The year he turned 25, he debuted in the film Madeleine. He worked under his birth name, Kim Sung-hoon, at the time. In 2005, he played the lead in Yoon Jong-bin’s The Unforgiven. Yonhap News Agency reported that the lead, Ha Jung-woo, was the son of the actor Kim Yong-gun. In 2007, he appeared in the MBC drama H.I.T.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 30, he played the serial killer Ji Yeong-min in The Chaser. It passed 5 million admissions, and Kukinews writes that he made his name with this film.
In 2009, he took the sole lead in Take Off, which drew 8.48 million admissions. In 2010, he starred opposite Kim Yoon-seok in Na Hong-jin’s The Yellow Sea. In 2012, Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time and Love Fiction opened within a month of each other.
In 2013, he released his directorial debut, Fasten Your Seatbelt, and also appeared in The Terror Live that year. In 2015, the year he turned 37, Assassination passed 10 million admissions.
In 2016, he appeared in The Handmaiden and Tunnel. In 2018, both Along with the Gods films had passed 10 million admissions. In 2019, Ashfall opened.
In 2021, he was indicted by summary order over illegal propofol use and received a fine, and he issued an apology. In 2022, he appeared in Netflix’s Narco-Saints, his first Netflix drama. In 2023, Ransomed opened.
The year he turned 47, he directed and starred in Lobby and The People Upstairs. In 2026, he confirmed he was dating the actress Cha Jung-won, and returned to TV drama after 19 years with tvN’s Mad Concrete Dreams.
Ha Jung-woo (born Mar 11, 1978) debuted in the film Madeleine in 2003, the year he turned 25, and became known when The Chaser opened on Feb 14, 2008, the year he turned 30. Assassination passed 10 million admissions in 2015, the year he turned 37.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.