Biography
Born in Busan in 1976, he graduated from Kyoungsung University with a degree in theatre and cinema.
His debut in the film “Once Upon a Time in High School” (2004) marked the beginning of a career, including more than 50 films, characterized by the most courageous and diverse performances.
In 2014 Cho Jin-woong was among the protagonists of Kim Seong-hun’s film, presented at the 67th Cannes Film Festival, “A Hard Day” for which he won 5 awards for best supporting actor in his homeland.
The role of the terrible Uncle Kouzuki in Park Chan-wook’s “The Handmaiden” (2016) marks a definitive turning point in his consecration as one of the most representative interpreters of contemporary Korean cinema.
2017 is the year of two important leading roles: a seemingly ordinary man in the psychological thriller “Bluebeard” (2017) and the portrait of a nation’s hero with “Man of Will”.
“The Spy Gone North” (2018), in addition to being the third film in which he took part presented at the Cannes Film Festival, renews the collaboration with Yoon Jong-bin who had previously directed him in “Nameless Gangster” and “Kundo: Age of the Rampant”.
2019 closes for Cho Jin-woong with three leading roles in as many films of different genres: “Man of Men”, a bittersweet comedy about the friendship between a gangster and a disabled lawyer, the thriller set in the world of high finance “Black Money” and “Me and Me” a noir with unpredictable psychological implications.
Critique
Cannes, May 2016: The cast of Park Chan-wook's "The Handmaiden," presented in competition that year, is lined up for the ritual photocall. Cho Jin-woong, who plays the role of Uncle Kouzuki, the wealthy erotomaniac who holds his niece captive in his villa during the Japanese occupation, smiles at the photographers as a speaker introduces him to the audience at the European festival: "An actor with a formidable number of films to his credit, often engaged in villain roles." An essential presentation dictated by the excitement of the moment, on which, however, it is worth dwelling. In 2016, the year of the Cannes premiere of Park Chan-wook's film, the forty-year-old Korean performer can boast participation in 30 films and more than 10 roles in successful television dramas, as well as an impressive amount of awards won at Asian film festivals for various performances. And, coming to the second statement, it is actually true that his most iconic performances, not least the one in "The Handmaiden", see him in the role of villain, villain. In fact, "A Hard Day" by Kim Sung-hoon was presented at Cannes only two years earlier, obtaining great acclaim in the Directors' Fortnight section, a formidable crime film with tragicomic implications in which Cho Jin-woong is a relentless corrupt policeman. The seraphic expression, the peaceful face and the reassuring air of a quiet man are decisive factors in the impeccable rendering of a villain capable of an unimaginable escalation of violence.
Lieutenant Park Chang-min from "A Hard Day" and Uncle Kouzuki from "The Handmaiden" are roles that mark a turning point in Cho Jin-woong's career; A true zenith of his commitment to portraying devious individuals capable of both physical and psychological cruelty, will be followed by a massive series of recent interpretations that will see him increasingly at the center of history and oriented towards greater humanity. In 2017, in fact, the leading role of a historical figure like Kim Chang-so arrives in "Man of Will", the patriot who at the beginning of the twentieth century managed to escape a death sentence to become the last president of the provisional government of the Republic of Korea. At the center of a sumptuous historical fresco, which is also a well-thought-out prison drama, Cho Jin-woong's task is to embody the very face of resilience and humanity, building a heroic and imposing figure, maintaining, as usual, a perfect alchemy with whoever shares the stage with him. The ability to create this special relationship which, as witnessed by other actors in numerous interviews, is an added value for those who work alongside him, is also perfectly found in the noir "Believer" (2018). Particularly interesting in this film, which is the remake of Johnnie To's "Drug War", is the dialectical and physical juxtaposition between his character, the determined Detective Won-Ho, and that of the passive but enigmatic young collaborator of justice Rak (Ryoo Joon-yeol): both the former is clear in his intentions and the latter is cautious and uncommunicative (to the point of finding his ideal interlocutors in two deaf-mute brothers who are drug refiners).
Among Cho Jin-woong's latest interpretations there are two films that have particularly enhanced his humanity and humor as well as the ability, with his mere presence, to give a precise direction to the stories. In "Black Money" (2019), Master Chung Ji-young's most recent seminal work on the universe of financial corruption, he is prosecutor Yang Min-hyuk. A rough man of manners, but with great sensitivity, he represents the need to preserve moral values and to bring the truth to light in a world where greed and lies are rampant (the final monologue exuding anger and frustration shouted into the microphone of a press conference is particularly emotional). The petty delinquent Young-ki from "Man of Men", on the other hand, has tried so hard to adapt to the environment of Busan's organized underworld, that he has almost forgotten that he is, after all, a good and simple man. It is the encounter with his exact opposite, a successful man like Jang-so who has prematurely reached the end of his days, that brings to the surface in Young-ki the desire and hope for a different life.
It will be particularly interesting to observe the choices that Cho Jin-woong will make in the immediate future in his career and what kind of roles will be entrusted to him in the era of his full artistic maturity.
