Yoo Ji-tae

Yoo Ji-tae

Yoo Ji-tae (b. April 13, 1976) in a very short time rose to become a major actor in Korean film. In the year 2000, with a series of hit films, widely-seen TV appearances, and a career in modeling, Yoo was more constantly in the limelight than any other actor. His first brush with fame came in the role of "Paint" in his second feature, the 1999 hit Attack the Gas Station. His sensitive and artistic image in this film and the warm character he displayed as a guest on TV talk shows helped to propel him to stardom. With the surprise success of his third film Ditto in spring 2000, Yoo's star status was secured. He also appeared in the successful firefighting film Libera Me. In this early part of his career, he was known particularly for the wild colors that he would dye his hair (white in Attack the Gas Station, blue in Ditto, blonde in Libera Me). In 2001, however, he died his hair black and took on a more subdued, serious role in Hur Jin-ho's One Fine Spring Day. Although it wasn't a big hit with audiences, his performance in this film opened many critics' eyes and drew widespread praise, while officially launching the second stage of his career. For the next two years, Yoo didn't appear in any new films, due to the fact that Natural City took an unusually long time to progress from shooting to a commercial release. He then appeared in three works in 2003: Natural City (which bombed, despite its big budget and special effects), the horror/suspense film Into the Mirror, and Park Chan-wook's acclaimed Old Boy. Yoo's memorable role in the latter film as a wealthy eccentric fixated on revenge would make his face well known to international audiences. As Yoo's career established itself he began to appear in many high-profile projects, such as in well-known arthouse director Hong Sang-soo's Woman is the Future of Man (which, like Old Boy, screened at Cannes in 2004); Yim Phil-sung's big-budget Antarctic Journal, shot in New Zealand; and the action/noir Running Wild with Kwon Sang-woo.

Complete filmography: Traces of Love (2006) Running Wild (2006) Antarctic Journal (2005) Woman is the Future of Man (2004) Old Boy (2003) Into the Mirror (2003) Natural City (2003) One Fine Spring Day (2001) Libera Me (2000) A Nightmare (2000) Ditto (2000) Attack the Gas Station (1999) Bye June (1998)