Kim Seon-ho

Kim Seon-ho (Korean: 김선호; born May 8, 1986) is a South Korean actor. He began his career on stage and appeared in numerous plays before making his screen debut in 2017 with Good Manager. He rose to prominence with the 2020 television series Start-Up.

Kim Seon-ho
Kim at the Start-Up press conference in October 2020.
Born	May 8, 1986 Seoul, South Korea
Alma mater	Seoul Institute of the Arts
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2009–present
Agent	Salt Entertainment
Korean name
Hangul	김선호
Hanja	金宣虎
Revised Romanization	Gim Seon-ho
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Sŏn-ho

Career

2009–2016: Theatrical work

After graduating from high school, Kim studied at the Seoul Institute of the Arts where he received a degree from the Department of Broadcasting and Entertainment.[1] While in college, he joined a theatre group and began acting in plays.[2] His first stage role was in New Boeing Boeing (an adaptation of the French play of the same name)[3] in 2009, which he reprised in 2013. He found minor success appearing in the popular Daehakro (comparable to Off-Broadway)[4] plays Rooftop House Cat and Goal of Love, which were both romantic comedies.[5] Later, he expanded his repertoire with darker roles, and gained critical recognition in works such as True West and Kiss of the Spider Woman in 2015, and Closer in 2016.[6]

2017–2019: Television debut

Kim made his screen debut at the beginning of 2017 in the KBS2 office drama Good Manager, after auditioning at the suggestion of producer Lee Eun-jin who watched his performance in the play Closer.[1][7] Kim's next project Strongest Deliveryman, for which he initially auditioned for a supporting role, marked his first appearance in a main role onscreen.[8] Later in 2017, he starred in the action comedy Two Cops as a sly conman, which earned him two awards at the 2017 MBC Drama Awards.[9] In 2018, Kim portrayed the lead role of an artist in the drama special You Drive Me Crazy, which had a two-episode broadcast in May.[10] He also starred in the historical drama 100 Days My Prince, which became one of the highest-rated dramas in Korean cable television history.[11] In September that year, Kim joined Salt Entertainment after the expiration of his contract with his former theatre company.[12][13]

In March 2019, Kim played an aspiring singer in the JTBC comedy Welcome to Waikiki 2.[14] In October the same year, he starred in the tvN investigative crime drama Catch the Ghost opposite veteran actress Moon Geun-young, in his first leading role in a full-length series.[15] On November 5, Kim joined the cast in fourth season of the KBS2 reality show 2 Days & 1 Night;[16] he received the Rookie Award at the 2020 KBS Entertainment Awards for his work on the show.[17]

2020–present: Breakthrough

Kim returned to acting in October 2020 through the tvN drama Start-Up.[18] His portrayal of Han Ji-pyeong, a sharp investor with a tragic past was well-received by viewers, and he experienced a surge in popularity domestically and internationally.[19][20][21] He made his comeback to theatre in January 2021 through the play Ice by Jang Jin, in which he played a detective trying to inculpate a young man in a murder case.[22]

Filmography

Television series

Year(s)	Title	Role	Network	Notes	Ref.
2017	Good Manager	Sun Sang-tae	KBS2		[23]
	Strongest Deliveryman	Oh Jin-kyu			[24]
2017–2018	Two Cops	Gong Soo-chang	MBC		[25]
2018	You Drive Me Crazy	Kim Rae-wan		Drama Special	[10]
	Your House Helper	Yong-joon	KBS2	Cameo, Episode 2	[26]
	100 Days My Prince	Jong Jae-yoon	tvN		[11]
	Feel Good to Die	Kim Min-hyuk	KBS2	Cameo, Episode 4	[27]
2019	Welcome to Waikiki 2	Cha Woo-sik	JTBC		[14]
	Catch the Ghost	Go Ji-seok	tvN		[15]
2020	Find Me in Your Memory	Seo Gwang-jin	MBC	Cameo, Episode 1	[28]
	Start-Up	Han Ji-pyeong	tvN		[18]
2021	Run On	Kim Sang-ho	JTBC	Cameo, Episode 16	[29]

Reality show

Year(s)	Title	Network	Notes	Ref.
2019–present	2 Days & 1 Night	KBS2	Main cast; Episode 579–present	[16]
2020	MBC Gayo Daejejeon	MBC	Host (with Im Yoon-ah & Jang Sung-kyu)	[30]

Music video

Year	Title	Artist(s)	Ref.
2020	"Sleepless" (Vocal by YOUNHA)	Epitone Project	[31]

Stage

Year(s)	Title	Role	Venue	Ref.
2009	New Boeing Boeing	Sung-ki	Daehakro Doore Hall 3	[1]
2010	Rooftop House Cat	Lee Kyung-min	Daehakro Tintin Hall	[1]
2012	Sherlock	Dr. Watson	Sunset Small Theater	[32]
2013–2014	Words I Coundn't Say for 7 Years	In-ho	Daehakro Moonlight Theater	[33]
	New Boeing Boeing	Sung-ki	Megapolis Art Hall
2014–2016	Rooftop House Cat	Lee Kyung-min	Daehakro Tintin Hall	[34]
2015	Goal of Love	Choi Ji-sung	A Art Hall	[35]
	True West	Austin	A Art Hall	[36]
	Hoy! Style Magazine Show		Jangcheon Hall, Gwanglim Art Center
2015–2016	Kiss of the Spider Woman	Valentin	A Art Hall	[37]
2016	Almost, Maine	East, Lendall, Chad, Dave	Sangmyung Art Hall 1	[38]
	True West Returns	Austin	Yegreen Theater	[39]
	Closer	Dan	Yegreen Theater	[40]
	Voice of Millennium	Hyung-seok	Dongsung Art Center Small Theater	[41]
2017–2018	Kiss of the Spider Woman	Valentin	Art One Theater 2	[42]
2019–2020	Memory in dream	Eden	Haeoreum Arts Theater	[43]
2021	Ice	Detective 2	Sejong Center S Theater	[22]

Discography

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Sales (DL)	Album
		KOR Gaon [44]
"Waikiki (Actors Ver.)" (with Lee Yi-kyung, Shin Hyun-soo)[45]	2019	—	N/A	Welcome to Waikiki 2 OST
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Awards and nominations

Award	Year[lower-alpha 1]	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
Asia Artist Awards	2020	—	Popularity Award (Actor)	Nominated	[46]
			Best Emotive Award (Actor)	Won	[47]
Asia Model Festival	2020	—	Model Star Award	Won	[48]
KBS Drama Awards	2017	Strongest Deliveryman	Best New Actor	Nominated[lower-alpha 2]	[49]
KBS Entertainment Awards	2020	2 Days & 1 Night	Rookie Award in Show/Variety Category	Won	[17]
MBC Drama Awards	2017	Two Cops	Excellence Award, Actor in a Monday-Tuesday Drama	Won	[50]
			Best New Actor	Won
			Best Comic Character	Nominated	[51]

Notes

1. Indicates the year of ceremony.
2. Also for his work in Good Manager.

References

1. Jeon, Hyo-jin (15 April 2017). "[루키인터뷰: 얘 어때?②] '김과장' 김선호, 연극 무대서 먼저 인정받은 실력파 루키". Sports Donga (in Korean).
2. Park, Min (25 March 2019). "으라차차 김선호". Marie Claire Korea (in Korean). Retrieved 14 December 2020.
3. Choi, Ji-yoon (7 May 2019). "[Review] 4 million people laughed, 18 years of work in the play'Boeing Boeing'" (in Korean). Newsis.
4. "2020 Welcome Daehakro :: Official Korea Tourism Organization".
5. Jang, Kyungjin; Jin, Yoo (23 April 2015). "[옥탑방 고양이], ★★☆ 무난하게 웃고 즐기는 2시간짜리 여가". Ize Magazine (in Korean).
6. Huh, Yun-seon (13 December 2016). "2016 Culture Keywords <Performance>". Allure Korea (in Korean).
7. Kim, Yoon-Jeong (11 November 2018). ""난 겁쟁이에 쫄보"라는 김선호, 그가 자신감 얻은 이유". OhmyNews (in Korean).
8. Kwon, Eunkyung (15 January 2019). "어디선가 빛이 비치고 (김선호)". W Korea (in Korean).
9. Jang, Ah-reum (21 January 2018). "[인터뷰①] "조정석과 연기를?" 김선호, '투깝스'가 더 특별한 이유". News1 (in Korean).
10. "`미치겠다, 너땜에` 이유영X김선호 주연, 5월 방송...MBC 단막극 부활 신호탄". Naver (in Korean). MK. March 2, 2018.
11. [단독] 도경수·남지현·조성하·김선호, '백일의 낭군님' 확정..4월 촬영. Naver (in Korean). Osen. March 21, 2018.
12. Jeong, Yoo-na (12 September 2018). "[공식]김선호, 솔트 엔터테인먼트와 전속계약…김정화·박신혜와 한솥밥". Sports Chosun (in Korean).
13. Son, Yeji (16 November 2018). "[인터;뷰] 김선호 "10년째 재밌는 연기, 10년 더 재미있기를"" (in Korean). Herald Corporation.
14. 김선호·이이경·신현수·문가영·안소희·김예원 ‘와이키키2’ 출연확정 [공식입장]. Sports Donga (in Korean). January 10, 2019.
15. Kim Jin-suk (April 2, 2019). "[단독]김선호, 문근영과 tvN '유령을 잡아라' 주인공". IS Plus (in Korean).
16. "[공식입장] 김종민 연정훈 문세윤 김선호 딘딘 라비 '1박2일 4' 출연…12월 첫방". News1 (in Korean). November 9, 2019.
17. Lee Si-yeon (December 24, 2020). "김일우·김재원·김선호 신인상 "대상에 버금"[2020 KBS 연예대상]". star.mt (in Korean). Retrieved December 24, 2020.
18. "[단독]김선호, tvN '샌드박스' 주연 확정". Ilgan Sports (in Korean). January 6, 2020.
19. Ji-yeon, Moon (10 December 2020). "[인터뷰①] 김선호 "인생캐 한지평으로 많은 사랑..기뻐서 내적 환호"". Sports Chosun (in Korean). Retrieved 13 December 2020.
20. Hicap, Jonathan (7 December 2020). "Korean actor Kim Seon-ho surges in popularity as K-drama 'Start-up' airs final episode". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
21. "[브랜드평판] 드라마배우 브랜드 2020년 11월 빅데이터 분석결과...1위 김선호, 2위 남주혁, 3위 이동욱" (in Korean). Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute. 29 November 2020.
22. "김선호, 연극 '얼음' 출연 확정…열일 행보 이어간다". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 5 November 2020.
23. [인터뷰] ‘김과장’ 김선호, "트라우마 이겨내고 연기 시작…뮤지컬도 도전 하고 싶어". Seoul Economic Daily (in Korean). April 1, 2017.
24. ‘최강배달꾼’ 김선호, ‘김과장’ 막내가 달라졌어요. YTN (in Korean). August 10, 2017.
25. <투깝스> 김선호 합류, 조정석과의 티격태격 앙숙 브로맨스를 기대해~. imbc (in Korean). September 26, 2017.
26. '당신의 하우스헬퍼' 보나, 하석진에게 문 열었다..살림 마법 통할까. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). July 6, 2018.
27. 김선호, '죽어도 좋아' 특별출연 '김과장' 이은진 감독과 인연. etoday (in Korean). November 8, 2018.
28. Kim, Hye-young (March 11, 2020). "'그 남자의 기억법' 문가영-김선호, 열애 발각? 지하주차장 파파라치 컷 포착!". iMBC (in Korean). Retrieved March 17, 2020.
29. Kwak Hyun-soo (January 20, 2021). "김선호, JTBC '런 온' 특별 출연 확정 [공식]". sports.donga (in Korean). Retrieved January 20, 2021.
30. "윤아X장성규X김선호, MBC 가요대제전 MC". Naver (in Korean). Newsis. 8 December 2020.
31. Kim, D. (11 December 2020). "Watch: Kim Seon Ho Sheds Tears In MV Teasers For Epitone Project's "Sleepless" Sung By Younha". Soompi. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
32. "[리뷰] 120년 역사의 탐정이 돌아왔다… 연극 [셜록]". NewsCulture (in Korean). 10 August 2012.
33. Cha, Hyeong-seok (16 March 2014). "Man who wants to find memories, woman who wants to convey love". Gyeongsang Ilbo (in Korean).
34. 10th, 11th, 12th season:
    • "The 10th cast of Daehakro's play'Rooftop Room Cat' to catch the heat this summer". Naver (in Korean). 4 August 2014.
    • "The 5th anniversary of the opening of the play'Rooftop Room Cat'... Joining Garyeong Park, Daeil Lee and Sunho Kim". Sports Donga (in Korean). 2 February 2015.
    • "Play "Rooftop Room Cat" selected by 1 million people... Redecorated as actors in the 12th season". NewsCulture (in Korean). 27 August 2015.
35. Jang, Hyowon (30 May 2015). "[공연] 난 매 순간 진심으로 사랑해". MoneyS (in Korean).
36. "연극 '트루웨스트' 캐스팅 공개…오만석이 연출하는 극 어떻게 변할까?". NewsCulture (in Korean). 8 July 2015.
37. Kwak, Sun-mi (16 October 2015). "[Culture] The play'Spider Woman's Kiss' topic!". Fashionbiz (in Korean).
38. "[컬처포토] 다시 한 번 오로라의 마법 속으로, 연극 '올모스트 메인'". NewsCulture (in Korean). 24 April 2016.
39. "연극 '트루웨스트 리턴즈' 배성우-오만석-김종구-정문성과 함께 6월 돌아온다". NewsCulture (in Korean). 9 May 2016.
40. Kim, Ha-jin (11 August 2016). "Play'Closer', box office preview..Ticket power'Proof'". Ten Asia (in Korean).
41. "[지금은 연습중] 지구 멸망도 두렵지 않던 우리…연극 '보이스 오브 밀레니엄'". NewsCulture (in Korean). 26 October 2016.
42. "연극 '거미여인의 키스' 프리뷰 성료, 본공연 순항 예고…새로운 캐스트 신선함 더해". NewsCulture (in Korean). 12 December 2017.
43. Jeong, Ga-young (23 September 2019). "Kim Sun-ho confirmed to appear in the play'Memory in Dream'... Simultaneous sorting out on CRT and stage". Sports World (in Korean).
44. "Gaon Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean).
45. "Waikiki (actors Ver.)". JTBC Drama. 10 April 2019.
46. "2020 Asia Artist Award Actor Shortlist". Twitter.
47. AAA Awards:
    • "Winners Of The 2020 Asia Artist Awards". soompi. 28 November 2020.
    • "방탄소년단·임영웅·김수현·이정재 등 '2020 AAA' 대상 영예(종합)". news1.kr. 28 November 2020.
48. "제 15회 아시아모델어워즈 #AsiaModelAwards". instagram (in Korean). Retrieved December 2, 2020.
49. "'2017 KBS 연기대상' 우도환-이태환-준호 등 男 신인상 두고 각축전". Naver (in Korean). December 29, 2017.
50. "Winners of the 2017 MBC Drama Awards". HanCinema. December 30, 2017.
51. "Nominees Announced For 2017 MBC Drama And Entertainment Awards". Soompi. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2020.

External links

• Kim Seon-ho at Salt Entertainment (in Korean)
• Kim Seon-ho on Instagram
• Kim Seon-ho at HanCinema
• Kim Seon-ho at IMDb