Choi Woo-shik (Korean: 최우식; Korean pronunciation:[tɕʰø.u.ɕik̚]; born March 26, 1990), or Edward Choi, is a Canadian actor based in South Korea. He first gained widespread recognition for his leading role in the film Set Me Free (2014). He then co-starred in the films Train to Busan (2016) and Parasite (2019), both of which received international critical acclaim and success, the latter winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the Academy Award for Best Picture. He also played the lead role in the popular television series Our Beloved Summer (2021–2022).
Early life
Choi was born in Seoul, South Korea, the younger of two sons. He migrated to Vancouver, Canada with his family when he was ten years old, in grade five, where he spent the next ten years of his life.[2] He attended high school at Pinetree Secondary School.[3] His English name is Edward Choi and he goes by the nickname Eddie.[4]
In 2010, while attending Simon Fraser University, then-20-year-old Choi was given permission by his parents to attend an acting audition in Korea, subsequently leading to him making his acting debut. Whilst in Korea, Choi enrolled at Chung-Ang University, where he majored in cultural studies,[3] the reason was because when he was little he didn't have the opportunity to know or learn Korean culture before, because he lived and grew up in Canada.[4]
In 2014, Choi took on his first leading role in the coming-of-ageindependent filmSet Me Free.[8] He played the role of Young-jae, a sixteen-year-old student living in a group home, who pretends that he wants to become a priest in order to prolong his stay at the home. The film was well received by critics, and Choi was praised for his portrayal of the protagonist's inner conflict.[9] He won several awards for his acting, including Actor of the Year at the Busan International Film Festival.[10][11] Later that year, Choi also starred in the action comedy film Big Match, playing the role of genius hacker Guru.
Choi starred as the titular character in the romantic comedy cable series Hogu's Love. The series began airing on February 9, 2015.[12] Choi also took part in the R-rated Hong Kong-Singaporean film In the Room later that year. The film featured an anthology of characters, set in a single-room brothel at a hotel in Singapore.[13]
2016–present: Rising fame and international breakthrough
Choi first gained international recognition with the blockbuster zombiethriller filmTrain to Busan, where he played the role of high school baseball player, Yong-guk. Premiering at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 13, the film was a critical and commercial success, going on to gross over $93.1 million worldwide.[14] He followed this up with a short, but memorable role as a truck driver in action-adventure film Okja.[15] This marked his first collaboration with director Bong Joon-ho and featured an international cast, including Tilda Swinton and Paul Dano. Okja was screened in several independent theatres domestically, and released on streaming platform Netflix worldwide.
Choi continued starring in several other films after this, including The Princess and the Matchmaker and Monstrum. In 2018, Choi was cast as a mysterious assassin called the "Nobleman" in the action film The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion.[16] The dark persona of the Nobleman was a shift from the characters Choi usually played. In a press interview, co-star Park Hee-soon remarked that Nobleman could be Choi's once-in-a-lifetime character.[17]
In 2019, Choi reunited with director Bong Joon-ho for the black comedy thriller film Parasite.[18][19] Choi played the main character Ki-woo, the son of a poor family, who schemes to become employed by a wealthy family by infiltrating their household and posing as unrelated, highly qualified individuals. Choi was first approached by Bong after their first collaboration with Okja in 2016, who told the actor to "stay skinny" to play the character.[20]Parasite premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2019, where it became the first South Korean film to win the Palme d'Or, and was the first film to win with a unanimous vote since Blue Is the Warmest Colour at the 2013 Festival. Among other numerous accolades, Parasite won a leading four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards. It became the first South Korean film to receive Academy Award recognition, as well as the first film in a language other than English to win Best Picture.[21] The cast also won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards.[22] In addition to his role as Ki-woo in Parasite, Choi performed the end credits song "Soju One Glass," which made the shortlist for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
^"CHOI Woo-sik". Korean Film Biz Zone. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
^OSEN (October 12, 2011). 주상욱-김상호-조안, '특수사건전담반 TEN' 이끈다. mosen.mt.co.kr (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
^ abHong Se-young (March 17, 2021). 최우식·김다미 '그 해 우리는' 출연확정 [공식]. sports.donga (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
^ abAhn Eun-jae (July 8, 2021). "BS '그 해 우리는' 최우식·김다미·김성철·노정의 핫 라인업 완성[공식]" [SBS 'That Year We Are' Choi Woo-shik, Kim Da-mi, Kim Seong-cheol, and Noh Jeong's hot lineup complete [Official]]. Sports Seoul (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
^ abJo Ji-young (November 17, 2021). [공식] 조진웅X최우식 '경관의 피' 2022년 1월 극장 개봉 확정..강렬한 범죄드라마 예고 [[Official] Cho Jin-woong X Choi Woo-shik 'Blood of the Policeman's theater release confirmed in January 2022.. Intense crime drama preview] (in Korean). Sports Chosun. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021 – via Naver.
^Kim Ha-young (April 28, 2023). [공식] 최우식, 매니지먼트 숲과 전속 계약 종료 예정 [[Official] Choi Woo-shik's exclusive contract with Management Soop will be terminated] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
^Kim Mi-hwa (January 1, 2022). '원더랜드' '노량' 에이스메이커-'드림' '범죄도시2' 메가박스 [2022 신년특집] ⑥ ['Wonderland' 'Noryang' Ace Maker - 'Dream' 'Crime City 2' Megabox [2022 New Year's Special] ⑥]. Star News (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
^Moon Ji-yeon (August 19, 2022). [공식] 최우식·이희준→손석구..'살인자ㅇ난감' 제작 학정 [[Official] Woo-Sik Choi, Hee-Jun Lee → Seok-Gu Sohn.. 'The Murderer's Toy' Production Hakjeong] (in Korean). Sports Chosun. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022 – via Naver.
^Kang Min-kyung (February 22, 2024). [공식] 최우식·박보영·이준영·전소니, 청춘 로맨스 '멜로무비' 캐스팅 [[Official] Choi Woo-sik, Park Bo-young, Lee Jun-young, and Jeon So-ni cast in youth romance 'Melo Movie'] (in Korean). Ten Asia. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
^Hwang, Hye-jin (July 2, 2020). 나영석PD 新예능 '여름방학' 17일 첫방 확정, 정유미X최우식 출연(공식) [PD Na Young-seok's new entertainment 'Summer Vacation' first aired on the 17th confirmed, and Jung Yu-mi X Choi Woo-shik appeared (official)] (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2022 – via Naver.
^Lee Min-ji (June 14, 2022). 인더숲' 박서준-픽보이-최우식-박형식-뷔, 청춘 여행 7월 공개 [공식] [In the Forest' Park Seo-joon, Peakboy, Choi Woo-shik, Park Hyung-sik, V, Youth Journey Released in July [Official]] (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022 – via Naver.
^Kim Min-ji (January 27, 2023). '서진이네', 이서진·정유미·박서준·최우식·김태형 드림팀 완성...2월24일 오픈 ['Seojin', Lee Seojin, Jung Yumi, Park Seojun, Choi Wooshik, Kim Taehyung's dream team complete... Open on February 24th] (in Korean). News1. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023 – via Naver.
^Lee Seul-bi (August 31, 2022). 김혜수→이준호 '2022 APAN STAR AWARDS' 수상 후보 공개 [Kim Hye-soo → Lee Jun-ho's '2022 APAN STAR AWARDS' nominees revealed] (in Korean). Sports Donga. Archived from the original on August 31, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022 – via Naver.
^Hwang, Hyo-yi (September 6, 2022). 강태오-박은빈'·'손석구-김지원'·'이준호-이세영' 베스트커플상은? [Best Couple Award for 'Kang Tae-oh - Park Eun-bin', 'Son Seok-gu-Kim Ji-won', 'Lee Jun-ho-Lee Se-young'?] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Archived from the original on September 6, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022 – via Naver.
^Lee Ha-na (January 1, 2022). '그 해 우리는' 최우식X김다미, 디렉터즈 어워드 수상 "좋은 추억"[SBS 연기대상] ['That Year We were' Choi Woo-shik X Kim Da-mi, Directors Award "Good Memories" [SBS Acting Awards]]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
^Lee Seung-gil (January 1, 2022). '이상윤·이하늬·이제훈·김유정, 최우수연기상 수상 [2021 SBS 연기대상]' ['Lee Sang-yoon, Lee Ha-nui, Lee Je-hoon, Kim Yoo-jung, Best Acting Award [2021 SBS Drama Awards]]. MyDaily (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
^Kim Chaeyeon (December 17, 2021). "홍천기-원더우먼→그해 우리는"...SBS, '2021 연기대상' 베스트 커플상 후보 공개 ["Chunki Hong - One the Woman → That year we were"... SBS unveils nominations for Best Couple Award at '2021 Acting Awards']. Top Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
^한국영화 배우 흥행 파워 TOP 배우 하정우 그러나 TOP 10위 안에 여성 배우는 실종...여성 주연 영화 부재가 원인 [Korean movie actor box office power TOP actor Ha Jung-woo but the female actor in the top 10 is missing... Due to the absence of female-starred films]. RNX (in Korean). January 2, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
External links
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