Edited by Hwang Hong Sun
Translated by Kim Hoyeun
From his debut, Cha Eun Woo, a member of K-pop boy band ASTRO, stood out for his beautiful visuals that he was even nicknamed “cause for alarm of all girl groups.” On top of being a popular K-pop idol, he is receiving much love as an actor. But if you look into his career, he actually made his debut in the entertainment industry as an actor with the 2014 film My Brilliant Life.
Cha Eun Woo, who has played large and small roles in various films since then, challenged his first lead role since his debut with JTBC drama My ID Is Gangnam Beauty. The drama tells the story of Kang Mi Rae, a girl once bullied for her looks, taking a new turn in life after getting plastic surgery. Cha Eun Woo took on the role of Do Kyung Suk, a handsome college student who possesses both intelligence and wealth but appears cold and distant.
At the news of his casting, many showed enthusiastic responses to his perfect “synch rate” with the original character, saying that he “popped out from the webtoon.” In the drama, he successfully showed sweet chemistry with Im Soo Hyang, who played Kang Mi Rae, and received much love.
After making a hit with his first lead role in the drama, he challenged his first historical drama through MBC’s Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung. Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung tells the romance between a palace historian and a prince against the backdrop of the fictional Joseon Dynasty. Cha Eun Woo played the role of Prince Yi Rim, a lonely prince with a secret of his own, and presented a heart-fluttering romance with Goo Hae Ryung, an intern to become a palace historian.
Unfortunately, he was embroiled in a controversy over his poor acting in the beginning. Many criticized that his awkward facial expressions and unstable dictions made it hard to concentrate on the play. But Cha Eun Woo used this as an opportunity to turn a misfortune into a blessing. With the help of senior actors, he constantly monitored his work and gradually melted into the character. Thanks to his efforts, the drama gained huge popularity, and Cha Eun Woo won the Excellence Award for an Actor at the 2019 MBC Drama Awards.
The actor will come back to the small screen with tvN drama True Beauty by the end of this year. It is based on the legendary webtoon of the same name, and even before the confirmation of the drama adaptation, Cha Eun Woo was at the top of the list in the virtual casting for the main character Lee Su Ho. Now, viewers are already looking forward to what he will show with his new project.
