The year he turned 21, he debuted in the play Romeo and Juliet. In 2006, he appeared in the play Suspense Hamlet. He dropped out of college and acted only in theater in Daehangno for nearly ten years. In 2010, he married a former stage actress who had been a college classmate.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 32, in February, his first film, Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time, was released. The role of Park Chang-woo, taken with no bit parts or supporting roles before it, made his face known, and that year he won the new actor awards at the Baeksang Arts Awards, the Buil Film Awards and the Grand Bell Awards.
In 2013, Secretly, Greatly was released, and in the fall he played Samcheonpo in tvN’s Reply 1994. In 2014, he appeared in director Yoon Jong-bin’s Kundo: Age of the Rampant. In 2015, he played the father of Jung-hwan, played by Ryu Jun-yeol, in Reply 1988. In 2016, he won the Scene Stealer award at the tvN10 Awards for that role.
In 2017, he led The Preparation with Go Doo-shim. In 2018, he signed an exclusive contract with UL Entertainment. In 2019, he played the detective Gu Dae-young in SBS’s The Fiery Priest and won an Excellence Award at the SBS Drama Awards at the end of the year.
In 2020, he made a special appearance in the first episode of Hospital Playlist. In 2021, he took his first lead role in a film, in Sinkhole. In 2022, he appeared as a Japanese commander in Hansan: Rising Dragon.
In 2023, D.P. season 2 and Moving were released in quick succession, and 12.12: The Day, released in November, passed 10 million admissions in 33 days, his first 10 million film. In 2024, he followed with Officer Black Belt and The Fiery Priest 2, and won the Excellence Award again at the SBS Drama Awards.
In 2025, Karma and Nine Puzzles were released, and he was appointed ambassador of the Geochang International Festival of Theatre. In 2026, he played a lead in the drama on Hangout with Yoo and joined the drama Promoter.
Kim Sung-kyun (born May 25, 1980) debuted in 2001, the year he turned 21, in the play Romeo and Juliet, and became known through his first film, Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time, released on Feb 2, 2012, the year he turned 32. His first 10 million film was 12.12: The Day in 2023, the year he turned 43.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.