Kim Soo-ro South Korean Actor Known for I Am a King

Early life

Kim Soo-ro was born Kim Sang-joong on 7 May 1970 in Anseong, South Korea. He studied theater at the Seoul Institute of the Arts and at Dongguk University. After his studies he joined the Mokwha Repertory Company, a stage troupe, and began working as a professional actor.

Career

Kim made his film debut in 1993 with a small part in Two Cops. Over the following years he became known as a supporting player who tended to draw attention in his scenes, particularly in comedies. Among the films that established that reputation were The Foul King, Hi! Dharma!, Fun Movie and S Diary. The Foul King, released in 2000, is the earliest title in his listed screen credits.

A shift came in 2006 with Vampire Cop Ricky, his first film in a leading role. He kept to lead parts in the years that followed, with A Bold Family, Our School's E.T. (2008), Death Bell 2: Bloody Camp, The Quiz Show Scandal (2010), Romantic Heaven (2011) and Ghost Sweepers (2012). His credits from those years also include a number of ensemble films, such as Life Is Cool (2008), The Righteous Thief and Five Senses of Eros (both 2009), and I Am a King (2012). Earlier in the decade he had appeared in the war film Taegukgi (2004), in which he played a member of an anti-communist federation, and in A Cruel Attendance (2006).

His television work includes the series Master of Study (2010) and A Gentleman's Dignity. In 2013 he appeared in My Love from the Star, which is the latest title among his listed credits and the one with the most language editions on record. In total, the records list fourteen screen titles for him between 2000 and 2013, twelve of them films and two of them television series.

Public roles

Alongside screen work, Kim has built a second career in theater as a producer. In 2009 he returned to the stage through The Lower Depths, a play by Maxim Gorky that is regarded as an important work of Russian socialist realism. The experience drew him back to theater. In 2010 he produced his first play, Lee Gi-dong Gymnasium, in which he also took a role, and the commercial success of that production led him to found the Kim Su-ro Project in 2011. The company's stated aim is to produce original works written by Korean playwrights.

Its first production, Audacious Romance, starred the actor Lee Hyun-jin and was a hit, which laid the groundwork for the productions that came after it. These include the play Love Generation and the musicals Coffee Prince, Black Mary Poppins and Agatha. In 2014 Kim appeared in another staging of The Lower Depths, which was the ninth production staged by his company.

His path, from a repertory company to supporting comic roles, then to leads on screen and finally to producing on stage, has therefore moved between the theater and the film industry throughout his career.