Song Kang-ho (b. January 17, 1967 in Busan, South Korea) is a South Korean actor. He has notably played the leading man in some of the most celebrated and recognized movies in his native country, and is one of the highest-profile actors in the ROK film industry.
Originally a theater actor, Song took a small role in the film The Day a Pig Fell in the Well and found that three days of work on a movie paid better than three months on a play. This made him reconsider his career path, and he made a shift that would turn out to be historic.
He soon found recognition by getting cast in Shiri (Korea's first true domestic blockbuster) and two Park Chan-wook films (JSA: Joint Security Area and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance). He quickly rose to even greater fame by starring in Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder and becoming part of Bong's Production Posse.
Song is now recognised as one of the greatest actors in Korea, regularly receiving acclaim for his versatile and prolific performances. His filmography is filled with projects that have gained global acclaim and/or set domestic box-office records, such as Parasite (2019), the first-ever South Korean movie to receive any recognition from the Academy Awards, up to winning Best Picture.
He also never had any formal training as an actor, only in social theatre groups.
Selected filmography
South Korean (domestic)
- Joint Security Area- Oh Kyung-pil
- Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance- Park Dong-jin
- Memories of Murder- Park Doo-man
- The President's Barber- Seong Han-mo
- The Host (2006)- Park Gang-du
- The Show Must Go On 2007- Kang In-goo
- The Good, The Bad, The Weird- Yoon Tae-goo, "The Weird"
- Thirst (2009)- Sang-hyeon
- Secret Reunion- Lee Han-gyoo
- Snowpiercer- Namgoong Minsoo
- The Age Of Shadows- Lee Jung-chool
- A Taxi Driver- Kim Man-seob
- Parasite (2019) - Kim ki-Taek
- Broker - Sang-hyeon
International, including American
- Madagascar (2005) - Alex (Korean dub, theatrical version)
- The Interview (2014) - DMZ soldier watching the interview (uncredited cameo)
