Kim Nam-gil
Introduction '''Kim Nam-gil''' (; born March 13, 1980) is a South Korean actor, producer, director, singer and philanthropist. He is best known from leading roles in period drama ''Portrait of a Beauty'' (2008); adventure film ''The Pirates'' (2014);  disaster blockbuster ''Pandora'' (2016); crime thriller ''Memoir of a Murderer '' (2017) and the crime-comedy television drama ''The Fiery Priest'' (2019). His breakthrough role was Bidam in the hit television period drama ''Queen Seondeok'' (2009).Kim is also the founder and CEO of a non-profit organization ''Gilstory'' that focuses on preserving cultural heritage, promoting arts and raising special purpose relief funds. Kim is known for his versatility as an actor and for often balancing projects with commercial value and roles that are artistic in nature. He was placed 17th in the top 40 most powerful stars in Korea 2020 by ''Forbes''. On February 3, 2021, Kim launched Gilstory ENT, a comprehensive entertainment company, together with Han Jae Deok, head of film production company Sanai Pictures.
Career ===Television===Kim began his acting career on television with a minor role in the 1999 KBS youth drama ''School 1''. Four years later, he passed the 2003 Talent Audition conducted annually by MBC, and appeared in various minor roles on the network's shows, such as ''Be Strong, Geum-soon!''. During this time, he was using the stage name Lee Han, which he made up to avoid confusion with Kang Nam-gil, another Korean actor with a similar name, and to give himself a more sophisticated image. In the following years he took on more supporting roles in television dramas, among them ''Goodbye Solo'', ''Lovers'', and ''When Spring Comes''.In 2009, Kim was cast as one of the supporting characters in the historical drama ''Queen Seondeok'', in a role that would soon change his life. It became one of the highest-rated TV series of that year (reaching a peak of over 40%), and Kim became a household name and the series' breakout star. For his portrayal of the playful but tragic Bidam, Kim said he was inspired by comic book characters such as Han Bi-kwang in ''Ruler of the Land'', Miyamoto Musashi in ''Vagabond'', and Kang Baek-ho in ''Slam Dunk''. The writers rewrote the script to respond to Bidam's popularity with the viewing audience, giving the character more screen time and emphasizing his romance with the titular Seondeok (despite the incredible historical inaccuracy), until there were two main male leads in the series. A horse-riding-related injury on set, and a brief hospitalization due to H1N1 flu, were minor negatives compared to the impact the series had on Kim's career. He won several awards for his performance, gained more local and international fans, received advertisement offers, and was flooded with film and TV scripts.In 2010 he played an antihero lead role in ''Bad Guy'', a dark melodrama about revenge, ambition, and fatal love. But while still in the middle of filming, Kim received his draft notice for mandatory military service. He tried to ask for deferment in order to wrap up the shoot for the series, but it was not granted. Kim shot as much as he could (his scenes were reduced, and a body double was also used) then entered the army two days later on July 15, 2010.He received four weeks of basic training at Nonsan, and served for two years as a public service worker.In 2013 Kim starred in the revenge TV series ''Shark'' (also known as ''Don't Look Back''), from the makers of ''Resurrection'' and ''The Devil''.In 2017 he starred in the time-slip medical drama ''Live Up to Your Name''. In 2019 he headlined the comedy crime drama ''The Fiery Priest'' as a hot tempered priest. It was the first drama to air on Fridays and Saturdays on SBS and was well received by viewers, seeing a rapid rise in ratings and ending at a peak of 22%. Kim earned a Best Actor nomination at the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards, and went on to win eight awards for his performance including the Grand Prize (Daesang) at the 2019 SBS Drama Awards.In 2022, Kim returned to the small screen with the SBS drama ''Through the Darkness'' as a criminal behavior analyst, which was his return to terrestrial television in three years, excluding Kim as a special appearance in the drama, SBS's ''One the Woman'' in which he appeared to support one of his previous co-star Lee Ha-nee.===Film===Kim debuted on the big-screen in 2004 gangster movie ''Low life''. In 2006, he made the bold decision to portray a homosexual character in the controversial queer indie ''No Regret'' in a role which included several gay sex scenes. The film was critically praised and traveled the film festival circuit, being shown among others in the Panorama section of the 57th Berlin Film Festival. He was then cast in 2008's ''Public Enemy Returns'', where he worked with the actor Jung Jae-young. Kim had stated in interviews that Jung Jae-young, who attended the same high school he did, had been his role model as an actor. Upon the influence of the film's director Kang Woo-suk (but against the advice of his agent and manager), Kim stopped using the stage name Lee Han and reverted to his birth name. Later that year, he played his first leading role in a major commercial film, ''Portrait of a Beauty''. Though his co-star Kim Min-sun garnered most of the attention for the erotic costume drama, Kim's strong performance did not go unnoticed.Another side benefit of Kim's popularity resulting from the ''Seondeok'' was the theatrical release in 2010 of his indie ''Lovers Vanished'', a relationship drama which the director described as a "Korean ''Leaving Las Vegas''. "Following his discharge from the army in 2012, Kim produced the film ''Ensemble'', a music mockumentary about a group of classical musicians who form a group and take to the streets to perform outside their usual concert halls, showing their youthful passion in making music accessible. It premiered at the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival. He was also one of four celebrities in 2013 who directed a short film using smartphone Samsung Galaxy S4 with the theme "Meet a Life Companion"; his short ''Hello, Mom'' depicted the love between a mother and her daughter, and evoked the warm feeling of an analog film. This was followed by the 2014 period adventure film ''The Pirates'', which reunited him with ''Shark'' costar Son Ye-jin.He next starred opposite award-winning actress Jeon Do-yeon in the 2015 thriller ''The Shameless''; Kim played a detective who falls for the girlfriend of the murderer he is investigating. ''The Shameless'' had its world premiere at 2015 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section. Nam Gil was next cast as powerful nobleman Heungseon Daewongun whose concubine takes up pansori in the period film ''The Sound of a Flower''.In 2016 Kim starred in disaster blockbuster ''Pandora'' portraying the aftermath of an explosion in a nuclear plant. ''Pandora'' premiered internationally at the International Film Festival and Awards Macao,  receiving standing ovation.In 2017 Kim starred in the action thriller ''Memoir of a Murderer'' and romance drama film ''One Day''. In 2019, Kim starred in the comedy film ''The Odd Family: Zombie On Sale''.In 2020, Kim starred in the horror film ''The Closet''.===Other===In 2012, Kim published a book titled ''Way Back to the Road'', his memoir of the previous two years, which contained photos taken by himself. It also featured New Zealand scenery captured by photographer Cho Nam-ryong, and contributions from writer Lee Yoon-chul.In July 2013 he released his debut single in Japan. The title track is a cover of Kōji Tamaki's "Roman," and the single also included Kim's two songs from the ''Queen Seondeok'' soundtrack.In 2022, Kim released ''CUP vol.1: How Personal Taste Inspires'', an interview book collecting the stories of 10 creators about 'Inspiration', the source of creativity.In September 2022 he opened his personal Instagram account under username  @namgildaero.In November 2022, the agency confirmed that bookings for the autograph donation show '2022 Kim Nam-gil's Universe's Strongest Show' was postponed from October 31 to November 8 due to the Seoul Halloween crowd crush.
Filmography ===Film=== Year Title Role Notes  2004 ''Low Life'' Police officer at checkpoint   2006 ''Don't Look Back'' Seok-woo   ''No Regret'' Song Jae-min   2008 ''Public Enemy Returns'' Park Mun-su   ''Modern Boy'' Hidaka Shinsuke   ''Portrait of a Beauty'' Kang-mu   2009 ''Handphone'' Jang Yoon-ho   2010 ''Lovers Vanished'' Im Su-in   2012 ''Ensemble'' Producer  2013 ''Hello, Mom'' Short film, Director  2014 ''The Pirates'' Jang Sa-jung   ''Glory for Everyone'' narrator Documentary  2015 ''The Shameless'' Jung Jae-gon   ''The Sound of a Flower'' Heungseon Daewongun   2016 ''Pandora'' Kang Jae-hyeok   2017 ''Memoir of a Murderer'' Min Tae-joo   ''One Day'' Lee Kang-soo   2019 ''The Odd Family: Zombie On Sale'' Park Min-gul   2020 ''The Closet'' Heo Kyung-hoon   '' Okay Madam	'' Nervous man Cameo  2022 ''Emergency Declaration'' Hyun-soo   ''Hunt'' Tokyo branch agent 3 Special appearance  2023 ''A Man of Reason'' Woo-jin   ''Night Trip ''  KakaoTV original ===Television series=== Year Title Role Notes  1999 ''School 1'' Min-soo   2004 ''MBC Best Theater'' – "Kang Jang-soo's Love House"    ''Nonstop 4'' Hyun-bin's friend   ''Sweet Buns'' Hong Hye-jan's boyfriend   2005 ''Be Strong, Geum-soon!'' Noh Seong-hwan   ''5th Republic'' Park Ji-man   ''My Lovely Sam Soon'' Kim Byung-tae   2006 ''Goodbye Solo'' Yoo Ji-an   ''Lovers'' Tae-San   2007 ''When Spring Comes'' Kim Joon-ki   ''Several Questions That Make Us Happy'' Im Seok-joo   2009 ''Queen Seondeok'' Bidam   ''Tears of the Amazon'' Narrator Documentary  2010 ''Haiti, Tears of Tragedy''  ''Personal Taste'' Man sitting in cafe Cameo (episode 11)  ''Bad Guy'' Shim Gun-wook   2013 ''Don't Look Back: The Legend of Orpheus'' Han Yi-soo   2017 ''Live Up to Your Name'' Heo Im / Heo Bong-tak   2019 ''The Fiery Priest'' Kim Hae-il   2021 ''One the Woman'' Male priest who leads to heaven Cameo (episode 1)  2022 ''Through the Darkness'' Song Ha-young  ===Web series=== Year Title Role Notes  2022–2023 ''Island'' Van Part 1–2  2023 ''Song of the Bandits'' Lee Yoon   ''Trigger'' Lee Do  ===Television shows=== Year Title Role Notes  2019 ''Trans-Siberian Pathfinders'' Cast member   ''Life of Samantha'' Narrator Documentary  2020 ''K-Ocean Pathfinders'' Cast member   2022 ''Living for an Empty House in a Fishing Village'' Creator Art Village project  2023 ''Leave Anything'' Cast Member with Lee Sang-yoon ===Music video appearances=== Year Song title Artist  1999 "Gift" () Kim Jang-hoon  2005 "Attention" Lady  "Start"   "Don't Forget, Don't Forget" ()   2007 "Just Ten Days" () J ===Hosting=== Year Title Notes  2018 23rd Busan International Film Festival with Han Ji-min  2022 31st Buil Film Awards with Choi Soo-young
Theater  Year Title Role  2000 ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''   2003 ''Park Mu-geun's Family''
Discography  Album information Track listing ''Can't I Love You? ''* Track from ''Queen Seondeok'' Special OST* Released: January 8, 2010* Label: Star J Entertainment, Danal  ''You Don't Know''* Track from ''Yawang'' OST, 2013)* Released: January 14, 2013* Label: J & J Entertainment, Aijin Music,  LOEN Entertainment  ''Roman''* Single* Released: July 10, 2013* Label: Warner Music Japan
Photo book  Year Title Publisher ISBN 2010 ''Into the Wild'' The Book Company  2012 ''Way Back to the Road'' MCK Publishing
Ambassadorship * Honorary Police Officers at the 75th Anniversary Ceremony of Forensic Investigation Day (2023)
Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result  APAN Star Awards 2022 Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries ''Through the Darkness''   Asian Film Awards Special Awards 2014 Asian Rising Star Kim Nam-gil   Baeksang Arts Awards 2010 Best New Actor – Television ''Queen Seondeok''   2016 Most Popular Actor (film) ''Pandora''   2019 Best Actor – Television ''The Fiery Priest''   2022 ''Through the Darkness''   Blue Dragon Film Awards 2008 Best New Actor ''Public Enemy Returns''   Blue Dragon Series Awards 2022 Best Leading Actor ''Through the Darkness''   Brand Customer Loyalty Awards 2023 Best Actor — OTT ''Island''   Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival 2021 Silver Raven Award ''The Closet''   Buil Film Awards 2015 Best Actor ''The Shameless''   Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards 2019 ''The Fiery Priest''   Grand Bell Awards 2009 Best Supporting Actor ''Modern Boy''   Best New Actor   Grimae Awards 2019 Best Actor ''The Fiery Priest''   KBS Drama Awards 2013 Top Excellence Award, Actor ''Shark''   Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length Drama   Korean Broadcasters Association Awards 2019 Best Actor ''The Fiery Priest''   Korea Drama Awards 2022 Grand Prize (Daesang) ''Through the Darkness''   Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards 2009 Best New Actor ''Modern Boy''   Korea PD Awards 2020 Performer Awards (Actor category) ''The Fiery Priest''   MBC Drama Awards 2009 Excellence Award, Actor ''Queen Seondeok''   Best New Actor  Best Couple Award Kim Nam-gil ''Queen Seondeok''   SBS Drama Awards 2010 Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama Special ''Bad Guy''   2019 Grand Prize (Daesang) ''The Fiery Priest''   Top Excellence Award in Mid-Length Drama (Actor)   Producer's Award   2022 Grand Prize (Daesang) ''Through the Darkness''   Director's Award   Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Genre/Fantasy Drama   Best Supporting Team   Seoul International Drama Awards 2019 Outstanding Korean Actor ''The Fiery Priest''   2022 Best Actor ''Through the Darkness''   Style Icon Awards 2009 New TV Icon Kim Nam-gil  ===State honors===+ Name of country, year given, and name of honor Country Or Organization Year Honor Or Award  South Korea 2019 Prime Minister's Commendation ===Listicles===+ Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement Publisher Year Listicle Placement  ''Forbes'' 2020 Korea Power Celebrity 40 17th  The Screen 2019 2009–2019 Top Box Office Powerhouse Actors in Korean Movies 45th
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