Daegu native Lee Heejun was born in 1979 and graduated from the Korea National University of Arts School. Following his military service, he began acting in theater plays in the North Gyeongsang Province. Starting in 2003, he was a prolific performer in short films before bowing as a feature actor in Lee Changdong’s Cannes-invited <Secret Sunshine> in 2007. In the next few years, alongside more shorts, he appeared in small films such as <Resurrection of the Butter...More

Daegu native Lee Heejun was born in 1979 and graduated from the Korea National University of Arts School. Following his military service, he began acting in theater plays in the North Gyeongsang Province. Starting in 2003, he was a prolific performer in short films before bowing as a feature actor in Lee Changdong’s Cannes-invited <Secret Sunshine> in 2007. In the next few years, alongside more shorts, he appeared in small films such as <Resurrection of the Butterfly> (2007), <The Pit and the Pendulum> (2009) and <I’m in Trouble> (2009). He made a permanent transition to commercial feature fare starting with Ryoo Seungwan’s action-thriller <The Unjust> (2010). Proving to be a versatile supporting actor capable of taking on many forms, he has filled out his filmography with memorable titles such as Na Hongjin’s <The Yellow Sea> (2010), Yoon Jongbin’s <Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time> (2012) and Byun Youngjoo’s <Helpless> (2012). Steadily raising his profile as he became known to Korean viewers and the industry, he began to step up into bigger roles, starring alongside Han Yeri in the Jeonju-invited indie drama <Dear Dolphin> (2013) and later in the Bong Joonho produced seafaring thriller <Haemoo> (2014). He next appeared in two Lunar New Year releases, the sci-fi drama <Sori: Voice from the Heart> and the Korean War drama <A Melody to Remember>, in early 2016. The following year, he attained wide recognition as he joined the star-studded main cast of hit historical drama <1987: When the Day Comes> (2017), playing the reporter who revealed the truth behind the death of a student activist and triggered mass protests in the historical drama. After that, Lee took on a new challenge by jumping behind the camera, as he directed the short <Mad Rush> (2018), the Audience Choice Award winner of the Toronto Korean Film Festival. Next for him was another remarkable performance, this time as the blood-chilling Director of Presidential Security Service who vies for dictator Park Chunghee’s favors in the historical thriller <The Man Standing Next> (2019), a role for which he was named Best Supporting Actor by the Buil Film Awards. Lee then teamed up with Na Moonhe in the comedy drama <Oh! My Gran> (2020), and in 2021 he appeared on screens as a has-been film director during the disastrous premiere held during the Covid-19 pandemic of his new film in <The Rain Comes Soon> (2020).Less