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Lee Byung-hun (; born July 12, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He has received acclaim for his work in a wide range of genres, most notably Joint Security Area (2000); A Bittersweet Life (2005); The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008); I Saw the Devil (2010); Masquerade (2012); and the television series All In (2003), Iris (2009), Mr. Sunshine (2018), and Our Blues (2022). His other notable South Korean films include Inside Men (2015), Master (2016), Ashfall (2019), and The Man Standing Next (2020).
In the United States, he is known for portraying Storm Shadow in (2009) and its sequel (2013), and starring alongside Bruce Willis in Red 2 (2013). He portrayed T-1000 in Terminator Genisys (2015), and Billy Rocks in The Magnificent Seven (2016). He appeared in a recurring role as the Front Man in season 1, and as part of the Movie star of seasons 2 and 3 of the Netflix hit survival series Squid Game (2021–2025).
Lee has been named Gallup Korea's Film Actor of the Year in 2012 and Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year in 2018. He was also the first South Korean actor to present an Oscar at the annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Lee and Ahn Sung-ki were the first South Korean actors to imprint their hand and foot prints on the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
From 2005, Lee focused on film, earning praise for his performance in A Bittersweet Life directed by Kim Jee-woon, which was screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Lee was nominated for Best Actor at the Blue Dragon Film Awards and Grand Bell Awards, and won at the Chunsa Film Art Awards, Baeksang Arts Awards and the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards.
Lee reunited with director Kim Jee-woon in the "kimchi western" The Good, the Bad, the Weird, taking on his first villain role. The film was screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Lee's eye-catching performance in the film led to increased global recognition for him. This led to Lee's debut in Hollywood, where he played Storm Shadow in , also starring Channing Tatum and Sienna Miller.
Back in Korea, Lee appeared in I Come with the Rain opposite American actor Josh Hartnett and Japanese actor Takuya Kimura.
Lee returned to television in late 2009 in the espionage action thriller Iris as a secret agent who finds himself at the center of an international conspiracy. He reportedly received over 100 million won per episode for his role, the third highest in the country's drama history. Iris was one of the most expensive shows ever produced, and was a smash hit across Asia. Lee's performance earned him the Grand Prize at the KBS Drama Awards and Best Actor at the Baeksang Arts Awards.
Lee was praised for his portrayal of dual roles in the lavish period drama Gwanghae. The film was a box office hit, becoming the 7th film in Korean history to surpass 10 million admissions. Lee won Best Actor at the Grand Bell Awards for his performance. On June 23, 2012, Lee, along with Ahn Sung-ki, became the first Korean actors to leave their hand and foot prints on the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. He was recognized as an emerging star in Hollywood for his role of Storm Shadow in , and its sequel, . In 2013, Lee reprised his role as Storm Shadow in . He then co-starred in the American film Red 2, the sequel to the 2010 action-comedy hit Red, alongside Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich.
Following his sex-chat scandal, Lee returned with the martial arts film Memories of the Sword in 2015. The film was shot in late 2013 and scheduled for release in 2014, but was postponed due to Lee's scandal. He received praise for his "scene-stealing" role as a young and ambitious warrior with a lowly status, but the film failed to do well and was criticized for its plot. The same year, Lee played a T-1000 in Terminator Genisys opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. He then starred in Woo Min-ho's political crime thriller Inside Men, which became the top grossing R-rated movie of all-time at the Korean Box Office. Touted as the "star" of the film, Lee won Best Actor awards at various film awards ceremonies.
In 2016, Lee featured in the American crime thriller Misconduct. On February 28, 2016, Lee attended the 88th Academy Awards and presented the Best Foreign Language Film award with actress Sofia Vergara. He was the first Korean actor to present an award at the Oscars. The same year, Lee co-starred as knife-wielding gunslinger Billy Rocks in The Magnificent Seven with Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, and Ethan Hawke.
Returning to Korea, Lee starred in the crime thriller Master, followed by mystery drama Single Rider. In March 2017, Lee signed with major Hollywood agency United Talent Agency. He was cast in the Hollywood action film Radiance. The film is directed by Patrick Lussier, who worked with Lee in Terminator Genisys. Lee then starred in historical epic The Fortress, and comedy-drama film Keys to the Heart.
In 2019, Lee starred in the action film Ashfall. In 2020, Lee starred in the political drama The Man Standing Next. Both films were box office successes, and proved Lee's brand power as a lead actor. Lee also starred in the political thriller aviation disaster film Emergency Declaration, which premiered out of competition at the 74th Cannes Film Festival in July 2021 before its theatrical release in South Korea on August 3, 2022.
In September 2021, he appeared on the first season of Netflix's survival drama Squid Game as the Front Man. At the 15th Asian Film Awards, he was awarded with Asian Film Excellence Award. He is the first Korean actor to be selected for the award, which is given for outstanding achievements in Asian cinema and culture. He reprised his role as the Front Man in the second season, released in December 2024, and later its third and final season, released in June 2025.
In 2022, Lee starred in the tvN television series Our Blues written by Noh Hee-kyung. He will also appear Um Tae-hwa's disaster thriller film Concrete Utopia alongside Park Bo-young and Park Seo-joon.
On September 14, 2023, Lee was one of the guest speakers chosen to introduce rock star Yoshiki at his imprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre.
In 2025, Lee was the star of 29th edition of Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival's Actor Special Exhibition held from July 3 to 17.
Lee Byung-hun is noted in the video game industry for providing his likeness for the main character, Wayne Holden, in the 2006 game , for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
In 2013, Lee was selected as an honorary ambassador for that year's annual meeting of the Association of Film Commissioners International, a group dedicated to helping facilitate international coproductions. The same year, he was appointed honorary ambassador to promote the 50th Grand Bell Awards.
In November 2016, Lee made a voice donation to Green Umbrella Children's Foundation for 'Haru', a campaign to support sick children.
In April 2019, Lee and his wife Lee Min-jung donated 100 million to victims of forest fires in Gangwon-do.
In February 2020, Lee donated 100 million won through the Fruit of Love of the Community Chest of Korea and his donation was used to provide sanitary products to vulnerable groups. In October 2020, Lee made voice donation to multi-media type Braille sensory book by The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage. On December 30, 2020, Lee donated 100 million won to the Green Umbrella Children's Foundation to help children from low-income families who are having difficulties in life due to COVID-19.
On July 12, 2021, Lee donated 100 million won to Asan Children's Hospital in Seoul on his birthday.
On March 6, 2022, Lee donated 100 million won to Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association to help residents affected by the Uljin County and Samcheok wildfires and his donation is said to be quickly used to provide temporary shelter for the victims who are evacuating from their homes.
After he had to clear some debts following his father's death, Lee fell into a depression. He then started to suffer panic disorders, and found it difficult to attend award ceremonies. Lee credits his wife with helping him overcome his mental health challenges.
Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, TV show host Kang Byung-kyu appeared on the set of the TV drama Iris that Lee was working on at the time. He was accused of bringing in gangsters and causing a disturbance due to a conflict with a producer that he claimed spread rumors that Kang was behind the feud between Lee and Kwon. Due to this incident, Kang was arrested on assault charges. Kang was also later indicted on charges of blackmail and defamation, with prosecutors alleging that Kang and Kwon colluded to blackmail Lee for large sums of money in November 2009, before Kwon went on to file her civil lawsuit in December, after Lee refused to pay.
Lee was cleared of the illegal gambling charges on March 19, 2010, with prosecutors citing no evidence. Kwon's claim for damages was eventually dropped in August 2010 due to her lack of participation in proceedings. Kang was eventually sentenced to one year in prison and three years probation in 2013 on his fraud and assault charges.
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