Kam Woo-sung

This is a Korean name; the family name is Kam.
Kam Woo-sung
Born (1970-10-01) October 1, 1970
Okcheon County, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea
Other names Gam Woo-sung
Gam Wu-seong
Kam Woo-seong
Karm Woo-sung
Education Seoul National University - Oriental Painting
Occupation Actor
Years active 1991–present
Spouse(s) Kang Min-ah (m. 2006)
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised Romanization Gam U-seong
McCune–Reischauer Kam Usŏng

Kam Woo-sung (born October 1, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his portrayal of a court jester serving a despotic king in the hit period film King and the Clown.

Career

Kam Woo-sung majored in Oriental painting at the Seoul National University, then made his acting debut in the 1991 television drama Our Paradise. Through his roles on TV in the following decade, Kam became known for playing gentle and intellectual upper-middle class men, notably in Hyun-jung, I Love You. Then in 2002, he successfully subverted this image in his first film, the critically acclaimed Marriage Is a Crazy Thing, in which he played a commitment-phobic professor having a passionate affair.

More characters followed in a variety of genres: a man trapped in a confusing and haunting sequence of events in Song Il-gon's mystery film Spider Forest;[1] the PTSD-afflicted leader of a South Korean squadron in Vietnam who looks into the mysterious disappearance of 18 soldiers in the horror thriller R-Point; and a son struggling to fake Korea's reunification to fulfill an ailing father's wish in the comedy A Bold Family.

In late 2005, Kam reached a turning point in his 15-year career when he starred in King and the Clown. Jang Hyuk was originally cast in the leading role of a court jester during the reign of Joseon Dynasty tyrant King Yeonsan, but after Jang was implicated in a draft-dodging scandal, Kam was brought in to replace him.[2] He trained extensively over two months in the art of Korean traditional performance, including street opera, and acrobatic, rope and mask dances.[3] The low-budget film unexpectedly broke box office records to become (at the time) the highest grossing Korean film of all time. Critics praised Kam's "powerful energy and wit,"[4] and his performance garnered acting recognition, including Best Actor at the 2006 Grand Bell Awards.[5][6]

He returned to television in Alone in Love (2006), which was lauded for its realistic portrayal of a divorced couple.[7] Back on the big screen, Kam reunited with previous A Bold Family costar (and close friend in real life) Kim Su-ro in Big Bang (2007),[8][9] followed by the ensemble romantic comedy My Love and crime thriller The Outlaw (2010). Kam was listed as one of the highest paid entertainers on the KBS network in 2011, earning ₩440 million for playing Geunchogo of Baekje in the 60-episode series The King of Legend.[10]

Personal life

After dating for 15 years, Kam married actress Kang Min-ah in Australia in 2006.[11]

Filmography

Film

Television series

Awards

References

  1. Lee, Seung-jae (1 September 2004). "A Mystery Thriller: Spider Forest". The Dong-a Ilbo. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  2. Lee, Hoo-nam; Lee, Min-a (22 January 2006). "These kings of the cinema aren't clowning around". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  3. Kim, Tae-jong (20 December 2005). "Getting Serious About Clowning". The Korea Times via Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  4. "The King and the Clown Bursts with Sheer Energy". The Chosun Ilbo. 3 January 2006. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  5. Noh, Jean (24 July 2006). "King And The Clown rings Korea's Grand Bell". Screen International. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  6. Chung, Ah-young (23 July 2006). "King and the Clown Wins 7 Grand Bell Awards". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  7. Han, Eun-jung (12 March 2006). "After Big Screen Success Son Ye-jin Returns to TV". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  8. Kim, Tae-jong (20 November 2006). "Two Friends to Co-Star in New Movie". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  9. "New Movie: Big Bang". The Dong-a Ilbo. 8 March 2007. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
  10. "KBS' Highest-Paid Stars Revealed". The Chosun Ilbo. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  11. 영화배우 감우성 아내 강민아. The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 18 June 2007. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  12. '감우성의 재발견' … 드디어 충무로 정상에. Joins.com (in Korean). 21 July 2006. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  13. 제7회 여성관객영화상: 여성의 욕망에 꽃을 던져라!. Cine21 (in Korean). 23 December 2002. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  14. 1 2 왕의 남자 爾. Koreafilm (in Korean). Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  15. '왕의 남자' 감우성-'타짜' 김혜수, 춘사대상영화제 남녀주연상. Chosun.com (in Korean). 27 October 2006. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
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