2005–2010: Beginnings At 15, Lee began his modelling career at the
Seoul Collection walkway in 2005, making him the youngest male model to debut in the Seoul Collection program at Seoul Fashion Week. Since then, he has walked in a number of fashion shows. Lee trained as an idol group member for three months, and had signed on with an agency to debut. However, he quit after the agency broke their promise of debuting him as an actor. He took part in a selection for actors at
SBS TV station when he was in middle school. In 2010, Lee made his official acting debut in the South Korean TV series
Prosecutor Princess. He also made his big-screen debut in the horror movie
Ghost.
2011–2013: Rising popularity and breakthrough Lee started to gain recognition following his supporting role in the hit drama
Secret Garden where he played a talented young composer with a surly attitude and a forbidden crush on the second male lead. In 2011, he appeared in
MBC's sitcom
High Kick Season 3 where he gained further popularity. Lee also co-starred in the film
R2B: Return to Base in 2012, a loose remake of the critically acclaimed 1986 film
Top Gun. Lee's breakout role came as a high school student in the teen drama
School 2013. He received his first acting award for the role at the 2012
KBS Drama Awards under the category Best New Actor. He also ranked fifth according to a survey entitled 'Actors Who Lit Up 2013' by
Gallup Korea. Following the success of
School 2013, Lee starred in the critically acclaimed drama series
I Can Hear Your Voice with
Lee Bo-young. He played Park Soo-ha, an intelligent young man who can read minds. Originally slated for 16 episodes, the drama was extended by two episodes due to its successful ratings. He received the Excellence Award in the male category at the
Korea Drama Awards for his performance. Lee then starred in the sports film
No Breathing and had a supporting role in the box office hit
The Face Reader.
2014–2018: Mainstream popularity In 2014, he starred in teen romantic comedy
Hot Young Bloods, playing a cheesy womanizer. Lee then starred in hit medical drama
Doctor Stranger, playing a North Korean defector who works as a doctor in South Korea. The drama was a success in China, gaining 400 million views. Lee next starred in
Pinocchio opposite actress
Park Shin-hye, and played the protagonist Choi Dal-po, a first year reporter at a broadcasting company who struggles with the idea of justice and truth in a world where everyone wants to hide the facts.
Pinocchio was another hit, with a reported revenue of 6.2 billion won (US$5.62 million) for broadcasting rights in just one year. Lee's performances in the dramas
Doctor Stranger and
Pinocchio earned him acting accolades, including the Male Top Excellence Award at the
8th Korea Drama Awards. He also became the youngest actor to win the Best Actor award at the 27th
Grimae Awards, chosen by television cinematographers. Lee then embarked on an Asia fan-meeting tour, and released a photobook titled
2014–2015 Asia Tour Story ~With~, comprising photos taken of Lee's meetings with fans in seven Asian cities during the nine-month tour. Lee was also cast in his first Chinese drama entitled
Jade Lovers alongside actress
Zheng Shuang. The drama, filmed in Shanghai, is described as a fantasy romance series set in the 1930s. Due to Lee's success in China, a wax figure of him went on display in Hong Kong's
Madame Tussauds, which the actor unveiled himself in a ceremony. In December 2015, Lee left his previous agency
Wellmade Yedang and signed an exclusive contract with
YG Entertainment on 10 May 2016. In July 2016, Lee returned to the Korean small screen with
MBC's fantasy thriller
W alongside
Han Hyo-joo. The drama topped popularity charts in Korea and Lee won the
Daesang (Grand Prize) at the year-end
MBC Drama Awards. The same year, he co-starred in the promotional web drama
7 First Kisses for Lotte Duty Free. In 2017, Lee starred in the crime film
VIP, marking his first lead role as a villain. Lee then starred in the supernatural-procedural drama
While You Were Sleeping alongside
Bae Suzy in September. In July of the same year, Lee was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Korean tourism by the Korea Tourism Organization. The organization also released promotional videos featuring the actor, titled "8 Episodes of Korea", which focused on tourist spots in 10 different regions including
Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Jeju and
Gyeongju. In 2018, Lee was cast in the three-episode drama
The Hymn of Death, a remake of the 1991 film
Death Song. Lee signed with new management agency YNK Entertainment once his contract with
YG Entertainment ended on 31 March 2018, but terminated his contract five months later. and established his own agency "A-man Project".
2019–present: Military enlistment and comeback In 2021, after finishing his military duty, he made a comeback with a cameo in
The Witch : Part 2. The Other One. Lee later confirmed for the official film
Decibel alongside
Kim Rae-won,
Lee Sang-hee, and
Cha Eun-woo. This will be the second time Lee will appear as the villain in a movie. With
VIP being the first movie he is the villain. Later in September 2021, Lee confirmed the MBC drama
Big Mouth with
Im Yoon-ah, coming back three years after his discharge from the military. It aired in 2022. ==Personal life==