Hyun Bin

Hyun Bin (born Kim Tae-pyung on September 25, 1982) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the television dramas My Name Is Kim Sam-soon (2005) and Secret Garden (2010-2011).

Career

Hyun first starred in Nonstop 4 and quirky drama Ireland. He shot to stardom in the 2005 romantic comedy series My Name Is Kim Sam-soon with Kim Sun-a. Sam-soon was a massive hit with average ratings of over 37% and 50.5% for the finale, for which Hyun won the Top Excellence Award at the MBC Drama Awards.

Mainstream success eluded Hyun in the next few years. His first film as a lead actor A Millionaire's First Love (written by Internet novelist Guiyeoni) did not do well commercially, and neither did TV melodrama The Snow Queen, a love story between a math genius-turned-boxer and a sheltered, pampered girl (Sung Yu-ri). Hyun began choosing more eclectic projects, such as 2008's The World That They Live In (also known as Worlds Within), which was well-received for Noh Hee-kyung's writing; he and Song Hye-kyo played TV producers struggling to create the perfect TV drama while still maintaining their relationship. He then starred in I Am Happy, a romance between a patient and a nurse (Lee Bo-young) in a mental ward, which was the closing film at the 2008 Busan International Film Festival. In 2009, Hyun drew critical acclaim in his portrayal a sociopath in the gangster saga Friend, Our Legend, reportedly watching Kwak Kyung-taek's original film 20 to 30 times.