He is already a Korean movie icon

While international viewers may only know him thanks to My Name, Park has in fact been a Korean movie icon for decades. To date, he has starred in several blockbuster films, including 1987: When the Day Comes and The Scam, but he has gained the most recognition for his role in crime thriller Seven Days, in which he played a police detective and won several awards. After My Name, Park is also set to appear in another Netflix drama called Exemplary Family, which also happens to be about a drug ring.

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He started out as a theatre actor

Park may be one of Korea’s most recognisable faces now, but that wasn’t always the case. According to The Actor is Present, he graduated from the Seoul Institute of the Arts with a degree in theatre and began his career on stage.

After treading the boards for 11 years and performing in everything from Romeo and Juliet to The Rocky Horror Show, he made his big screen debut in a political comedy, Boss Xfile, in 2002. From that point on his talent led him to be cast in several other films such as Antarctic Journal and Love Talk before he landed his big role in Seven Days.

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He watched The Godfather to prepare for My Name

Park’s convincing portrayal of a drug lord in My Name was inspired by none other than Marlon Brando in legendary Hollywood movie The Godfather. According to Click the City, he said in a press conference: “There are so many great pieces in the genre of noir, but I tried to rewatch some of the classics once again rather than the recent works to get myself into the role.”

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He did most of his own stunts without wires or CGI

Most the main cast in My Name avoided stunt doubles and did 90 per cent of the series’ stunts by themselves. According to the same article in Click the City, Park did two months of stunt school training to prepare for the action sequences in the show. And that’s not all. Unlike the usual stunt routines performed in films, Park did most of his stunts without wires or CGI.

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Anti-violence is close to his heart

Despite his role in My Name, a message of anti-violence is closer to Park’s heart. In the 2019 series Beautiful World, Park played the role of a father whose life is upended after his son is critically injured after a violent incident at school.

According to KDramaPal, when asked about why he chose to take on the role, Park said, “The fact that this drama tapped on relevant social topics like school violence and bullying has touched my heart.”

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