| Kam Woo-sung | |||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 1 October 1970 | ||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Okcheon County, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea | ||||||||||
| Other Names: | Gam Woo-sung Gam Wu-seong Kam Woo-seong Karm Woo-sung | ||||||||||
| Occupation: | Actor | ||||||||||
| Education: | Seoul National University – Oriental Painting | ||||||||||
| Years Active: | 1991–present | ||||||||||
| Agent: | Bright Entertainment | ||||||||||
| Module: |
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Kam Woo-sung (born October 1, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his portrayal of a court jester serving a despotic king in the hit period film The King and the Clown.
Kam Woo-sung majored in Oriental painting at the Seoul National University, then made his acting debut in the 1991 television drama Our Paradise. Through his roles on TV in the following decade, Kam became known for playing gentle and intellectual upper-middle-class men, notably in Hyun-jung, I Love You. Then in 2002, he successfully subverted this image in his first film, the critically acclaimed Marriage Is a Crazy Thing, in which he played a commitment-phobic professor having a passionate affair.
More characters followed in a variety of genres: a man trapped in a confusing and haunting sequence of events in Song Il-gon's mystery film Spider Forest;[1] the PTSD-afflicted leader of a South Korean squadron in Vietnam who looks into the mysterious disappearance of 18 soldiers in the horror thriller R-Point; and a son struggling to fake Korea's reunification to fulfill an ailing father's wish in the comedy A Bold Family.[2]
In late 2005, Kam reached a turning point in his 15-year career when he starred in The King and the Clown. Jang Hyuk was originally cast in the leading role of a court jester during the reign of Joseon Dynasty tyrant King Yeonsan, but after Jang was implicated in a draft-dodging scandal, Kam was brought in to replace him.[3] He trained extensively over two months in the art of Korean traditional performance, including street opera, and acrobatic, rope and mask dances.[4] The low-budget film unexpectedly broke box office records to become (at the time) the highest grossing Korean film of all time. Critics praised Kam's "powerful energy and wit,"[5] and his performance garnered acting recognition, including Best Actor at the 2006 Grand Bell Awards.[6] [7]
He returned to television in Alone in Love (2006), which was lauded for its realistic portrayal of a divorced couple.[8] Back on the big screen, Kam reunited with previous A Bold Family costar (and close friend in real life) Kim Su-ro in Big Bang (2007),[9] [10] followed by the ensemble romantic comedy My Love and crime thriller The Outlaw (2010).[11] Kam was listed as one of the highest paid entertainers on the KBS network in 2011, earning for playing Geunchogo of Baekje in the 60-episode series The King of Legend.[12]
Though appearing less frequently in projects, Kam has starred in melodramas My Spring Days (2014), Should We Kiss First? (2018) and The Wind Blows (2019) in recent years.[13] [14] [15]
After dating for 15 years, Kam married actress Kang Min-Young in Australia in 2006.[16]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Marriage Is a Crazy Thing | Kim Jun-Yeong |
| 2004 | R-Point | Choi Tae-In |
| Spider Forest | Kang Min | |
| 2005 | A Bold Family | Kim Myung-Seok |
| The King and the Clown | Jang-Saeng | |
| 2007 | Big Bang | Park Man-Su |
| My Love | Jang Se-Jin | |
| 2010 | The Outlaw | Oh Jeong-Su |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Our Paradise | Art student | ||
| Woohwangcheongsimhwan | Hyun | MBC Best Theater | ||
| 1992 | A Story of Long Distance Couple | Choi Wang-jae | MBC Best Theater | |
| Investigation of Memory | Choi Jong-gwan | MBC Best Theater | ||
| Enchantment | Cho Hoon-bae | |||
| 1993 | At Our Last Winter | Geon-woo | MBC Best Theater | |
| Trumpet Flower | Chae I-eon | |||
| Stormy Season | Choi Han-yeong | |||
| Women's Generation | Kim Hyun-seok | MBC Best Theater | ||
| A Tale of Childhood | Yong-sik | MBC Best Theater | ||
| Jeremy | Jeremy | MBC Best Theater | ||
| 1994 | The White Journey | Cho Seong-gyu | MBC Best Theater | |
| A Verse of Sad Father | Cha Dong-hwa | Special drama | ||
| 1995 | A Three-color Friendship | Tae-hyung | Special drama | |
| To Make a Man | Meong Tae-min | |||
| 1997 | The Mountain | Choi Seong-gyu | ||
| Instinct | Lee Jun-seob | |||
| 1998 | Shy Lovers | Choi Myung-il | ||
| Song of the Wind | Song In-gyu | |||
| 1999 | Michiko | Han Dong-wook | Special drama | |
| I'm Still Loving You | Kim Hyung-jun | |||
| 2000 | Say It with Your Eyes | Jang Ki-woong | ||
| Medical Center | Kim Seung-jae | |||
| 2001 | Stars Rise Even in the Day | Gab-soo | Special drama | |
| 2002 | Hyun-jung, I Love You | Kim Beom-soo | ||
| 2006 | Alone in Love | Lee Dong-jin | ||
| 2010 | The King of Legend | King Geunchogo | ||
| 2014 | My Spring Days | Kang Dong-ha | ||
| 2018 | Should We Kiss First? | Son Mu-han | ||
| 2019 | The Wind Blows | Do Dae-cheol | [17] | |
| 2021 | Joseon Exorcist | Kim Tae-jong | [18] |
| Year | Ceremony | Awards | Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | MBC Drama Awards | Popularity Award | I'm Still Loving You |
| Best couple Award (with Chae-Lim) | |||
| 2002 | Grimae Awards | Best Actor | Hyun-jung, I Love You |
| MBC Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award (Actor in a Miniseries) | ||
| Women Viewers Film Awards | Best Actor [19] | Marriage is a Crazy Thing | |
| Korean Film Awards | Best New Actor [20] | ||
| Korea Best Dresser Swan Award | Swan Award (Actor in Film) | ||
| 2004 | Women Viewers Film Awards | Most Hopeful Actor Award | Spider Forest |
| 2006 | Grand Bell Awards | Best Actor | King and the Clown |
| Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Actor [21] | ||
| Blue Dragon Awards | Best Couple Award (with Lee Joon-Ki) | ||
| 2008 | National Tax Service | Prime Minister Commendation | |
| 2018 | Ministry of Health and Welfare | Minister Commendation | |
| Korea Broadcasting Awards | Best Actor | Should We Kiss First? | |
| Korea Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award[22] | ||
| SBS Drama Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang)[23] | ||
| Best Couple[24] |