In today’s Actor Spotlight we’re featuring relative newcomer Cha Eun-Woo. A member of boyband ASTRO, it really seems like this guy can do just about anything; sing, play the piano, the violin and the guitar, and indeed, act. Ah, he’s also a model, because of course he is.
Fun fact, he actually debuted as an actor in 2014, two years before his idol debut, with a minor role in the movie ‘My brilliant life’. Since 2016, he’s an Acting Major in the Sungkyunkwan University. Looks alone don’t get you into such a prestigious school, so let’s take a second to appreciate the beautiful brain behind that gorgeous face of his. Born in 1997 (T_T), this kid could have been a lot of things – lucky for us, he chose a career where we could all see him. And you don’t get to call this noona out, cause we’re all just as head over heels about him.
Acting beginnings
His first acting role in a drama was in the 2017 drama ‘Hit the Top‘, as MJ. The drama was about a fledgling idol from 1993 magically ending up in 2017, and trying to adjust to the way of life; MJ was only a secondary character in the show, a popular idol at the firm where a lot of the plot takes place, but he still caught our eye.
Clearly not just ours however, as in 2018 he was cast as the male lead in the drama adaptation of the popular Naver Webtoon ‘My ID is Gangnam Beauty’. The story follows Kang Mi-rae, a girl who was constantly bullied for being ‘ugly’, so she decided to undergo cosmetic surgery, only to subsequently be mocked as ‘fake’. On the other hand we have Do Kyung-Seok, portrayed by Cha Eun-Woo, who has been gorgeous his whole life, but cares nothing about looks. He’s intelligent and wealthy, but in true drama fashion, he has a traumatic past.
The drama calls out Korean beauty standards and societal pressure, and what stands out is his characterization. Kyung-seok is reticent and appears cold, but he doesn’t act like a douche, which is… uncommon. The role fit Eun-Woo like a glove, and it won him two Korea Drama Awards the next year, both for Best New Actor, and for Hallyu Star. The same year he also starred in web-series ‘Top Management’.
Rookie Historian & growing popularity
At this point it’s already clear that we would be seeing more of him, but it was his next role that truly shot him into mainstream popularity. In 2019, he starred in the light-hearted historical drama ‘Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung‘, as prince Dowon (Yi Rim). If you’ve not seen this, go, go, go. He was so charming he gave us cavities. Seriously. Literal prince charming.
One of the many things to love about this drama is his character. He’s unapologetically doing his own thing, he likes romance and poetry, he’s kind and gentle. It’s like he has the more ‘feminine’ traits of the pair, while Hae-Ryung is the bold and serious one. He was a very refreshing prince, and kudos to the writers for this excellent character. But also kudos to Cha, cause we could see his acting get better even as the series progressed.
Which brings us to 2020, ah the year that we’ll look back on and pretend our birthdays didn’t count. This year, Cha Eun-Woo stars in another webtoon drama adaptation, this time of the megahit ‘True Beauty‘. It’s about Ju-Kyung, a girl who is a make-up wiz and looks like a completely different person with her make-up off. Her biggest fear is people seeing her ‘true face’. Of course, her classmate Lee Suho (Cha Eun-Woo) does. They end up bonding over their shared interest in horror, and develop a close friendship.
Yeah I cannot overstate how hyped I am for this. I was super curious about the cast, and I have to say I’m very happy with what they did. The first episodes are out and it’s like reading the webtoon from the beginning, but new! I am holding off on watching it until more episodes are released, cause, bingeing is superior.
For such a relatively new actor, to have landed three majors roles in big dramas so early on cannot be understated. With each performance we see him grow and improve, and he’s got so much promise! For now, I am very excited to see how Cha will bring Suho, who’s such a beloved character, to life.
