---
name: "Lee Byung-hun"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/lee-byung-hun"
fi1m_id: "lee-byung-hun"
imdb_id: "nm0496932"
tmdb_id: 25002
wikidata_id: "Q380121"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "12 July 1970"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 65
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 7
updated: "2026-10-05T12:56:00.075839+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Lee Byung-hun

## Identity

Lee Byung-hun

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/lee-byung-hun
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** lee-byung-hun
- **IMDb ID:** nm0496932
- **TMDB ID:** 25002
- **Wikidata ID:** Q380121
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Byung-hun, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q380121, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0496932/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/25002

Actor. Born 12 July 1970 in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, South Korea.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 12 July 1970, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, South Korea
- **Active:** 2008–present
- **Also known as:** Byung Hun Lee, Бён-хон Ли, Бёнхон Ли, Lee Byeong-heon
- **Average Fi1m score:** 65, as actor, over 7 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 74 (1), 2010s 49 (3), 2020s 78 (3)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 65 to 63 across 7 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 3 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 2 of 7 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Action 4, Adventure 3, Comedy 3, Thriller 3, Science Fiction 2, Western 2
- **Screen time:** 12 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,040m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Byung-hun, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q380121, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0496932/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/25002

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*The Magnificent Seven*](https://film.one/film/the-magnificent-seven-2016.md) (54), [*G.I. Joe: Retaliation*](https://film.one/film/g-i-joe-retaliation.md) (48), [*Terminator Genisys*](https://film.one/film/terminator-genisys.md) (45)
- **Netflix:** [*Squid Game*](https://film.one/tv/squid-game.md) (81), [*KPop Demon Hunters*](https://film.one/film/kpop-demon-hunters.md) (76)
- **Disney+:** [*No Other Choice*](https://film.one/film/no-other-choice.md) (78)
- **AMC+:** [*The Good, the Bad, the Weird*](https://film.one/film/the-good-the-bad-the-weird.md) (74)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Lee Byung-hun

> Lee Byung-hun brings a useful seriousness to men behaving badly. Hollywood has sometimes given him too little character to play; we prefer the awkward, funny desperation that Park Chan-wook draws out of him in *No Other Choice*.

In *No Other Choice* (2025), Lee Byung-hun plays a man who has lost his job and assumes that eliminating the other applicants is a problem he can solve through preparation. His Man-su has spent his life being competent, and Lee does not rush to make him ridiculous. He takes the planning seriously enough for the incompetence to hurt. We laughed at the first botched attempt because Lee makes it feel like a professional embarrassment to a man who has chosen to commit murder.

That part makes good use of an actor often cast as enforcers, assassins and other men expected to be effective with violence. His breakthrough came with Park Chan-wook's *Joint Security Area* (2000), followed by leading roles in Korean cinema through the decade. *A Bittersweet Life* (2005) and *I Saw the Devil* (2010) belong to that development, with Kim Jee-woon becoming a recurring collaborator. The turn to black comedy gives that familiar intensity something different to do.

The move into Hollywood began with *G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra* (2009), and sometimes left him playing action types with little dialogue or character development. We would rather see his physical commitment put into a more substantial part. Playing the Front Man in *Squid Game* (2021) widened his international recognition, though our admiration for that programme rests chiefly on the players and their desperation.

Park gets such good work from him by refusing to let Man-su become merely a comic incompetent. Lee Sung-min makes a rival's unemployment matter as much as Man-su's, while Son Ye-jin gives Mi-ri her own practical concerns. Lee's desperation remains understandable in their company, but it stops being an excuse. His seriousness keeps the comedy from becoming a plea to find Man-su endearing.

There are limits to what the performance can fix. *No Other Choice* runs long and repeats jokes whose point Lee has already made; another demonstration of Man-su's inadequacy does not tell us much more about him. We would welcome more roles that let him be this inept without losing his dignity altogether. Start here for the comedy, with patience for the repetition.

## Biography

Lee Byung-hun is a South Korean actor. He began his career in 1991 after a KBS talent audition and graduated from Hanyang University with a degree in French literature and from Chung-Ang University with a degree in theatre and cinematography.

He has appeared in South Korean films including *Joint Security Area* (2000), *A Bittersweet Life* (2005), *The Good, the Bad, the Weird* (2008), *I Saw the Devil* (2010), *Inside Men* (2015) and *The Man Standing Next* (2020). His Hollywood roles include Storm Shadow in *G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra* (2009) and *G.I. Joe: Retaliation* (2013), as well as appearances in *RED 2* (2013), *Terminator Genisys* (2015) and *The Magnificent Seven* (2016).

Lee is known for playing the Front Man / Hwang In-ho in the Netflix series *Squid Game* (2021–2025) and Man-su in the film *No Other Choice* (2025), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, koreaherald.com, nytimes.com, ew.com.*

## On Fi1m (7)

- *KPop Demon Hunters* (2025), Fi1m 76, as Gwi-Ma (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/kpop-demon-hunters.md)
- *No Other Choice* (2025), Fi1m 78, as Man-su — [page](https://film.one/film/no-other-choice.md)
- *Squid Game* (2021), Fi1m 81, as Front Man / Hwang In-ho — [page](https://film.one/tv/squid-game.md)
- *The Magnificent Seven* (2016), Fi1m 54, as Billy Rocks — [page](https://film.one/film/the-magnificent-seven-2016.md)
- *Terminator Genisys* (2015), Fi1m 45, as Cop / T-1000 — [page](https://film.one/film/terminator-genisys.md)
- *G.I. Joe: Retaliation* (2013), Fi1m 48, as Tommy Arashikage / Storm Shadow — [page](https://film.one/film/g-i-joe-retaliation.md)
- *The Good, the Bad, the Weird* (2008), Fi1m 74, as Park Chang-yi — [page](https://film.one/film/the-good-the-bad-the-weird.md)

## Complete filmography (68)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *No Other Choice* (2025), as Man-su — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/no-other-choice.md)
- *KPop Demon Hunters* (2025), as Gwi-Ma (voice) — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/kpop-demon-hunters.md)
- *The Match* (2025), as Cho Hoon-hyun
- *BSK 25th Anniversary Concert Film : The Journey* (2024), as Narrator (voice)
- *Concrete Utopia* (2023), as Yeong-tak
- *Emergency Declaration* (2022), as Park Jae-hyuk
- *Our Blues* (2022), series, as Lee Dong-seok
- *Squid Game* (2021), series, as Front Man / Hwang In-ho — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/squid-game.md)
- *The Man Standing Next* (2020), as Kim Gyu-pyeong
- *Ashfall* (2019), as Lee Jun-pyeong
- *Mr. Sunshine* (2018), series, as Eugene Choi / Choi Yu-jin
- *Keys to the Heart* (2018), as Kim Jo-ha
- *The Fortress* (2017), as Choe Myeong-gil
- *Decades Apart* (2017), as Sgt. Lee Soo-hyeck
- *A Single Rider* (2017), as Kang Jae-hoon
- *Master* (2016), as President Jin
- *The Magnificent Seven* (2016), as Billy Rocks — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/the-magnificent-seven-2016.md)
- *The Age of Shadows* (2016), as Jung Chae-san
- *Misconduct* (2016), as The Accountant
- *Inside Men* (2015), as Ahn Sang-goo
- *Memories of the Sword* (2015), as Yu-baek / Duk-gi
- *Terminator Genisys* (2015), as Cop / T-1000 — Fi1m 45, [page](https://film.one/film/terminator-genisys.md)
- *최후의 권력* (2013), series, as Narrator (voice)
- *RED 2* (2013), as Han Cho Bai
- *G.I. Joe: Retaliation* (2013), as Tommy Arashikage / Storm Shadow — Fi1m 48, [page](https://film.one/film/g-i-joe-retaliation.md)
- *IRIS 特务情人 DVD版* (2013), series, Actor
- *Masquerade* (2012), as King Gwang-hae / Clown Ha-sun
- *Share the Vision* (2011), Actor
- *The Diplomat Kosaku Kuroda* (2011), series, as John（ジョン）
- *I Saw the Devil* (2010), as Kim Soo-hyeon
- *Iris: The Movie* (2010), as Kim Hyun-jun
- *The Influence* (2010), as W/White W
- *Iris* (2009), series, as Kim Hyeon-Jun
- *G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra* (2009), as Storm Shadow
- *I Come with the Rain* (2009), as Su Dongpo
- *The Good, the Bad, the Weird* (2008), as Park Chang-yi — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/the-good-the-bad-the-weird.md)
- *Hero* (2007), as Kang
- *Once in a Summer* (2006), as Yun Suk-young
- *A Bittersweet Life* (2005), as Sun-woo
- *Three... Extremes* (2004), as Director (segment "Cut")
- *Everybody Has Secrets* (2004), as Choi Soo-hyun
- *All In* (2003), series, as Kim In-ha
- *Addicted* (2002), as Hwang Dae-jun
- *My Beautiful Girl, Mari* (2002), as Adult Nam-woo (voice)
- *Beautiful Days* (2001), series, as Lee Min-chul
- *Bungee Jumping of Their Own* (2001), as Seo In-woo
- *Joint Security Area* (2000), as Sgt. Lee Soo-hyuk
- *Love Story* (1999), series, as Tae-sung
- *Se-ri is Back* (1999), series, as Café CEO
- *Happy Together* (1999), series, as Seo Tae-poong
- *The Harmonium in My Memory* (1999), as Kang Soo-ha
- *White Nights 3.98* (1998), series, as Min Gyeong-bin
- *Beautiful My Lady* (1997), series, as Hwang Joon-ho
- *Lament* (1997), as Jong-man
- *Kill the Love* (1996), as Love
- *Armageddon* (1996), as Haesung
- *Run Away* (1995), as Lee Dong-hee
- *Who Drives Me Mad?* (1995), as Lee Jong-du
- *Asphalt Man* (1995), series, as Kang Dong-joon
- *Sunset on the Neon Lights* (1995), Actor
- *사랑의 향기* (1994), series, Actor
- *The Sorrow of the Survivor* (1993), series, as Lee Ja-myung
- *Tomorrow Love* (1992), series, as 신범수
- *The Koreans*, series, Actor
- *Nambeol*, as Im Eok
- *K.O. Club*, Actor
- *I Believe in a Thing Called Love*, as Producer
- *Here*, series, Actor

## Gallery

- ![Lee Byung-hun](https://film.one/media/person/7261/gallery-283c0bd7bb7c.jpg) Lee Byung-hun — Desmond Herzfelder, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Lee_Byung-hun_2025_Toronto_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Lee_Byung-hun_2025_Toronto_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![11일 오후 서울 중구 KG타워 하모니홀에서 열린 '제40회 영평상' 시상식에서 남우주연상을 수상한 배우 이병헌이 소감을 말하고 있다. (2020)](https://film.one/media/person/7261/gallery-f346ab32db58.jpg) 11일 오후 서울 중구 KG타워 하모니홀에서 열린 '제40회 영평상' 시상식에서 남우주연상을 수상한 배우 이병헌이 소감을 말하고 있다. (2020) — 사진기자머길, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/201111_%EC%9D%B4%EB%B3%91%ED%97%8C.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![161007 부산국제영화제 오픈토크. (2016)](https://film.one/media/person/7261/gallery-b66ca98553e1.jpg) 161007 부산국제영화제 오픈토크. (2016) — ILCHIRI, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/2016-10-07_Lee_Byung-hun_Busan_International_Film_Festival_%283%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![161007 부산국제영화제 오픈토크. (2016)](https://film.one/media/person/7261/gallery-f305c8d83223.jpg) 161007 부산국제영화제 오픈토크. (2016) — ILCHIRI, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/2016-10-07_Lee_Byung-hun_Busan_International_Film_Festival_%284%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Lee Byung-hun](https://film.one/media/person/7261/gallery-6b0bb538f6ca.jpg) Lee Byung-hun — Image via TMDB
- ![Lee Byung-hun](https://film.one/media/person/7261/gallery-e1cf901018b9.jpg) Lee Byung-hun — Image via TMDB
- ![Lee Byung-hun](https://film.one/media/person/7261/gallery-cfd98a25b315.jpg) Lee Byung-hun — Image via TMDB
- ![On May 1st, Lee Byung-hun attended and had a photo session at the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards red carpet event at COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. (2019)](https://film.one/media/person/7261/gallery-487916f1e550.jpg) On May 1st, Lee Byung-hun attended and had a photo session at the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards red carpet event at COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. (2019) — NewsInstar, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/20190501%E2%80%94Lee_Byung-hun_%EC%9D%B4%EB%B3%91%ED%97%8C%2C_55th_Baeksang_Arts_Awards.jpg/1280px-20190501%E2%80%94Lee_Byung-hun_%EC%9D%B4%EB%B3%91%ED%97%8C%2C_55th_Baeksang_Arts_Awards.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Byung-hun Lee at the press conference of The Magnificent Seven, 2016 Toronto Film Festival](https://film.one/media/person/7261/gallery-53c830c697df.jpg) Byung-hun Lee at the press conference of The Magnificent Seven, 2016 Toronto Film Festival — GabboT, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Byung-hun_Lee_%2829146030393%29.jpg/1280px-Byung-hun_Lee_%2829146030393%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Lee Byung-hun](https://film.one/media/person/7261/gallery-bc7be7b51b7d.jpg) Lee Byung-hun — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 1 won

- Asian Film Award for Best Actor 2016: Asian Film Award for Best Actor (won), for *Inside Men*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/lee-byung-hun