Born: Kim Rae Won
Profession: Actor
Birth Date: 19 March 1981 (Pisces) at Gangneung, Gangwon Province, South Korea
Vital Stats: 75kg (Weight), 184cm (Height), A (Blood Type)
Talent Agency: HB Entertainment
With a warm smile and gentle personality, it is no wonder that Kim Rae Won has mainly played the romantic hero for his roles on television.
Known for his passionate acting and for throwing himself fully into his roles, you will be surprised to find out that Kim Rae Won's childhood dream was actually to become a professional basketball player, not an actor! However, when that dream was crushed by an injured ankle tendon, he turned to acting and studied Theatre and Film at Chung Ang University.
He debuted in 1997 at the tender age of 16, but rose to fame in 2003 for his portrayal of a lazy law student in a drama, for which he won both popularity and acting awards. The film My Little Bride in 2004 further elevated his popularity as the King of Romance, clinching him the Best New Actor Award at the 2004 Grand Bell Awards, and Most Popular Actor at the 2005 Baeksang Arts Awards.
He first broke out of his romantic hero image in the 2011 melodrama A Thousand Days' Promise, and went on to explore darker roles in Punch, a legal thriller in 2014 where he played a dying prosecutor who is determined to expose his boss's corruption within the legal system. This was followed by Gangnam Blues, a 2015 film in which he portrayed a fist-fighting gangster. Did you know that he was required to lose 15kg for this role, and accomplished that in just a month?
His edgier roles notwithstanding, Kim Rae Won is extremely popular thanks to his wholesome image and boyish grin! In fact, his nickname is 'Smile' because of his pleasant smile. He has even been selected as the model for the herbal cosmetics brand 'Atoclassic', which is known for its squeaky clean brand image.
In his spare time, Kim Rae Won enjoys fishing and playing golf. He is also a dog lover, and dotes on his Labrador Spinee very much. He has also mentioned previously that his ideal type is a woman who is graceful and intelligent – do take note, ladies!
After a year, he has finally returned to the small screens in Doctors as a genial biology teacher-turned-neurosurgeon who changes the life of his wayward student Hye Jung (Park Shin Hye). Though he has taken up many different roles before, this is his first time playing a doctor! In an interview, he mentioned that he felt burdened as the script has many cheesy lines, but we're sure that this dreamy actor will do just fine.
