Fifty Shades of Grey: Lights, Camera, Action! Part 1

"If you really do want to be an actor who can satisfy himself and his audience, you need to be vulnerable." — Jack Lemmon.

Actors have often talked about taking up roles that contrast their usual repertoire of characters. Whether they are the leads or the supporting cast, one flipside to acting is being cast into a mould and finding characters with same traits for portrayal repeatedly. Few like to be stereotyped as such. While the leads have the choice to opt from different genres like action, comedy or romance, at least superficially, thus displaying some variety, those playing supporting roles are recruited for more or less similar acts.

Paradoxically, the supporting cast also has greater flexibility when it comes to choosing less than positive characters, since they do not have a pre-formed image to cater to. Some of the well-known actors in Kdramaland have played both good and bad roles to perfection, displaying their versatility and carving a name for themselves in the hall of fame.

This article aims to celebrate some of them and bring their works to the fore.

Disclaimer: Since this article discusses a brief character sketch of the roles played, some may be spoilers.

It’s hard to reconcile the do-gooder journalist in The Good Detective and the super-efficient, no-nonsense assistant who puts men in their place in Miss Hammurabi with the cunning, vengeful fox in The Last Empress, but yes, it’s her.

Lee Elijah explaining the concept of 10cm deserves a special place in the history of Dramaland.

He’s one actor who has performed about every character, from the good end of the spectrum to the bad. He’s the naïve, hopeful father of Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, the struggling prosecutor in Stranger, and the arrogant power-hungry CEO in Itaewon Class.

Black, white or grey, no matter the role, he delivers.

The president of KIS who earnestly leads the residents in Terius Behind Me is almost unrecognisable as the feral and gritty Choi Myung Hee in Vincenzo.

She was their mastermind, and she was their leader. It was absolute perfection. Who knew she had it in her!

Remember the conniving, authoritative Grand Queen Dowager in Mr. Queen? Though not completely villainous, she was one of the main antagonists.

There were also some portions where she contributed to the humour, owing to the comedic atmosphere of the show. That's quite different from the demented old lady in Innocence, being on trial for the murder of her husband's friends. She engages the audience with just her eyes in that one. Then again in Secret Royal Inspector & Joy she is an intelligent businesswoman who is also compassionate, brave, and fights for what is right. 

A serial killer in Come and Hug Me, an idealist in Designated Survivor: 60 Days, and the helper of distressed souls in Missing: The Other Side. 

It's frankly unnerving and uncanny to see him in a positive role after witnessing his "other side" in other works like Undercover and Innocence. In Why Her? he was much less well-crafted, but he made the show watchable. A dedicated villain, hero and actor.

Just compare the trusted aide of the callous queen in Love in the Moonlight, who can abandon a newborn without a second thought, with the duckling who scuttles behind a much younger Choi Jin Hyuk, calling him “Hyungnim!” in Tunnel. It just adds to the hilarity. 

Dependable. Commendable. Adorable.

The perfect little brother to Lee Jong Suk in While You Were Sleeping and the less than perfect cold-blooded maniac in Crash Course in Romance are portrayed by the same gorgeous actor.

More recently, he has also played a negative role in Taxi driver 2, and you can clearly see the hint of danger in his eyes and body language that hides beneath his cute exterior.

There’s no such thing as a perfect villain, but there are Lee Jae Kyung in My Love from the Star and Lee Hyuk in The Last Empress. Having watched The Last Empress in the early days of my introduction to Kdramas, it was a surprise to see him defined despicable from episode one, after assuming he'd be the hero upon seeing him credited as one of the main characters for the drama. I don't remember ever loathing a character as much as Lee Hyuk.

His alter ego is Kim Seo Jin, the distressed father of a missing daughter in Kairos. His previous roles and Kim Seo Jin couldn't be further apart if they tried.

Loved him as the kind-hearted old man in Taxi Driver? You should watch him as the ambiguous cartoonist in W, the scared and selfish businessman in Train to Busan and the ruthless mastermind in Under the Queen’s Umbrella.

You’ll love the actor in him more – someone capable of conveying power, disdain, and cruelty with the flick of an eye.

He is easily one of the most versatile actors and a blessing to the Korean entertainment industry. Whether as deranged drug addict Looney, who insists on annoying the hell out of fellow cellmate Caption Yoo in Prison Playbook, or as the grieving husband and father in Hi Bye Mama, or as the psycho killer in Voice 4, he leaves the audience in awe through his unforgettable portrayal of complex characters.

It's always a game to guess which side of a story, the good or the bad, he ends up on – like in Stranger.

She always radiated warmth through her maternal characters, be it as Rosa in Hospital Playlist, Tomorrow or My Demon. The surprise is Queen Dowager Cho in Under the Queen’s Umbrella. Crafty and vicious, playing others like pieces on a chessboard and scheming to gain advantage.

She is a perfect example of the pitfalls of typecasting. The viewers are led to assume a particular actor always plays a particular role. Thus, when the opposite happens, it may not always sit well with the audience.

He was brutal as the villain in Crash Landing on You and had me wanting to reach into the screen to bash his head. He meant no good business from the moment he appeared on screen. There was something about the monotone in which he talked and the evil gleam in his eyes.

He also had me fall in love with him as the suave detective in Partners for Justice. As Prosecutor Do Ji Han in a positive role, he came totally out of syllabus. I rewatched the drama for him because I wanted to see him wear formals and smooth-talk in that gentle voice.

You really can’t see anyone else as the cornered, good-hearted North Korean soldier who had to make some tough decisions in Crash Landing on You, or as the devious home wrecker in My Mister, can you? That’s because Kim Young Min nailed them to perfection.

A further reference to the propensity of his acting should be The The World of the Married. Despite the presence of other reprehensible characters, his is quite loathsome.

No one can easily forget the role she played in Queen of Tears – callous and barbaric. She redefined cruelty. I think I despised Mo Seul Hee as much as her son Eun Seong did. You can't find a redeeming factor in her even if you search. She was written to be disliked, and Lee Mi Sook lived in that role.

But see her as the big-hearted mother-in-law from Perfect Marriage Revenge. Just straight out of every girl's dreams.

The dichotomy is truly amazing.

As the main antagonist of The Good Detective, Oh Jong Tae was a typical negative character. It was likely a walk in the park for a seasoned actor like him. In When the Camellia Blooms, he was quite irksome as Dong Baek's landlord who got drunk at her bar and made a nuisance of himself, repeatedly hitting on her and making Dong Baek snap with (the iconic dialogue)- "We only sell alcohol here."

Then there's the autistic Moon Sang Tae in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay. Those two Baeksangs for When the Camellia Blooms and IOTNBO aren't for decoration. They're a testament.

This list is by no means complete. More about other actors who deserve a place here is on its way!