It has been more than a year since Kim Soo Hyun's last drama ended. "You Who Came From the Stars" was so popular that the actor spent the rest of the year raking in about 35 product-endorsement deals, visiting with fans and participating in international events. The human-alien romance earned ratings of 24.02 percent and had two billion hits on the Chinese streaming site iQiyi.
Now the 27-year-old actor is back with both a drama and a new film role.
Kim Soo Hyun will play a variety show producer in the drama "Producer," starring Gong Hyo Jin, Cha Tae Hyun and IU. That drama is set to air in May. But his agency KeyEast Entertainment recently revealed that he has also committed to appearing in a film titled "Real."
Except for a cameo appearance in "Miss Granny," it will be the actor's first film role since he played a spy disguised as the village idiot in "Secretly Greatly."
"Secretly, Greatly," which also starred Lee Hyun Woo and Park Ki Woong, broke several box office records when it was released in 2013. The film had the highest single opening day for a domestic film and the biggest opening weekend. Kim Soo Hyun has proven his worth as a box office draw.
Kim's new film, "Real," is an action thriller. He will play the role of Jang Tae Young, a messenger. Jang Tae Young is not the kind of messenger who just delivers packages. Working for gangster types, Kim Tae Young mostly delivers bad news and threats. You might say that he takes care of annoying problems for his bosses. And he's good at it. He's a hard worker who wants to advance himself in the criminal world.
It's hard to imagine Kim Soo Hyun playing a dark and violent character.
So far the actor has played an alien in "You Who Came From The Stars," a king in "The Moon Embracing The Sun" and a country boy who wants to make it big in "Dream High." In "The Thieves" he played a thief, but thievery is the closest he has come to playing a criminal.
Lee Jung Sub, who wrote the screenplays for the films "The Perfect Couple" and "Lost In Love," is the producer for "Real." The film is expected to begin shooting in October and be released in 2016.
