- Born
- Birth nameJi-Chul Gong
- Nicknames
- Ji-cheol Gong
- Gong Yu
- Gong Yoo
- Yoo Gong
- Yu Gong
- Gong Ji-cheol
- Height6′ 0½″ (1.84 m)
- Gong Ji-Chul (better known as Gong Yoo) was born in Busan, Korea on July 10, 1979. The actor is known for the movies Train to Busan (2016), Silenced (2011), Squid Game (2021), and The Age of Shadows (2016).
Gong Yoo graduated with a Bachelor's degree in theater at Kyung Hee University and worked as a model before entering show business as a video jockey with Mnet. Thereafter, he had several supporting roles in various Korean films and dramas before landing his first leading role with Hello My Teacher (2005) in 2005. His breakout role was with The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince (2007), a romantic comedy drama series that was a hit with Korean drama viewers worldwide.
At the height of his career, Gong Yoo enlisted in the Korean Armed Forces in 2008 due to the mandatory military conscription. During his service, Gong did active front-line duty at the border and also served in the PR unit of the army, helming his own daily radio program at the Korean Forces Network. Upon his release from military duties, Gong Yoo's film career slowly took off with genre films such as Silenced (2011) and action-thriller The Suspect (2013). Silenced (2011), a film based on the true story of child abuse and sexual assault in a special school in Korea, was a project that Gong initiated since he read the story in military. The film sparked public outrage and led to widespread demand for legislative reform to impose heavier punishments for sex crimes against minors and the disabled. The final revised bill passed was also known as the 'Dogani Law' after the Korean title of the film. Prior to his military service, Gong Yoo was known as a romantic comedy male lead, but his portrayal of the teacher in Silenced and his transformation as a buffed-up North Korean spy in The Suspect (2013) established him as a more versatile actor.
In 2016, he had multiple hits with the success of zombie blockbuster Train to Busan, action-thriller The Age of Shadows and romantic fantasy drama series Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016), making him one of the most high profile South Korean actors for that year. Train to Busan was the top-grossing film in South Korea in 2016 and broke the box office record for Korean films in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. His return to television as the titular character in Goblin also broke TvN drama ratings and led the popularity index (CPI CJ Ent & Korea Nelsen) for all television platforms for weeks.
While the actor is often seen on television commercials, he is known to be rather private with no social media accounts. In 2013, He was appointed as an ambassador by the UNICEF in correlation to the 24th year since the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was adopted.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
- ParentsGong WonKim Eun Sook
- RelativesGang Dong-won(Cousin)
- Gong Yoo went on a diet for three months to reduce his body fat. He learned the Russian martial art Systema for the film's fight scenes, and performed car chases, rock climbing and skydiving at the Han River without using stuntmen, for his role on The Suspect back in 2013.
- His movie "Train to Busan" is the first Korean film of 2016 to break the audience record with over 10 million theatergoers.
- In 2016, Gong Yoo has resurgence in his career by starring in two major movies at the same time, Train to Busan (the first movie in 2016 to score 10 millions viewer) and The Age of Shadows (as the South Korea contender for the submission for the 89 Oscar for Best Foreign Movie).
- Gong Yoo became the most popular actor in South Korea for August 2016.
- Gong Yoo will be starring in TV series called "Goblin," his first drama series after 2012.
- [On his experience on Train to Busan] I thought zombie and action films were a piece of cake, but I struggled.
- [On his experience on Train to Busan] There were so many times a zombie caught up to me while we were filming. I heard the director yell cut and stood in place, but the zombie actors behind me couldn't hear it and kept running after me. So there are lots of behind-the-scenes videos of me looking pretty stupid.
- [On his experience on Train to Busan] I naturally get scared easily. When I was young, I hated going to haunted houses. So filming with zombies for this movie was too scary for me.
- [ On his acting career] I've grown more apprehensive. I have these ambitions that I don't want to lose sight of. I think might become self critical about the things I try to change about myself as I grow older and more knowledgable, more so than before.
- [On his experience on Train to Busan] I've filmed realistic action films before so I thought they were doable, but fighting with the zombies was extremely complicated.
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