When it comes to ratings, actor Ji Sung is winning over drama rivals Lee Min Ho and Kwon Sang Woo. His melodrama "Secrets" has held the top spot in the ratings for weeks.

What does this magnetic actor have that helps him ace the ratings?

1. He was inspired to act by watching Dustin Hoffman in the film "Rain Man." When he first saw the film, he thought the character was an autistic man. When he learned that Hoffman was acting a part, he wanted to become an actor. When he first auditioned for a campus drama, he met a screenwriter who wrote a new character for him. He played minor roles, until the producers of the gambling drama "All In" cast him as the second lead to Lee Byung Hun. The drama was a hit and his popularity grew.

2. Drama casts will sometimes vacation together after a show ends but Ji Sung asked the cast of "Protect the Boss" to take a trip with him before filming began. The experience brought them closer.

"The director and actors must have thought it was a weird proposition to make, but they accepted the offer, and I thank them," he said.

He and co-star, JYJ's Kim Jaejoong grew especially close.

Jaejoong, who played his drama cousin and rival, talked about their real life friendship.

"I became quite close with him," said Jaejoong. "Feeling awkward about it being my first drama, I was not able to easily approach others but he was kind enough to himself approach me first."

3. Both his mom and dad were educators and were very strict about him having good manners. He was used to addressing his parents formally and was shocked when he went to friends' homes and heard them address their parents in a less formal way.

4. He loves ramen but gains weight easily so he has to avoid it when he has a drama. As soon as the drama is over, he goes back to his normal eating patterns. When he makes ramen he likes to mix powder from two different brands.

"Just the sight of the ramen powder makes me happy," he said.

5. He's a hopeless romantic. He met his wife Lee Bo Young on the set of the 2004 drama "Save The Last Dance for Me." They married Sept. 27, 2013.

He calls her "my Bo Young" and is not above acting cute to cheer her up.

"When she is unhappy about something, I will try to act cute by doing things like puffing up my cheeks to cheer her up," he said.

He sometimes sings to her when she goes to bed and once created a fireworks show to celebrate her birthday.

Knowing that the neighbors would complain, he ran away.

"What touched her more than the event itself was the scene of my manager and I running away in case the police came," he said.