1993–1997: Early career Sul studied theater and film at
Hanyang University (Class of '86). In May 1993, When Sul was in his 4th year of college, he directed a play for the 1st Young Theatre Festival, ''''. At that time, Sul planned to enter the 3rd
KBS Talent Recruitment, but he had no choice but to give up the recruitment due to his professor's request. He was also active in Dongsung-dong since the second semester of his senior year, including guest directing play
Bison, a performance for the drama class at , as a part-time job. In May 1994, Sul asked a college senior who was the head of the planning department at the theater company '
for a part-time job. He met Kim Min-ki and was cast in the hit Korean adaptation of the German rock musical '. Sul participated in this production from the premiere in 1994 to 1996, playing all but two of the 80 roles, accumulating various experiences and acting skills and achieving great success. In addition, he has been active as a theater actor and musical actor in Daehakro, appearing in plays such as Korean productions of
Sam Shepard's
True West and musical ''''. Since 1988, Sul began taking on minor roles in television. On stage, he was a star actor who played 14 roles, but in television dramas, he was just an aspiring actor. In the mid-1990s, Sul began taking on minor roles in feature films. In 1996, Sul made his screen debut in his first film
A Petal, playing the role of Woo-ri, a college student who is chasing the whereabouts of the female lead (
Lee Jung-hyun), on the recommendation of director Shim Kwang-jin, a college classmate who was taking directing lessons from director Jang Seon-woo.
1998–2002: Career breakthrough In 1997, Sul met Cha Seung-jae, the CEO of
Sidus FNH, the producer of the film ''
Girls' Night Out,
which was released in 1998. Sul had a minor role, and his name was featured in the credits as an actor. Sul played a cartoonist who spends a night with Yeon (Jin Hee-kyung), a hotel employee in the play, and his acting was short but impressive. He then signed management contracts with Sidus HQ and made his breakthrough, with major roles in Rainbow Trout,
Phantom: The Submarine,
and The Bird That Stops in the Air'' (1999). In early 1999, Sul was selected for the lead role through an audition for director Lee Chang-dong's film
Peppermint Candy. Initially, Sul failed in the first audition, but the director's wife, known as the playwright of the production Confession, saw him in the audition film she saw in the living room by chance, and recommended him, saying, "Here's Kim Young-ho", recognizing him as famous. In addition, director Lee Chang-dong revealed the reason for casting Sul Kyung-gu: Unlike other actors, I rather liked that he hesitated and said that he had no confidence. He looked weak in charisma with an ordinary mask, but his face was different every time I saw him, and that seemed to enable him to express various colors as well as good and evil, so he was cast. In film
Peppermint Candy, Sul played Kim Yeong-ho, a
suicidal man devastated by the two-decades of historical change his country undergoes. After shooting for six months from mid-May to the end of September, the film debuted on October 14 of that year as the opening film at the 4th
Busan International Film Festival. The film was acclaimed and Sul received rave reviews. He swept 10 New Actor Awards and Best Actor Awards at the Korean Film Critics Association Award,
Chunsa Film Art Awards,
Blue Dragon Film Awards,
Daejong Awards, and
Baeksang Arts Awards. Sul next appeared in the romantic comedy
I Wish I Had a Wife with
Jeon Do-yeon in 2001, playing the role of Bong-su, an ordinary old bachelor bank clerk who yearns for romance. Then acted in a
Japanese TV drama produced by
NHK. In 2002, Sul starred in three major films. As a violent and unscrupulous police detective in
Public Enemy, he won Best Actor at the
Grand Bell Awards and
Blue Dragon Film Awards respectively. In August, he starred in
Lee Chang-dong's acclaimed third film
Oasis, which won the
Silver Lion for Best Director at the
Venice Film Festival. Sul's portrayal of a mildly mentally disabled outcast with
sociopathic inclinations won him Best Actor at the
Chunsa Film Art Awards,
Korean Association of Film Critics Awards,
Korean Film Awards,
Director's Cut Awards, and 29th
Seattle International Film Festival. In November, he acted together with
Cha Seung-won in a box office hit
Jail Breakers by director
Kim Sang-jin.
2003–2011: Success as a box-office actor In 2003, Sul starred in
Silmido, directed by
Cinema Service founder
Kang Woo-suk. The film is based on Baek Dong-ho's 1999 novel of the same name, which in turn is based on the true story of Unit 684.
Silmido was the first Korean film in history to surpass 10 million viewers, with a total of 11.081 million admissions. This success earned Sul a spot in the "Ten Million Club (천만클럽)," a term for actors who have starred in a film with over 10 million admissions. His next role was as the
title character in
Rikidōzan, about the legendary ethnic Korean
pro wrestler who became a national hero in Japan in the 1950s. Sul gained 20 kilograms for the role and also delivered 95% of his lines in
Japanese. Although his performance was acclaimed, the film vastly underperformed on its local release. In 2005, Sul starred in the
sequel Another Public Enemy, which surpassed the original film in box office gross. A second sequel,
Public Enemy Returns followed in 2008. Both films were directed by
Kang Woo-suk. In October 2005, Sul played the role of the male protagonist Andy in
A. R. Gurney's
Love Letters by the theatre company Hanyang Repertory. It was directed Professor , his acting teacher. It was his comeback onstage for the first time in years since his latest the musical
Subway Line 1. His next role was in Yoon Je-kyun's 2009 film
Haeundae (2009). Sul played Man-sik, a local from Busan's Haeundae District who, years earlier, unexpectedly lost the father of Yeon-hee (
Ha Ji-won), during the
2004 tsunami. For his performance, Sul won the Grand Prize at the 2009 .
Haeundae also became a massive box office success, attracting 11.083 million viewers. This made Sul the first actor to have two films as actor of the "Ten Million Club."
2012–2015: Career resurgence Sul Kyung-gu returned to the big screen after about a year and a half with the disaster film
The Tower in December 2012. In 2013, Sul appeared in three movies,
Cold Eyes,
The Spy: Undercover Operation, and
Hope and mobilised a total of 1681 million viewers in 2013. He ranked 2nd after
Song Kang-ho in the box office actor. In director Lee Jun-ik's
family drama Hope, He received favorable reviews for his excellent acting, and won the Best Actor at the
50th Baeksang Arts Awards. In a media interview, director Lee Jun-ik commented on Sul:He was a very respectable actor. Before filming, he came to the scene with a lot of emotion and only looked at the wall, but when the filming started, he poured out his emotions terribly. Because of Sul Kyung-gu, he was able to complete 'Wish'. He is a great learner.The following year, Sul starred in
My Dictator, as an aspiring actor who is forced to impersonate North Korean leader. For his performance in
My Dictator, he won Best Actor at the 35th Golden Cinematography Awards. In 2015, Sul starred in the war drama film
The Long Way Home alongside
Yeo Jin-goo. Sul played the role of Jang Nam-bok, a farmer who is suddenly dragged to the battlefield with a newborn baby in the war film
Western Front, the directorial debut of playwright Cheon Seong-il. The film depicts the story of the confrontation between Jang Nam-bok of the South Korean Army and Kim Yeong-gwang (Yeo Jin-goo) of the North Korean Army ahead of the armistice agreement in July 1953. With this film, he took on the role of a soldier for the third time following the previous films
Peppermint Candy and
Silmido.
2017–2022: Film comeback and other ventures In 2017, Sul starred opposite
Yim Si-wan in
The Merciless. It was shown out of competition in the Midnight Screenings section at the
70th Cannes Film Festival on May 24, 2017. The film brought Sul to win Best Actor awards at the
54th Grand Bell Awards and 37th
Korean Association of Film Critics Awards. He next starred in
thriller film Memoir of a Murderer, as a retired serial killer with
Alzheimer's disease. For his performance in
Memoir of a Murderer, Sul received Best Actor awards at the 17th
Director's Cut Awards in 2017 and the 9th Korea Film Reporters Association Film Awards (KOFRA) in 2018. has been postponed indefinitely following the scandal of actor
Oh Dal-su. Sul next starred in a 2019 film
Idol opposite
Han Suk-kyu and
Chun Woo-hee, which opened in March. In April 2019, Sul reunited with
Jeon Do-yeon, eighteen years after
I Wish I Had a Wife, in the film
Birthday. The film had its international premiere at the 2019 Far East Film Festival in
Udine. The same year, Sul starred in the human comedy film
Man to Men with
Cho Jin-woong. In 2022 Sul was honoured by
26th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival by hosting an actor special exhibition 'The Actor, Sul Kyung-gu' focusing on actor Sul Kyung-gu's 29-year acting career along with various events such as the publication of a commemorative booklet entitled 'Sul Kyung-gu is Snow Gyeong-gu', and mega talk during the festival.
2023–present: Streaming series In 2023, Sul reunited once again with director
Byun Sung-hyun and
Jeon Do-yeon for Netflix
action thriller film
Kill Boksoon. is a 2023 South Korean. Also starring
Kim Si-a,
Esom, and
Koo Kyo-hwan, the film premiered on Netflix on March 31, 2023. Returning to the small screen after decades, Sol starred in the
political drama series The Whirlwind, which premiered on Netflix on June 28, 2024. This marked his first time in an OTT drama series. He stars opposite
Kim Hee-ae. Directed by
Park Kyung-soo, directed by , the series features Sol as Park Dong-ho, who serves as Prime Minister, Acting President, and eventually President of South Korea. In 2025, Sul starred in streaming series
Hyper Knife, directed by Kim Jung-hyun and written by Kim Sun-hee. The series explores his complex relationship with her former mentee, played by
Park Eun-bin. Disney+ confirmed the release date of the series to be on March 19, 2025. In May 2025,
Netflix announced that Sul will be one of the main characters of their new drama
The Rat, alongside
Ryu Jun-yeol. == Other activities ==