1982–1993: Early career Choi began his professional career as a theatre actor by joining a theater company named 'Ppuri' () in 1982. His debut was a play named Our Town. Choi was so engrossed in theater that he spent nearly every day in the small theater. In 1984, he was offered the role of Alan in
Equus, but was forced to hand it over to the actor
Choi Jae-seong because Choi was drafted for mandatory military enlistment. In 1988, while Choi was in his fourth year at the university, his college senior Park Jae-ho invited him to audition for Park Jong-won's early film
Kuro Arirang. The film, released in 1989, was an adaptation of
Lee Mun-yeol's 1987 novel of the same name, portraying the harsh working conditions of female workers in the sewing factory at the Kuro Industrial Complex. his activities in films were not particularly successful. The French location shoot film "Our Love as It Was" (1991) was a dark chapter he wanted to forget, and although he had a special appearance, the film "Sara Is Guilty" (1993), where his face prominently appeared on the poster, only taught him the lesson of not choosing projects lightly. After appearing in director Yoo Hyun-mok's "Mom, the Star, and the Sea Anemone" (1995), he spent four years away from films. Although busy acting onstage as well as on the small and big screens, Choi was able to finish his studies at
Dongguk University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Theater and Film.
1994–2002: Breakthrough In 1994, Choi starred alongside
Han Suk-kyu in MBC television dramas titled
The Moon of Seoul. The plot revolves around the lives and hardships of commoners in Seoul. Choi portrayed Chun-seop, a single man who moves from the countryside to Seoul with dreams of success. He falls in love at first sight with Chae Shi-ra, his fellow tenant in a boarding house. However, he ultimately ends up marrying Ho-soon (
Kim Won-hee), who is also from the countryside. This drama achieved remarkable success with a viewership rating of 48.7% (according to MSK survey), earning it the title of a masterpiece drama. The immense popularity of the show propelled Choi Min-shik and
Han Suk-kyu to become top stars. In 1996, while filming the MBC drama
Their Embrace, Choi suffered an achilles tendon injury. Due to the lasting effects of this injury, he took a break from acting for some time. In this sitcom, Choi portrayed a CF director, while Lee Jin-woo played the role of an assistant director. It was his junior, Han Suk-kyu, who played a pivotal role in bringing Choi back to the film industry after his time away from the film scene. Han Suk-kyu called Choi and asked if he would be interested in doing another movie. Choi Min-shik replied, "Of course, why wouldn't I? Are you the only one doing it?" Encouraged by this call, Choi Min-shik joined Han Suk-kyu to act in director Song Song Neung-han's
No. 3 (1997) and made a fiery return to the screen, portraying Ma Dong-pal, a hot-tempered prosecutor. I had been involved in a TV drama for eight years. However, in 1996, after being greatly inspired by the play 'Taxi Driver,' I found myself in a state of deep contemplation. Having devoted my twenties to stage acting, I began questioning the true essence of my work. While the broadcasting fees had certainly fattened my bank account and provided a comfortable life, I couldn't help but feel that I hadn't truly grown or learned through this experience.In 1998, Choi was honored with the DongA Theater Award for his performance in
Taxi Driver. Subsequently, he accepted a role in
Kim Jee-woon's debut film
The Quiet Family. It was during this time that he made the decision to give up his television activities and focus solely on films. This was a decision he had been contemplating since his time in the theater production of
Taxi Driver.Choi's first major success came with his role as a North Korean agent in the 1999 film
Shiri. Not only was the film critically acclaimed, but it also achieved significant box office success. Choi's portrayal earned him the Best Actor award at the
Grand Bell Awards. In the same year, he also participated in the production of
Hamlet 1999 by Theater Troupe You. The play premiered on April 20 as the inaugural production of 'You Theater,' a small theater dedicated to performances in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul. It ran until June 20. Following that, Choi starred in
Happy End, where he depicted a man who is betrayed by his wife. In 2001, he took on the role of a gangster opposite
Cecilia Cheung in
Failan.
2003–2005: Oldboy and international recognition , on June 30, 2012 In 2003, Choi starred in
Park Chan-wook's
Oldboy. Choi's exceptional and composed performance in the film propelled his fame in Korea to great heights and introduced him to international audiences. In the next two years, he played a trumpet player in
Springtime, a struggling former boxer in
Ryoo Seung-wan's
Crying Fist, and a child murderer in
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, the last film in
Park Chan-wook's vengeance trilogy. In
Springtime, Choi takes on a role Hyon-woo, a dissatisfied classically trained trumpet player, who fails to achieve his desired career path and settles for part-time teaching at an academy. His personal life is fraught with arguments with his mother and unresolved feelings for his ex-girlfriend. Seeking change, he accepts a job as a band teacher in a small town, where the music program's success is crucial for its survival. Despite challenges, Hyon-woo embraces his new role, connecting with the locals, including pharmacist Soo-yon and troubled student Jae-il. This role demands a greater sense of tranquility and gentleness compared to his typical emotionally intense characters.
2006–2009: Hiatus and activism At various points during 2006, Choi and other South Korean film industry professionals, together and separate from Choi, demonstrated in Seoul and at the
Cannes Film Festival against the South Korean administration's decision to reduce the
Screen Quotas from 146 to 73 days as part of the
Free Trade Agreement with the United States. As a sign of protest, Choi returned the prestigious
Okgwan Order of Cultural Merit which had been awarded to him, saying, "To halve the screen quota is tantamount to a death sentence for Korean film. This medal, once a symbol of pride, is now nothing more than a sign of disgrace, and it is with a heavy heart that I must return it." Over the next four years, Choi went on a self-imposed exile from making films, begun in protest over the screen quota but also partly due to the studios' reluctance to hire the outspoken and politically active actor. Instead he returned to his theater roots in 2007. He also starred in the 2003 London production of
Martin McDonagh's
The Pillowman, his first play in seven years. During the
retrospective on Choi held at the 14th Lyon Asian Film Festival in November 2008, the actor was asked his reaction to the upcoming
remake of
Oldboy, and he admitted to the French reporters present that he was upset at Hollywood for using what he described as pressure tactics on Asian and European filmmakers so they could
remake foreign movies in the United States. Choi made his comeback in
Jeon Soo-il's 2009
art film Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells, in which he was the only South Korean actor working with locally cast
Tibetan actors.
2010–2021: Resurgence and international work Though Kim Jee-woon's 2010 action thriller
I Saw the Devil drew criticism from some quarters for its ultra-violent content, reviewers agreed that Choi's performance as a serial killer was memorable and the film emerged as a box office success. Choi did
voice acting for
Leafie, A Hen into the Wild, which in 2011 became the highest grossing South Korean animated film in history. In his 2012 follow-up
Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time, Choi played another complex, layered
antihero, and the
Yoon Jong-bin film was both a critical and box office hit and earned him the Best Performance by an Actor award at the
2012 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The film gave rise to numerous unforgettable moments and quotable lines, becoming a frequent target for parody in popular television variety shows like
Gag Concert and
Infinite Challenge. Comedians would imitate the hairstyles, fashion, and even the catchthe phrase (, loosely translated as 'feeling alive') uttered by Choi Min-sik's character Choi Ik-yun. The song "I Heard a Rumor" also became popular. Choi's next film was
Park Hoon-jung's
New World, a 2013
noir about an undercover cop in the world of gangsters, which also became successful critically and commercially. For his English-language debut, Choi appeared in
Luc Besson's
Lucy (2014), in the role of Mr. Jang, a Korean drug lord who kidnaps a girl and forces her to become a
drug mule, but she inadvertently acquires superhuman powers. In order to secure Choi's involvement, Besson and his team traveled to Korea to meet with the actor, discuss the story, and it was only towards the end of their conversation that Choi expressed his interest in joining the project. Director Luc Besson praised Choi's performance, stating that he was the "best villain" Besson had scripted since Gary Oldman's character Norman Stansfield. Besson described Mr. Jang as the embodiment of ultimate evil, contrasting Lucy, the film's protagonist, who represents ultimate intelligence. He then played
Yi Sun-sin in the blockbuster period epic
The Admiral: Roaring Currents about the
Battle of Myeongnyang, regarded as one of the admiral's most remarkable naval victories.
Roaring Currents became the
all-time most watched film in South Korean film history, the first ever to reach 15 million admissions and the first local film to gross more than . Choi next starred in the period film ''
The Tiger: An Old Hunter's Tale'', where he played a hunter. Choi had two films in 2017; he played an unscrupulous mayor in the political film
The Mayor, and headlined the remake crime thriller
Heart Blackened. In 2019, Choi and
Han Suk-kyu joined forces once again in
Hur Jin-ho's period film
Forbidden Dream. Written by Jung Bum-shik and Lee Ji-min, the movie is a true story adaptation that explores the dynamic between
Sejong the Great (
Han Suk-kyu), king of the
Joseon dynasty of Korea, and his relationship with his greatest scientist,
Jang Yeong-sil (Choi Min-sik). On December 10, 2021, Choi contract with
C-JeS Entertainment ended. He decided to stay as free agent afterward.
2022–present: Return to small screen and continued success In 2022, Choi starred in the
Disney+ series
Big Bet, marking his first drama series appearance in 26 years since
Love and Separation in 1997. Seventy percent of the filming was conducted in the
Philippines. Choi earned nominations for best actor in
59th Baeksang Arts Awards and
2nd Blue Dragon Series Award for his role as Cha Mu-sik. In 2023, the 27th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival organized a special actor exhibition titled 'I Saw Choi Min-sik'. The exhibition showcased the acting career of Choi Min-sik spanning over 30 years. Ten feature films personally selected by Choi Min-sik were screened, including films
Our Twisted Hero,
Shiri,
Happy End,
Failan,
Oldboy,
Springtime, I Saw the Devil,
Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time,
Forbidden Dream, and
In Our Prime. In addition, two of his short films,
Steam and
Winter Road, were digitally restored and released in collaboration with the Korean Film Archive as part of the exhibition. == Personal life ==