Meet Heo Sung-tae, the Squid Game villain starring in Netflix thriller The Silent Sea … who loves cats and makes meme-worthy Instagram posts IRL
- The K-drama actor has appeared in The Outlaws, The Age of Shadows, Beyond Evil and Netflix’s Racket Boys and The Fortress
- He became an actor by accident – after drunkenly applying to be on KBS survival reality TV show Miracle Audition, he learned the craft from watching comedy shows
This November, Heo will appear in Netflix sci-fi thriller The Silent Sea as Kim Jae-seon, leader of the Republic of Korea Space Aviation Administration’s resource team, alongside Bae Doona and Gong Yoo.
But despite his intimidating roles, a closer look at the 44-year-old actor’s real life will quickly make you forget how scary an on-screen villain he is.
Here’s what we know about him …
He quit a good job to become an actor
Heo began his career in showbiz fairly late at the age of 34, and even then it was by accident. Graduating from Pusan National University with a degree in Russian language and culture, he went on to work in LG Electronics’ Russian business marketing team. He was known as the “King of TV Sales” in the country, Today Online reports.
He later worked for one of South Korea’s biggest shipbuilding companies, Daewoo Shipping & Marine Co., where he reportedly earned an annual income of 70 million Korean won (about US$60,000) – much higher than the average salary in Korea today.
