Lee Byung-hun is probably one of the most recognizable of the cast in Squid Game for audiences in the United States. Having crossed over into American films multiple times with a stint in the Terminator series, Red 2, and two G.I. Joe films, Lee has had a storied career both in and out of South Korea.
However, his filmography in Korea offers much more depth than the action elements of his American credits. This isn’t to say that Lee has sidestepped genre films and TV, most notably acting alongside Choi Seung-hyun (BigBang’s T.O.P.), who plays Thanos in Season 2 of Squid Game in Iris. His roles are more varied, and his range is honestly unmatched.
In Squid Game, he plays the enigmatic Front Man, the puppetmaster behind the scenes of Squid Game and a former winner. With an even larger role in Squid Game 2, it’s natural to want to see more of this charismatic actor. Well, we’ve got you covered with some of his best. Here’s what to watch for more Lee Byung-hun as you wait for Squid Game Season 3.
Concrete Utopia
Director: Um Tae-hwa
Writer: Um Tae-hwa
Genre: Action
Where to Watch: Prime Video
As Young-tak, Lee Byung-hun is effortlessly charismatic, manic, and pathological. Actor Lee has long been an inspired choice for complex characters. With his ability to switch demeanors on a dime and a piercing gaze that can be intimidating one minute and welcoming the next, as the resident delegate, he gets his hands dirty so that others don’t have to.
There is a loneliness to him that he carries in every scene at the beginning of the film, shrinking from others and passing responsibility. Then, at the midpoint, he sharply turns into a leader who will do anything (provoked or otherwise) to defend the apartment complex. As he moves between the two character distillations, Lee Byung-hun plays the role with much more beneath the surface, hinting at secrets kept without sowing too much distrust.
South Korea’s entry into the 2024 Oscars, Concrete Utopia is an emotional force of a film. Not concerned with the disaster itself or the spectacle of CGI it could employ to focus on the moment of tragedy, the film offers epic landscapes but always keeps an intimate eye on the people in the high rise. That intimacy helps make the film’s action deliver great impact. Whether it’s the physical fight scenes or how characters interact with their environment, all of the action in the film serves to build up each character’s emotional core.”
I Saw The Devil
Director: Kim Jee-woon
Writer: Kim Jee-woon, Kim Min-suk
Genre: Action/Thriller
Where to Watch: Prime Video
On a dark road, taxi driver Kyung-chul comes across a scared woman in a broken-down vehicle. He pulls over — but not to help her, only for the woman’s head to be discovered in a local river. Enter the grief-stricken fiancé, Kim Soo-hyeon (Lee Byung-hun), a trained agent who turns his skills into hunting down her killer. Only, when faced with Kyung-chul’s evil, he can’t help but give in to his own brutality. Letting the murderer go free after an initial beating, the cat-and-mouse game is one for the ages.
Brutal is the only way to describe I Saw The Devil. It is one of the most visceral looks at revenge and evil, and this film was the first time I saw Lee Byung-hun. An electric movie that uses stillness as much as it uses graphic violence, it’s one of the few that tested my ability to sit through horrors that one person can inflict on another. There is nothing left to the imagination, and by its third act, you’re all on board with Lee’s Soo-hyeon giving back every minute of pain that Choi Min-sik‘s Kyung-chul has inflicted on others.
Still one of actor Lee’s best performances, his ability to channel the detachment needed for great violence and the intense rage and grief that stokes his fire is legendary. This is a masterwork of the revenge subgenre. More importantly, it features what I repeatedly call the best endings in cinema history.
Mr. Sunshine
Director: Lee Eung-bok, Jeong Ji-hyeon, Jang Young-woo
Writer: Kim Eun-sook
Genre: Romance/Drama
Where to Watch: Netflix
With episodes that range from 60 to 90 minutes, watching Mr. Sunshine is a long task. That said, it is one of the best written and acted period pieces I’ve seen from any country. Lee Byung-hun plays a Korean boy from a poor family who ends up in the United States after the 1871 Shinmiyangyo incident and returns to his homeland during a historical turning point. Now a member of the US military, he is propping an occupation. Going by his English name, Eugene, his allegiance is tested when he falls in love with Ae-sin (Kim Tae-ri).
Being a daughter of a wealthy family, Ae-sin could sit back in luxury. She doesn’t need to fight, or at least that’s what everyone tells her. Instead, she trains and takes up arms for Korean independence. A sharpshooter, she continuously comes head to head with Eugene, only to uncover the dark scheme to colonize the country.
As the two fall more deeply in love and the fires of rebellion begin to erupt, morality, allegiance, and resiliency are tested. Mr. Sunshine features one of the most fascinating female characters in Korean television. Ae-sin and Eugene are a powerful duo with a love built on respect. That’s what makes them stand out.
Our Blues
Director: Lee Jung-mook, Kim Kyoo-tae, Kim Yang-hui
Writer: Noh Hee-kyung
Genre: Romance/Drama
Where to Watch: Netflix
One of the best Kdrama series on Netflix, Our Blues is a slice-of-life story that looks at different people’s lives in one town. From all walks of life, with different ages and motivations, the large ensemble cast is one of the best on television. In it, Lee Byung-hun plays Lee Dong-seok. Born in a small village on Jeju Island, he now sells odds and ends from his truck on the island. When he gets involved with Min Seon-ah (Shin Min-a), who has just moved to Jeju, the two begin to explore their trauma, healing from the past or at least trying to see a path to the future.
Lee’s performance is about vulnerability, and before, it was about romance; while not the solo star of the series, his eccentric and heartfelt character is always a joy to see. So much so that as we learn about his past, we can’t help but catch our own blues.
Our Blues accomplishes a sweeping and beautiful story without sacrificing character growth or revelations. With such a large cast, it’s truly amazing how each and every character feels dynamic and complete. This is one drama series that is well worth the watch.
The Good, The Bad, and The Weird
Director: Kim Jee-woon
Writer: Kim Jee-woon, Kim Min-suk
Genre: Spaghetti Western/Action-Comedy
Where to Watch: Prime Video
Another Kim Jee-woon film, but wildly different from the brutal film we included earlier, The Good, The Bad, and The Weird, is the perfect blend of comedy and action. Set in 1930s Manchuria, the film follows an encounter on a train that triggers an epic crusade for a treasure map, prompting a marathon chase in hot pursuit of the loot. An action-adventure film done in the style of a Spaghetti Western, this is your one time to see Lee Byung-hun looking like he’s ready to take on the Black Parade with the emo side bangs and eyeliner to match.
In the film, Do-won is “the good.” He is a bounty hunter out to track down Chang-yee, “the bad.” Played by Lee, he is a charismatic hitman attempting to pinch the map from a military official. However, the ruthless Tae-goo puts a hitch in both their plans when he snaffles the map for himself: enter “the weird.”
For his part, Lee Byung-hun is absolutely fantastic. If there is anything clear from his filmography, it’s that his propensity for action and drama doesn’t keep away from an understanding of humor. On top of that, his eccentricities are executed perfectly, making this one of Kim Jee-woon’s best, even if it breaks from the brutality of some of his other films. Instead, the action is choreographed and shot with a reverence for the specific brand of Westerns made in Italy, and Lee is perfect at its core.
The Magnificent Seven
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Writer: Antoine Fuqua
Genre: Western
Where to Watch: Peacock
The Magnificent Seven is a time capsule of Hollywood at its time while still maintaining the timeless period stance that the Western genre often takes. In the film, a greedy industrialist, Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), seizes control of the Old West town of Rose Creek in order to exploit it for gold.
Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) and other desperate residents turn to bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) for help with their lives in jeopardy. Chisolm recruits an eclectic group of gunslingers to take on Bogue and his ruthless henchmen. Shootouts, chases, and more, The Magnificent Seven is yet another chance to see Lee as a cowboy outlaw, and there is no way to turn away from that.
There’s something about watching Lee Byung-hun in a period story, especially when it’s a Western of any kind. To add an American-made title to the list, we had to include Antoine Fuqua‘s love letter to the Western genre: The Magnificent Seven. A stellar remake of a 1960s classic (which was an adaptation of Akira Kurosawa‘s Seven Samurai), Fuqua’s film still hits today, thanks to his attention to detail and cinematic vision for action and landscape.
While Lee doesn’t get the lead role in the film, he’s part of its dynamic and star-studded cast, which reflects his importance to the cinematic landscape after his 2008 role in The Good, The Bad, and The Weird, which saw international acclaim for its genre understanding as an international film.
Did we forget your favorite Lee Byung-hun film? What other films or Kdrama series would you recommend to people who loved Lee’s role in Squid Game? Let us know on social media @butwhytho.net on Bluesky.