking fourth on Netflix’s global charts, according to FlixPatrol, My Name looks set to become the streaming service’s next K-drama sensation after Squid Game thanks to its gritty action and equally powerful storyline. It seems the unique combination of a revenge-seeking female lead and a mafia boss has piqued viewers’ curiosity after just one week on the platform.

Park Hee-soon looking menacing as Choi Mu-jin in My Name. Photo: Netflix

Veteran Korean actor Park Hee-soon plays the part of trusted drug lord Choi Moo-jin, who helps Ji-woo (Han So-hee) in her quest for revenge. Here’s what you need to know about the talented 51-year-old, who may be about to have his very own Lee Jung-jae moment.

He is already a Korean movie icon

Park Hee-soon in a still from Joseon-era movie Jesters: The Game Changers. Photo: Warner Bros Korea

While international viewers may only know him thanks to My Name, Park has in fact been a Korean movie icon for decades. To date, he has starred in several blockbuster films, including 1987: When the Day Comes and The Scam, but he has gained the most recognition for his role in crime thriller Seven Days, in which he played a police detective and won several awards. After My Name, Park is also set to appear in another Netflix drama called Exemplary Family, which also happens to be about a drug ring.

He started out as a theatre actor

Park Hee-soon started out as an actor by performing on stage, including in Grease and Romeo and Juliet. Photo: @park_hee_soon/Instagram

Park may be one of Korea’s most recognisable faces now, but that wasn’t always the case. According to The Actor is Present, he graduated from the Seoul Institute of the Arts with a degree in theatre and began his career on stage.