Raised by a single mother, Ji-tae's first entered the spotlight when he became a fashion model for Seoul Fashion Artist Association collections. From then onwards, most of his acting roles were television appearances, until 2003, where he was cast as Lee Woo-jin, the Big Bad of Oldboy (2003), with his performance bringing Tarantino to tears. This led to him making more film appearances in the future movies.
He is married to Hyojin Kim (김효진), with who he has two children. They were married at the Shilla hotel and donated a portion of their wedding gifts to charity efforts. His grandfather also happens to be politician Yoo Ok-woo (유옥우).
Here's his website
.
Roles
- Ditto: Ji In
- Nightmare: Hyun-jun
- Libera Me: Kim Hyun-tae
- MOB 2025: K-one
- Bye June: Dogi
- Woman Is The Future of Man: Lee Moon-ho
- Natural City: R
- Midnight FM: Han Dong-su
- Traces of Love: Hyun-woo
- Oldboy (2003): Lee Woo-jin.
- Sympathy for Lady Vengeance: Won-mo.
- Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area - Professor
- The House That Jack Built - Man 2.
- The Tenor – Lirico Spinto - Bae Chaejul.
Tropes that apply to him
- Dyeing for Your Art: Around the early 2000s, he had a reputation for frequently dying his hair in accordance with his cast roles.
- Friend to All Living Things: He has campaigned for the adoption of abandoned dogs, and has his own adorable golden retriever named Hyo-shim.
- Mean Character, Nice Actor: While Lee Woo-jin is reviled as one of the greatest cinematic movie villains of all time, the same cannot be said of Yoo. To name a few, he has has helped set up a kindergarten in Nepal, has donated to Haiti earthquake relief efforts, sent financial aid in building schools in Myanmar, partaken in a charity photo shoot to benefit victims of facial burns, volunteered in a campaign to deliver free lunches to underprivileged people, and campaigned against domestic violence towards migrant wives.
- In one interview, he also stated this:
Yoo Ji-tae: "My mother, who worked as a nurse for a long time, wants to run a hospital for the elderly someday. I want to financially help her realize her dream, and then establish an orphanage." - In one
- Pretty Boy: He was a fashion model before he became an actor.
- Statuesque Stunner: He's 1.88m tall.
