No one can accuse actor Joo Won of being a slacker. After starring in a succession of dramas, including "Ojakgyo Brothers," "Bridal Mask," "Level 7 Civil Servant" and "Good Doctor," he took a few turns on stage playing the Patrick Swayze role in the musical based on the film "Ghost."
His range of recent roles included playing a detective, a revolutionary, a government agent, a savant doctor with social problems and finally a musical banker. But he's not an actor to rest on his laurels.
After that he played a detective again in the film "Catch Me" with Kim Ah Joong. He recently signed up to appear in "Nodame Cantible," a drama adapted from a manga about classical musicians. The actor also plays a man who becomes fashionable to attract the woman he loves in the comedy "The Fashion King." That film premieres during the Cannes Film Festival.
But just in case his back-to-back acting schedule left him with too much free time, he is also doing a Chinese-Korean film called "Xiao You Qiao Mu." It's a melodrama based on an online novel and tells the story of three men in love with the same woman.
The film is a co-production between China Film and the entertainment company Yuehua Entertainment. Casting Joo Won in a co-production seemed only natural to Lee Sang Gyu, the director of Yuehua Entertainment Company's Korean branch.
"Joo Won's dramas received a lot of love in China and he is also receiving a lot of interest from fans after reports came out about him appearing in 'Nodame Cantible.' Considering the Hallyu wave in China, this production will likewise be a considerable hit," said Lee Sang Gyu in an official statement. "There will be a positive result from this collaboration between the best Chinese film partner and Joo Won's acting skills."
Jo Jin Kyu, who directed the 2001 comedy "My Wife Is A Gangster" and last year's "Man On The Edge" is the director.
His co-star in this production is Hangeng, a former member of the K-pop group Super Junior, who also appeared in the film "Transformers: Age of Extinction."
Joo Won will travel back and forth between Korea and China to film the movie.
In an interview with Taiwan's PPTV last year, Joo Won said he was not really all that ambitious when it came to acting.
"I am very satisfied, even if I won't hit a higher level, I am also satisfied," he said of his acting success. "I don't need to reach a higher level and also even if it's a little lower than now, I am already satisfied."
But for someone who is satisfied with the success he has already achieved, he never backs down from taking on new acting challenges.
