Lee Kyu-hyung is a South Korean actor. Though primarily a musical actor, Lee has also appeared in a variety of Korean films and dramas. In 2017, Lee shot to fame with his portrayal of Yoo Han-yang in tvN's television seriesPrison Playbook. He is well known for portraying a wide spectrum of roles on stage and screen. Among fans, Lee's nicknames include "Ggyu" and "290", pronounced Ee-Gu-Young in Korean.
Early life
Lee Kyu-hung was born on November 29, 1983 in South Korea. Lee's interest in acting was inspired by the 1999 Korean film Shiri, and he began to pursue roles in theater in hopes of becoming a movie star. Lee attended :ko:중동고등학교|Middle East High School in Seoul, where he was a part of the theatre club. Lee was accepted to Kyung Hee University's film and theatre department, but dropped out before completing his degree. Lee graduated from Dongguk University with a major in Theater Studies. Lee made the decision to transfer to Dongguk as it was the alma mater of Choi Min-Sik, an actor he admired.
Career
Lee Kyu-hyung began his acting career in the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's " Whistle Theater " whilst attending college and completing his mandatory military service. After graduating, he continued to act in theater, as well as appearing in musicals. Lee Kyu-Hyung made his film debut in 2001 with a minor role in the movie Kick the Moon. Lee has since starred in various plays and musicals, most notably with recurring roles in Laundry,Fan Letter, and Gloomy Day. In 2013, Lee appeared in the film The Face Reader after receiving a phone call from a friend that the actor slated to appear had a flat tire and couldn't come to set. In 2017, he played the role of Yoon Se-won, chief of the prosecution's investigation team, in the tvN drama Stranger, raising his profile. He was then cast as Yoo Han-yang, a second-generation tycoon serving in prison for drug use, in tvN's television series Prison Playbook. Producer Sin Won-ho and writer Lee Woo-jeong asked him to audition for the role after seeing his performances in the play Come See Me and the musical Fan Letter. Many viewers connected to his portrayal of the role, showcasing both cute and serious sides of the character, and it led to an increase in popularity for the actor both in Korea and overseas. Speaking about the character's homosexuality, Lee expressed an awareness of homophobia in Korean society, but stated that he hoped his portrayal of the character could show a simple, human love that audiences could support. Lee was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 3rd Korean Musical Awards for his role as D'Ysquith in the 2018 production of the musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. The role required Lee to play nine different members of the D'Ysquith family, with rapid costume changes throughout the performance. In 2019, Lee appeared as the titular character in the CJ Entertainment production of the musical Cyrano, along with musical actors Ryu Jung Han, Choi Jae Woong, and Jo Hyung Gyun. The production was met with praise, and was lauded as an improvement from the 2017 production, due in part to the various charms of its leading actors. Following his appearance in Cyrano, Lee starred as Hedwig in the rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, receiving critical acclaim for the powerful vocal performance and skillful acting. In November 2019, Lee reprised his role as the writer Kim Hae-jin in the musical Fan Letter, a Korean musical set during Japanese occupation in the 1930s. In 2020, Lee is slated to appear in the film Stellar, a fantasy comic drama directed by .
