Kim Heewon, born in 1971, ended up pursuing an acting career almost by chance. On the day of the national college entrance exam, he volunteered to give up his seat in the examination room to someone who had arrived too late, and it was while he was killing time during the rest of the day that he saw an ad from a theatre troupe looking for new actors. Although he had no prior experience in acting, he took his chance and was eventually accepted, and before long he took part in ...More

Kim Heewon, born in 1971, ended up pursuing an acting career almost by chance. On the day of the national college entrance exam, he volunteered to give up his seat in the examination room to someone who had arrived too late, and it was while he was killing time during the rest of the day that he saw an ad from a theatre troupe looking for new actors. Although he had no prior experience in acting, he took his chance and was eventually accepted, and before long he took part in popular musicals such as <Seoul Line 1> and <Jesus Christ Superstar>. However, as he was struggling to make ends meet, he decided to quit and moved to Australia. There, he did all kinds of odd jobs, but one day, while he was working as a painter at the Olympic Stadium in Sidney, he met by chance some actor friends who were on a tour, and it was all it took to convince him to give it another go. He moved back to Seoul, and through the recommendation of actor In Changjung, he eventually landed in 2007 his first big screen role in the comedy film <Miracle on 1st Street>. After that, he served as the comic relief in a number of films, notably in the crime drama <Running Turtle> (2009) and the romcom <Fortune Salon> (2009). He first drew attention in 2010 thanks to his standout performance as the main antagonist in the Won Bin-led action drama <The Man From Nowhere> (2010), soon followed by a supporting part in the drama series <Lights and Shadows> (2011). In 2014, he played an insufferable section chief in <Misaeng>, a workplace drama series that became a cultural phenomenon. Having long been limited to playing supporting roles, Kim was finally offered his first main role in the family drama film <Canola> (2016), in which he played against Youn Yuhjung and Kim Goeun. His performance in the Cannes-invited crime drama <The Merciless> (2016) earned him a lot of praise, allowing him to nab supporting actor accolades from the Korean Film Producers Association and the Buil Film Awards. After another film, the mystery thriller <Marionette> (2018), in which he was top billing, Kim was back in 2021 with the crime thriller <On the Line> (2021).Less