Heo Sung-Tae is a South Korean actor. He is known for mostly portraying villainous roles in South Korean movies and TV dramas. In 2021, he rose to international fame when he was cast as the lead role of “Jang Deok-Su” in the K-drama “Squid Game”.
Wiki/Biography
Heo Sung-Tae was born on Thursday, October 20, 1977 (aged 44; since 2021) in Busan, South Korea. His zodiac sign is Libra.
He was educated at Seongnam Elementary School in Taepyeong-dong, Geumseong Middle School in Naju, and Geumseong High School in Naju. He received a bachelor’s degree in Russian literature [1]Korean Film from Pusan National University in Busan, South Korea. [2]Sports Donga
Physical Appearance
[3]Daum Height (approx): 5′ 11″
Eye Color: Black
Hair color: Black
Family and Ethnicity
Parents & Siblings
Her father died on January 17, 2021, from a chronic illness. His mother’s name is I Hye-Gyeong. Her mother owns a clothing store in Busanjin Market, Busan. He also has an older sister named Heo Seong-aa.
Spouse
In 2000, he started dating a woman he studied with in college. After dating her for ten years, the couple got married in 2010.
Career
Before starting his acting career, he was in charge of television sales in the Russian market in the overseas sales department of LG Electronics. He then worked with the planning and coordination department of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. He then got noticed by participating in a television competition called “Miracle Audition.”
K-dramas
In 2012, he acted in his first Kdrama “God of War” as “Yalyu Jyeorno”, a Khitan person.
He played several small uncredited roles in Kdramas. In 2017’s Kdrama ‘Tunnel’, he played the female mass murder case character named ‘Jung Ho-young’ from episodes 1 to 3.
He played his first recurring role as ‘Baek Sang-ho’ of the Brother law firm in the Kdrama ‘Witch at Court’ in 2017.
He then played supporting roles in many K-drama. In 2021, he appeared in the Netflix survival drama television series “Squid Game”, which was broadcast and distributed by Netflix. He played the lead role of “Jang Deok-Su” (No. 101), a gangster with huge gambling debts who comes in to settle his debts, including the debts of his boss and underlings. The series was a huge hit around the world as it became Netflix’s most-watched series when it launched. The series is also the first South Korean drama to top Netflix’s ten most-watched weekly TV shows worldwide.
In the same year, he appeared in the supporting role “Kim Jae-sun”, head of the aviation administration resource group, in the South Korean television series “The Silent Sea”.
Movies
In 2012, he made his film debut with the South Korean feature film “Masquerade” in an uncredited role.
He made his short film debut with the South Korean short film “D-Day” (2012) under the name “Yong-Su”. He continued to act in short films. In 2016, he gained popularity after being cast as ‘Ha Il-soo’ in the South Korean feature film ‘Age of Shadows’ (2016).
In 2017 he appeared in the short film “ITAEWON” and in 2018 he appeared in the short film “Miracle”. (2017), Mal-Mo-E: The Secret Mission (2019), and Hitman: Agent Jun (2020).
Prizes/Honors
- Korea Culture and Entertainment Awards—Outstanding Male Film for “The Outlaws” in 2018
- Korea First Brand Awards — Scene Stealer-Male in 2019
- 2019 Top 10 Shining Actors in Korea
Autograph
Favorites
- Food: Cheonggukjang
- Movie: Animal Farm (1999)
- TV Series: Living in Nature: His Paradise, Kim Young-ho (2017)
Facts / Anecdotes
- To relieve stress, he likes to take baths while sipping herbal tea and watching his favorite TV shows.
- Heo Sung-Tae likes to cook and often cooks at his mother’s house or at his house. He’s been cooking his wife’s breakfast for years. [5]The Asian Parent
- When he decided to quit his job and become an actor, none of his family members agreed with him. Only his wife supported his decision. After quitting his job, he struggled to get acting roles in the industry. After nearly being rejected in 300 auditions, he landed an uncredited role in a movie.
- He appeared in ads for SONY, Kia Motors, and Coupang Eats (2021).
- He is close to three South Korean actors Jin Seon-Gyu, Jeon Mi-do, and Kim So-jin.
- He loves cats and has two pet cats named Namhan and Naju, both abandoned strays. He found Namhan while filming for The Fortress (Romanized translation Namhansanseong), and he found Naju while filming in Naju.
- One day, he came home drunk from a dinner, he turned on his television, where the commercial for the SBS reality show “Miracle Audition” (2011) was playing with the subtitles “Cast your Dreams”. The show gives ordinary people a chance to become actors. He entered the competition by calling while he was drunk. He was then 35 years old. He was one of fifteen selected to appear on the show out of 1000 contestants in Busan. In the first episode of the show, he was selected by all the judges. After the show, he went to his company and submitted his resignation. In the show, he got a lot of attention and showed very good acting skills. However, he was eliminated in episode 16 of the series, ranked fifth. [7]Sports Donga
- In the film ‘Age of Shadows’ (2016), a scene became popular in which his character was slapped by Song Kang-ho’s character. In an interview, he confessed that he had to ask Kang-ho to slap him for 3–5 days, and the scene was initially not part of the script.
- One of his favorite beverages includes coffee.
- Heo broke the promise he made to his wife. In a 2016 interview on SBS Love FM’s Song Eun Yi and Kim Sook’s Sister Radio, Heo described that while his wife could accept seeing him naked on screen, she drew the line at the actor shooting a bedroom or sex scene. [9]Cheat Sheet
References
↑1 | Korean Film |
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↑2, ↑7 | Sports Donga |
↑3, ↑4 | Daum |
↑5 | The Asian Parent |
↑6 | Is Plus |
↑8 | Is Plus |
↑9 | Cheat Sheet |