Summary

• Lee Byung-hun's versatile acting career spans TV dramas, action blockbusters, Korean Westerns, and historical epics.
• Lee shines in Netflix's Squid Game, exploring morality, ethics, class disparity, and capitalism in South Korea.
• Lee delivers stellar performances in iconic movies like t Security Area, A Bittersweet Life, and Masquerade.

Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers for Netflix's Squid Game.

With an entertainment career in movies and TV spanning three decades, South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun has delivered some of the best performances catered to audiences both on the big and small screen. Notable for his charming good looks and frequent collaborations with South Korean director, Kim Jee-woon, Lee has developed an impressive body of work that has made him one of South Korea's most sought after talents since his debut in 1991's Asphalt My Hometown. In addition to his singing and modeling career, Lee has established himself as one of the premier and consistent actors of his generation.

With the sheer number of Korean movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix, Lee's work has extended across international lines with his work in Squid Game and The Magnificent Seven performing well with American audiences. Moreover, Lee's range, as demonstrated in his quality performances in K-dramas, action blockbusters, Korean Westerns, and historical epics, makes him one of the industry's most versatile actors. With the Netflix movies, The Match and the American-produced movie, I Believe in a Thing Called Love, Lee isn't slowing his work ethic down anytime soon.

10 All In (2003)

Lee stars as Kim In-ha in the early 2000s drama about gambling and love.

Partially based on the true story of professional poker player Jimmy Cha, All In sees Lee as a casino gambler named Kim In-ha, and, despite his shady dealing with the criminal underworld, demonstrates his softer side with the love of his life, Min Su-yeon (played by Song Hye-kyo). All In stands as a strong entry in Lee's filmography because K-drama highlights the complex nature of love when money and other vices are involved. Balancing an undeniably charming demeanor with the ruthlessness appropriate for a gangster movie, All In remains an early example of Lee's range.

9 The Good the Bad the Weird (2008)

Lee takes on the Lee Van Cleef role of the Bad in his second collaboration with Kim Jee-woon.

Directed by Kim Jee-woon, The Good the Bad the Weird is a subversive Korean Western that pays homage to the Sergio Leone classic, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and it features the second collaboration between Lee and Kim. With brilliant performances from its central cast, The Good the Bad the Weird is one of the best foreign Westerns because of its blend of great Western tropes with enough political subtext to compel its audience to reassess its feelings about Eastern Asian affairs. Additionally, the movie contains plenty of comedy and action to balance its heavier themes.

8 Squid Game (2021)

Lee stars as Front Man / Hwang In-ho in Netflix's Squid Game.

With the success of Squid Game's first season, Squid Game season 2 is sure to carry the momentum of the South Korean thriller. Loosely based on the Korean game Squid and series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk's own financial issues in his youth, Squid Game centers around 456 game contestants enduring financial hardships participating in a series of deadly children's games with the hope of securing the game's ₩45.6 billion (45.6 billion won) game prize. In addition to exploring morality and ethics, the acclaimed Netflix series also uses its Front Man character to examine class disparity and capitalism in South Korea.

Highly intelligent and the winner of the 2015 Squid Games, Lee's Front Man/Hwang In-ho is the leader of the Masked Men, a group of enigmatic individuals controlling the titular game, and Font Man's Squid Game twist adds another layer to the already dense thriller. As seen in the first season, Front Man is the brother of detective Hwang Jun-ho, and the revelation suggests that former or even current law enforcement agents are also prominent entities in the creation and operation of Squid Game. With Lee's haunting performance, his future involvement can reveal even more twists.

7 A Bittersweet Life (2005)

Lee plays the hitman, Sun woo, in his first collaboration with Kim Jee-woon.

The neo-noir action drama A Bittersweet Life marks the first collaboration between Lee and Kim, and it sees Lee as Kim Sun-woo, a hardened and high-ranking enforcer for one of South Korea's most dangerous crime lords, wrestling with the ethics of his most recent job. Featuring stunning visuals, well-choreographed shootouts, a sweeping and emotional score, and strong performances from its leads, A Bittersweet Life ultimately explores themes of love and loneliness with the use of its hardened killer protagonist and the unfaithful love interest, Moon Hee-soo, played by Shin Min-ah.

6 Beautiful Days (2001)

Lee stars as Lee Min-chul in the first installment of director Lee Jang-soo's Heaven trilogy.

Beautiful Days sees Lee as an aspiring musician named Lee Min-chul, who returns to South Korea after studying abroad in America prior to the events of the K-drama. The soft cinematography and music, melodrama, and overlapping storylines that see Beautiful Days' characters interacting with each other in unexpected ways have all contributed to Beautiful Days's popularity 20+ years after its debut. Furthermore, the show's high ratings, strong acting performances, and subversive writing that sees some of its protagonists responsible for heinous crimes helped ensure two sequel series in the Heaven trilogy.

5 Masquerade (2012)

Lee plays the dual roles of King Gwanghae / Beggar Ha-sun in the 2012 period piece.

Masquerade sees Lee as a beggar named Ha-sun experiencing a life-changing event during the Joseon Dynasty as he's selected to masquerade as the nation's ruler, King Gwanghae, due to his uncanny likeness to the monarch. Whereas he starts the film as a commoner who thinks ill of the nation's wealthy, he gradually loses himself and his sense of morals, as he begins to think he really is King Gwanghae. Delivering two stellar performances as the beggar and the king, Masquerade's themes of identity, power, and class disparity are acutely examined through Lee's work.

4 Our Blues (2022)

Lee stars as the truck merchant, Lee Dong-seok, in the critically acclaimed K-drama.

Notable for its unique narrative structure that tells the interweaving stories of its ensemble cast, as they each experience the highs and lows of life on Jeju Island at various points in their lives. Our Blues has enjoyed praise from critics for its verisimilitude both in its writing, and from the performances of its cast. Broken up into ten parts, each part of Our Blues examines someone who is at the early stages of life, the middle, and near the end in what is one of the most bitter yet enduring slice-of-life K-dramas.

3 t Security Area (2000)

Lee's breakout role was as Sergeant Lee Soo-hyeok in the 2000 mystery thriller.

Based on the Park Sang-yeon novel, DMZ, t Security Area centers around a mysterious killing of two North Korean guards at the North-South Korean border, that necessitates the neutral involvement of Swedish and Swiss forces to help solve the mystery. t Security Area sees Lee as Sergeant Lee Soo-hyeok, a South Korean soldier who was wounded during the shooting, face interrogation after attempting to flee back to South Korea. With strong performances from Lee, Song Kang-ho, and Lee Young-ae, the thriller features the first collaboration between Lee and Song.

Moreover, during its 2000 debut in South Korean cinemas, t Security Area was the highest-grossing South Korean film, and the performance of Lee garnered numerous praise from critics, which effectively solidified him as one of the nation's top actors. t Security Area's themes of deception and murder as they relate to North and South Korean politics are crucially examined through the lens of a mystery thriller that deliberately compels audiences to question everything and everyone. Accruing eighteen Award wins and nominations, including a Golden Berlin Bear nomination, t Security Area remains a staple in Lee's filmography.

2 Mr. Sunshine (2018)

Lee stars as Eugene Choi in the historical romance melodrama.

Mr. Sunshine sees Lee as Eugene Choi, a slave born during the Joseon period, escape to the United States around the time of the 1871 Shinmiyangyo incident and s the Marin Corps. Upon returning to Korea during one of its most historic turning points, Eugene falls in love with a noblewoman named Go Ae-shin, and the two slowly develop a relationship of forbidden love. Mr. Sunshine excels at blending the sensibilities of the modern age with the strict beliefs of the story's setting, while also exploring issues revolving around class disparities and political unrest.

1 I Saw The Devil (2010)

Lee delivers a critically-acclaimed performance in his third collaboration with Kim Jee-woon.

I Saw the Devil marks the third collaboration between Lee and director Kim, and ed by its moody atmosphere and gripping story, tells an engaging tale of revenge. Featuring Choi Min-sik (Oldboy), I Saw the Devil sees Lee as a secret agent acting outside the bounds of the law to bring Choi's serial killer to justice after a string of brutal murders. Most notable in I Saw the Devil, is its ability to deliver its violence and depravity with a tenacity that makes it an effective thriller and one of the best movies in Lee Byung-hun's body of work.