Actor Spotlight: Lee Min-ho

Actor Spotlight is a new segment that we are bringing to M.E.A.L. to talk about our favourite actors and actresses in the Korean entertainment industry, their different works and the reasons why we love their acting performances.

For this first feature I will be writing about one of my all-time favourite actors and one of the main reasons I fell into the K-drama world eight years ago. Today’s feature is none other than Lee Minho. 

Small Beginnings lead to a Big Breakthrough 

Lee Minho started off his acting career taking on small roles in series and web dramas. His breakthrough role was in the very popular 2009 drama ‘Boys Over Flowers’, Gu Jun-pyo was a role in which viewers got to fully appreciate the level of talent Minho has as an actor.

This role was loved by many and despised by others at times. His acting brought up many dimensions to his character (despite some drama cliches) and we all fell in love with the good and the bad side of spoiled but adorable Gu Jun-pyo.

This opened up many doors for Lee Minho, leading him to become the lead character in dramas such as ‘Personal Taste’ (2010), ‘City Hunter’ (2011) and the period drama ‘Faith’ (2012). 

These three productions are in my list of favourite dramas by him, each was beautifully performed and had a completely different scope of emotions. He gave life to characters that were problematic, goofy, brave or strong, proving his talent and how he cannot be pigeonholed because he can pull off any role.

‘The Heirs’ marked a time where Lee Minho went back to a more carefree, coming-of-age role. It was super refreshing and cute seeing him back in the school life of ultra rich kids as we saw him in his breakthrough role.

Kim Tan is a character that I loved watching, it reminded me a lot of Jun-pyo but this time it felt more mature and down to earth. It was a lovely character that brought back memories of Minho’s acting beginnings.  

Music and new beginnings

Lee Minho besides being a fantastic actor, is also a gifted singer. Between 2013 and 2017 he released a few EP’s and studio albums, if you are curious and want to listen to his angelic voice you can check out his releases on Spotify here.

In 2016, Lee Minho went back to the small screen in the drama ‘Legend of the Blue Sea’ and the only thing I can say is that I enjoyed this drama thoroughly. This role felt like a merge of the personalities of the other characters he interpreted. In the same year, he also took part in the web series ‘7 First Kisses’. This was his last acting project before enlisting in the military.

Lee Minho ended his service in 2019, and this year he landed the main role in the SBS drama ‘The King: Eternal Monarch’. 

If you want to check his entire filmography make sure to check his Imdb profile here. And keep an eye on him, we are sure we will see a lot more of his acting in the years to come.