Actor Lee Jung-jae became a global star by winning Best Actor at the 74th Emmy Awards thanks to Netflix’s series “Squid Game”.
During Lee Jung-jae‘s acceptance speech, he said, “I will share this joy with all the people who will be watching in Korea, my friends, family and precious fans.”
How was Lee Jung-jae’s debut?
When he was young, his household situation was not very good, and he became the eldest son because of his disabled older brother. He confessed, “Luxurious, stylish, neat are the words that often appear next to actor Lee Jung-jae. However, the truth is, when I was a child, I lived in a cramped apartment that was even smaller than Sung Ki-hoon’s (his character in Squid Game) house. At least in Squid Game, Sung Ki-hoon’s place has two rooms. My house back then had no rooms.”
In the past, he revealed that his older brother suffered from autism and he struggled with paying tuition on time. He said, “I’m not the oldest son but I had to act this role. I also had to act like a daughter and take care of family issues, so I think I grew up more quickly compared to others.”
Although he grew up to be a great actor, his original dream was to pursue architecture interior or art-related fields. It is said that he attended an art academy for free and received entrance examination education at the recommendation of a teacher who recognized his artistic talent in high school.
He dreamed of going to an art college, but his grades were not enough, which later resulted in him getting admitted into a vocational school (art school) to study interior and architecture.
At that time, he needed a part-time job to earn money for the academy tuition, and that’s how he started doing a serving job in Apgujeong-dong. Rumor has it that the cafe was also a legendary casting site where Jung Woo-sung, Lee Jung-jae, and Koo Bon-seung were part-timers in turn.
Lee Jung-jae agreed to the manager’s proposal because the model pay was bigger than the part-time job’s. He made his debut in 1993 shooting a commercial for Crunky Chocolate, stepping into the modeling industry. Since then, he has stepped into stardom due to the success of his role Jae-hee in “Sandglass,” which reflects his image.
Lee Jung-jae, who has become a director with the movie “Hunt,” made his screen debut with the movie “Young Man “Young Man” is a movie about the dreams and love of an aspiring model youth who runs forward to become a star, and it is a newtro cinema that stylishly depicts the last drive of Generation X’s youth who could not stop their desire at 180km/h.
“Young Man” has been remastered and is about to be re-released this year. Viewers will get to see not only the young Lee Jung-jae, but also Jeon Mi-sun, who passed away 3 years ago, along with Shin Eun-kyung, Lee Eung-kyung, and Kim Bo-yeon.
Source: Daum
