Joo Jin Mo plays a king in "Empress Ki" fighting for the throne he lost. But no matter how determined his character is to regain his rightful crown, it is not worth risking the life of the woman he loves. King Wang Yu is brave, loyal and protective. And his glare is suitably fierce.
The actor has become known for playing broody men and his ability to glare darkly may be a factor in the frequent offers he receives to play gangster roles. In fact, he can be seen on the big screen this year as a gangster in the film "Friend 2."
The award-winning actor is not as famous as he ought to be but there are a few roles no one else could have played as well.
Here are some facts you may not know about him:
1. He has faced some bad luck in his career. A few of the films he was cast in got cancelled due to financing issues. Some of his dramas were scheduled in unlucky spots. That happened with the series "Dream" which was in the same time slot as the hit drama "Queen Seonduk." His intolerance of rudeness and tendency to speak out against actors being treated poorly has also lost him some roles.
2. The role he will forever be associated with is the role of the king in the film "A Frozen Flower." In that film he played a king who loves his royal guard, played by Jo In Sung. He asks that guard to sleep with his queen, a role played by Song Ji Hyo, to produce an heir to the throne. He is not too happy when they fall in love. That role won him a Baeksang Award.
3. In real life, he is pretty shy when it comes to women. He would never ask for a woman's phone number. Although rumors linked him romantically with actresses such as Kim Ah Joong, Go Joon Hee, Lee Bo Young and Park Si Yeon, he says he never called them.
"If women ask for my cell phone number, I give it to them," he said. "But I would never ask first. I would be embarrassed if I got rejected."
4. He plays baseball and likes to fish. He has played baseball with good friends Jang Dong Gun and Hyun Bin in the Playboys celebrity team.
5. Jo In Sung is also a friend. The two became close during the filming of "A Frozen Flower" but almost stopped speaking when comments they made about each other in interviews got twisted.
"There was tension but we did not let it bother us," said Ju Jin Mo. "After all we pretty much lived together for a few months when we were filming. A few words that were taken out of context were not enough to destroy our friendship."
In interviews Joo Jin Mo comes across pretty much the same way as King Wang Yu does: loyal, unafraid to stand up for what he believes in and surprisingly shy with women. It's a winning combination.
