Im Siwan: Male idol dispels the stereotype of "handsome guy in movies", balancing both warm roles and cold blood

Im Siwan is originally a member of the boy band ZE:A and is also a member of the subgroup ZE:A FIVE. However, Im Siwan is better known to Asian audiences as an actor with a series of hit works.

Im Siwan was born in 1988 and joined the Korean entertainment industry in 2010 as a member of the 9-member idol group called ZE:A. Having both appearance and voice, Siwan's music career did not achieve success. Even when he and four other members of the group created a small group called ZE:AxFIVE, they still sank in the market. Kpop is full of excitement.

Similar to his singing career, in the first years of acting, Im Siwan only took on boring cameo roles. Siwan began his acting career in the film The Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), playing the role of young Heo Yeom. The film quickly reached the 40% rating mark and was called the "national drama", Siwan began to become famous after that. However, after this role, Im Siwan had a hard time proving that he was not just a "mobile flower vase" but also had acting ability.

Thanks to his natural and impressive acting, he quickly erased the stereotype of a football idol to affirm his abilities in both film and television. A year later, he continued to accept participation in the drama series called The Man from the Equator , Funny Behind the Scenes (2012), and the special drama Waiting for Love (2013).

In 2013, he began starring in his first movie - The Lawyer , playing the role of a student unjustly accused of treason. The film was highly appreciated by many critics and achieved countless successes, selling more than 11 million tickets and ranked 8th highest-grossing domestic film in Korea. Siwan won Best Newcomer at the Max Movie Awards and the Marie Claire Film Festival.

In 2014, Siwan received the Best New Actor award at the prestigious Baeksang Arts Awards for his role in the hit movie Misaeng . Not long after that, he appeared in the famous blockbuster Merciless and was honored to become the first Korean idol to have the opportunity to step on the red carpet of the Cannes film festival. That year, his role in Merciless helped Im Siwan be recognized for his acting ability by famous film critics around the world.

Siwan's film career was interrupted for 2 years because of his military service. In 2019, as soon as he returned from the army, Im Siwan immediately made a strong impression with the drama Strangers from Hell , a work in the horror genre, extremely heavy in psychology. In the film, he plays the male lead Yoon Jong Woo - a young man from a small town who goes to Seoul to start a career. Because of difficulties, he was forced to stay in a cheap motel room, where there were countless strange people, pushing his life to a new page full of darkness and death. After Strangers from Hell, it's a pity that Im Siwan's works, both film and television, were not very successful commercially. However, his acting ability is still something that no one can deny.

In 2022, he starred in the movie Emergency Landing. The film exploits the theme of disasters combined with epidemics, revolving around flight number KI501 of Sky Korea Airlines, departing from Incheon International Airport, South Korea to Hawaii, with more than 150 passengers and crew. .

The flight faced a deadly threat when terrorist Jin Seok (Im Siwan), a young biological research doctor who also suffered from a psychological disorder, caused havoc. The virus that carries terrible infectious diseases on planes.

Although Im Siwan's role did not last long, Im Siwan's acting was still haunting. The cruelty and coldness of the character hidden behind his handsome, gentle face further increases the chill. Every time Jin Seok appears, viewers hold their breath with each look and his rough and rude tone of speech. With this villain role, Im Siwan once again proves the acting ability of a singer who is becoming an actor.

The audience commented that the actor played an impressive role as a psychopath with a polite and elegant appearance. Every facial expression and look of the "crazy man" Jin Seok is fully and somewhat hauntingly expressed by Im Siwan.

Sharing about the process of transforming into the character, Im Siwan said: "I didn't prepare anything specific. I thought that if I approached the role of Jin Seok as an "unusual" character, I would immediately From that moment on, a conflict arose. I started by thinking about what kind of motive could have motivated a person to carry out such a big incident."

Im Siwan also showed interest in being evil on screen. "Playing a villain is a blessing for an actor. Protagonists have certain boundaries they have to keep, but as a villain I can step out of the box where I have to act in a certain way." somehow. I feel like I'm free with this. I feel like I'm liberated in terms of acting."

Actor Lee Byung Hun - who plays former pilot Jae Hyeok, has many tense confrontation scenes with terrorist Jin Seok - gave many compliments to Im Siwan: "Im Siwan acted very well. His cold and creepy expression with his very pretty and gentle face surprised me. I think he is really a good actor."

Born in 1988, now 35 years old, Siwan is said to still be single. He rarely shares his personal life in the press, lives a private life and mainly only appears before the audience through film projects. Im Siwan is also known as a male artist who works hard for charity. He even did charity work with his fans on his birthday or donated all his military salary to an elementary school. He also donated 20 million won to Hope Bridge - Korean Disaster Relief Association and many other silent charity activities.

As an idol who dabbles in acting, Im Siwan still always surprises the public with his ability to transform and immerse himself in acting. Besides, the actor has a gentle and scholarly face, so it is easy for him to transform into more gentle and passionate male protagonists.

But not only limiting himself to simple roles, Im Siwan also tries out more complex and thorny roles. The audience recognizes that it is only through roles like these that the actor can reveal his full potential and make his mark.