The Boy Who Dreamed of the West

THE BOY WHO DREAMED OF THE WEST

Cinema has always been a part of Lee Byung-hun’s life. It is a passion that is passed on to him by his father and it is with the spirit of a cinephile that he prepares to take his first auditions. He made his name by participating in “Joint Security Area” (2000) directed by Park Chan-wook, which became a great commercial and critical success. In 2005 the meeting with director Kim Jee-woon marks a turning point in Lee’s career: in “A Bittersweet Life” he presents the seductive image of a new Asian star with the charm of Alain Delon and the physical prowess of Bruce Lee. He then began his rise in Hollywood that would lead him to be one of the first Korean actors to imprint his footprints on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

After some roles in television and film productions, he participated in “Joint Security Area” (2000) directed by Park Chan-wook. He then stands out as the protagonist of films of great success with critics and audiences such as “Bungee Jumping of Their Own” (2001). His starring role in Kim Jee-woon’s “A Bittersweet Life” (2005) attracted the interest of Hollywood where he debuted with “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” which was followed by numerous participations in blockbuster big-budget action movies such as “G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation”, “Red 2” and “The Magnificent Seven”. In the same period he starred in a series of successful auteur films such as “I Saw the Devil” (2010), the result of his third collaboration with Kim Jee-woon, the historical mise-en-scène “Masquerade” (2012) and the political thriller “Inside men”. In 2018 he starred in the Netflix series “Mr Sunshine” set in Korea in the early twentieth century. This year, “Concrete Utopia” was one of the most watched films in Korea. He is currently engaged in the role of the Frontman in the second season of the Netflix series “Squid Game”.

Featuring actor Lee Byung-hun,
Presenters: Caterina Liverani (Curator of the FKFF 2024 Catalogue), Prof. Luigi Nepi (Professor at the University of Florence), Riccardo Gelli (Director of the FKFF 2024).