I came upon a 2022 list on mydramalist of male and female actors who the author thought “deserve” to have main lead roles after slogging through many supporting roles. By MAIN lead role, the list-creator meant the hero who prevails in the end, and wins the girl’s heart, and not just the hapless “other guy.”
The list is quite comprehensive. And prophetic, I must add. Many actors mentioned by the list-creator ended up with main lead roles in 2023.
Now, being the bitch that I am, I’m going to make a short list of actors who I think should NOT accept main lead roles – especially in a romcom – in 2024. I think they’ve used up the “hero” card once too often and should sit this year out. While in their hiatus, they can:
a) hone their skills, through acting classes, especially in the Romance Department,
b) try their hand in a kdrama other than a romcom,
c) work with veteran actors to gain tips and advice on how to become versatile and adaptable,
d) clean up their image with me first (of course, this is MY list so I’m the judge and arbiter)
or simply,
e) give another aspiring actor a chance.
I’ll limit myself to 10 actors. Shhh…I’ll pretend I can’t count and mention 10+ actors.
1. Cha Eun Woo
Yes, I know. He’s handsome.
I heard he’s sweet, soft-spoken, kind to animals, and smart, too. But these aren’t the relevant points when I’m watching a kdrama (well, except the handsome part, lol).
I’m sorry but this guy has been riding on his pretty face for so long. I saw him in “Gangnam Beauty” (2018), “True Beauty” (2020), and “A Good Day to Be a Dog” (2023 – 2024). His acting skills have remained unchanged.
But the problem is he can’t keep on capitalizing on his looks forever and hoping that we’ll overlook his mediocre acting. Beauty fades. He needs to learn the craft stat.
And since I’ve mentioned “True Beauty,” I’ll sneak in a comment about his co-star there, Hwang In Yeop.
IIRC, he received a lot of attention from drama viewers from the Philippines because he was a resident (student? I don’t know…) of that country. Thanks to them, he instantly got a huge following and they were clamoring for him to star in his own drama right away. I say…
No.
To be brutally frank here, I don’t think he has the star quality, and that look the Korean ahjummas favor.
2. Shin Seung Ho
He was the Crown Prince in last year’s “Alchemy of Souls” (2022 – 2023). I think he owned that role.
But I doubt he could parlay that insouciant and petulant persona into something more. He first needs to show that he can act like a highly sensitive character.
And speaking of “Alchemy of Souls,” I don’t think his costar Hwang Min Hyun should star in another romcom this year after his lackluster performance in “My Lovely Liar”. He was so bland that I had trouble keeping my eyes open during his romantic scenes with Kim SoHyun.
That kid should try appearing in a raucous variety like “Running Man” or “2D1N” to get some spark going in him.
3. Lee Joon Gi
I’m sorry, ahjussi. You did well in “Flower of Evil” (2020), but your elfin look is so 2000s. I get that you could have been the Korean Orlando Bloom if the “Lord of the Ring” had been penned by a Korean and filmed by tvN. But this is 2024, and you must carve yourself a new niche other than a leading man in a romcom. You’ll be 42 years old this year.
source: allaboutjoongi’s tumblr
4. Lee Dong Wook
If I were to discover the elixir of life, one of the first actors I’d sell it to would be Lee DongWook. This 43-year-old preserves himself like nobody’s business. But romcoms with 40-something as main characters are thin on the ground. It would be gross to imagine him romancing a female in her 20s. But it would be even more of an eyesore to me to watch him doing aegyo with a 30-something actress.
So, he’s stuck playing preternatural humans or eternal spirits in fantasy dramas.
I wonder how he’d look like if he acted his age.
5. Ok Taec Yeon
This guy is an “old soul” in a young body. He doesn’t have the levity to deliver a convincing comedy.
I’ve seen that look on his face in that variety show, “We Got Married.” It was filmed in 2013.
He looks fuddy-duddy in real and reel life.
I thought “Heartbeat” (2023) would be an excellent vehicle for him to show his comedic chops, but he went to pick a script with a sad ending. So nope, I’m not going to touch that.
I think he needs help choosing his scripts. I had high hopes for “Secret Royal Inspector & Joy” but it was a bust, too.
6. Kim Min Gue
I’m sorry but how many do-overs can this guy get? He already had his first leading role in “Queen: Love and War” (2019). That flopped.
He was in that hit “A Business Proposal” (2022) where he played that the guy-who-had-sex-with-a-drunk-girl. So, he was given a second chance to be the main lead in “The Heavenly Idol.” That flopped, too.
I don’t think he’s ready.
It takes more than dimples to win smart bitches like us. In fact, if an actor has dimples, and he flashes them twice in a single episode, I will think that dimples are all he has going for him. There’s more to acting than aegyo, and fan-service.
7. Kim Rae Won
Hard pass on this ahjussi.
I gave him so many chances to rehab his image with me, but I still can’t erase his greasy, car salesman mental picture I have of him. Maybe if he performs with a sweetheart of an actor like Chae Jong Hyeop (“Castaway Diva”), the latter’s positive image will rub off on him.
8. Son Ho Joon
source: soompi
I’ve searched high and low, but I can’t seem to find the appeal of this guy. Can somebody tell me? He looks like a loser, and not a lovable one, at that.
He’s preventing me from watching Jang Nara’s latest kdrama, “My Happy Ending.”
9. Park Hae Jin
Am I the only one who confuses him with Lee Min Ki (“My Liberation Notes”)?
I watched him on “Cheese in the Trap” (2016) and “From Now On, Showtime!” (2022). There’s only so much hauteur that I can tolerate in my male leads. This actor can’t seem to exude warmth even if he’s tied to a wood-burning fireplace.
10. Last but not least, Lee Min Ho
Don’t get me wrong. If there’s a Lee Min Ho kdrama on Netflix (I’m excused from “Pachinko”), I’m going to be glued to the screen.
But that’s my problem with him. He’s such a black hole. His drama sucks my attention and time that I don’t have the energy to spare for other dramas.
So please, no. No Lee Min Ho drama in 2024.
I managed to lose my post. I had comments for most of the actors you mentioned. I am very amused by the list. Many of them I have never really liked very much.
Don’t get me going on lee min ho. When I first started watching kay dramas I loved him in city hunter. I have to admit that in my naivety I had a big crush on him. I also enjoyed him in legend of the blue sea and faith. Then came king eternal monarch and I couldn’t stand this show nor him any more. I have not even turned on patchinko. Despite loving the novel.
This is mean to say but I see him as a has been. Who is a shameless self promoter. He has been very popular for a long time. And I was surprised to see he is only thirty six. I thought he was into his forties.
🤣 Your descriptions of Lee Jun Ki, Lee Dong Wook, and Lee Min Ho!
I agree with the most of your list but I will always have a soft spot for these three. I don’t watch LJK as often as I’d like because he rarely does the kinds of dramas I like these days. LDW can keep being his awesome mythological self, especially if he can do another drama with Gong Yu. As for LMH, like you, love it or hate it, I’m gonna watch whatever he’s in (except Pachinko).
This goes to show handsomeness is not enough to last in the acting industry. I wouldn’t say all on your list are what I would say drop dead handsome. 1. Cha Eun Woo, 2b Hwang Min Hyun, 6. Kim Min Gue and 10. Lee MinHo would be best looking in my books if I were to be shallow…but after a while acting chops matter. That’s how they will age well right?
Maybe there should be a list of actors/actresses we loved in 2023 so sadly I don’t have many I can think for kdramas.
Strangely, I watched a lot of Cdramas this year but I’m swinging back to Kdramas because the storylines and cinematography is better.
(Bai Jing Ting, Wu Lei are my favourites!)
On Pachinko, I also loved the novel like @monmor. But I didn’t get past episode 1. Maybe I knew all the details in the story and I couldn’t get past how they will change it in a way I enjoyed the novel.
@stacy I also have a soft spot for LDW
@grace I also really like the two chinese actors you mentioned
Why are people saying they won’t watch patchinko? Is it the concern the novel will be ruined by the drama Or because lee min ho star has faded? Or is there some other reason I don’t know about?
😂. I watched Pachinko but for the other dude. The one who played Isaac (?). I loved his character in the book and I loved him more in the show. Selfless and kind. The actor’s name is Noh Sang Hyun. He reminds me of Woo DoHwan?
Is Noh Sang Hyun the actor in Soundtrack #2? I saw him somewhere recently. Running Man??
Oh yeah! It was Running Man! JungKook was joshing him about speaking up.
He’s Korean American, from Boston MA.
@monmor, I can’t speak for others, but I won’t watch Pachinko because it airs on Apple TV and I’m not going to pay for yet another streaming service just to see it. I also won’t try to watch it on the streaming sites of questionable legality, as my firewall won’t let me in. I won’t turn off my antivirus program because I figure there’s a reason (or two, or three…) it warms me of danger and backs me away from those sites.
@Packmule3, Shin Seung Ho plays a significant role in both seasons of D.P. (more screen time in Season 1), and he is a chillingly nasty dude in that show. I don’t know if he could be convincing as a romantic lead, but he does brute well.
The most sincere and normal “role” in which I’ve seen Lee Dong Wook is as host of his talk show Wook Talk, which can be seen on Viki. Before COVID-19 put an end to it, he interviewed a wide variety of guests. I think his choice of guests showed he has an inquisitive mind, and he treated all of them with respect and graciousness.
I forgot it was airing on apple. I guess that is the other reason. I was not in a hurry to watch it.
I agree so much on KRW – unlucky number 7. His role in The Doctors was so cringey that I just look at him and still cringe. 1. Inappropriate relationship with a student no matter how they tried to spin it. 2. Him dancing with her in the rain – just UGH- if I knew how to make a GIF I’d insert it here for maximum cringe. And 3. The worst worst kisses (was there more than one?) I have ever seen in a kdrama. I may be conflating the actor with his role – but speaking of hard passes he should have hard passed on this role.
I started watching Punch because it seemed to be well reviewed as I recall. I did not feel an ounce of interest in his character.
I think I used the wrong word in my comment about the lack of *** appeal, despite his looks, about CEW. Apologies. And it’s my opinion only, but it keeps me from appreciating him as a lead actor because I can’t imagine the FL being interested in him except as a good friend. Is it possible to be too good looking + too pristine + too nice? I know he’s a nice person in RL and he is still quite young so may change.
Ah, it was lurking on another page:
I know this won’t be a universally held opinion, but after watching A Good Day To Be A Dog, I not only agree with @packmule3, but I don’t find him sexy enough to be a ML. Even when the director tried to make his character manly or rugged, I can’t picture it.
I agree with the rest, too, but would still watch certain ones of the others in the right role.
I am with you guys. I can’t imagine anyone romancing a 20 y.o. Hated KRW in Doctors, I am with you @GoodTwin. I liked LJk in Scarlet Ryeol, only for the first half and hated him in the second half. He has this screeching like voice or it is a girly voice which I feel is not manly. I tolerated LMH in Heirs (I think!) or some school drama and felt that he looked much older than all the other kids.
Some of the actors are neither good looking nor good in acting. I wonder how they got to act? Is it not competitive? Maybe connections…
Hi all! Been lurking and not contributing 🙁 but I thought I’d share that I’m watching LDW in The Shop for Killers and so far it’s the most bedraggled I’ve seen him. There’s only two episodes but he’s flexed some cool chops so looking forward to plot developments.
Annyeong ~
All i can say is that when I read #10, you made me laugh hahaha. esp when you said “he’s such a black hole” hahaha YES YES YES. i wanna be sucked in. LOL
Does LMH has a show this 2024? i actually miss him. i feel like re-watching TKEM just so i can see him again haha. haha haha.
@HK_Lady, TKEM has been coming to my mind lately, so last night I listened to the OST. Now I really have the urge to rewatch!
@packmule3 yes to the actor in Soundtrack#2. I haven’t watched him in anything other than Pachinko. So I can’t vouch for him in anything other than Pachinko. And yes he’s Korean American and from Boston. ❤️
PS I agree with all the above. I was really hoping Cha EunWoo would improve his acting chops so that it would match his looks. Alas I find him inconsistent. Sometimes he’s okay and other times (in the same drama) he’ll revert to being wooden again. And that just doesn’t sit well with me when it comes to ML material. I think I watched one ep of his most recent drama about the girl changing into a dog and I dropped it 😂
I am wondering as the commenter above, What other factors are in play. I think one may be Whether or not the actor has a large fan base As idols or models. This of course draws in more advertisers.
@HK_Lady,
Oh dear. I guess I jinxed myself because I google-searched Lee MinHo’s dramas for 2024 and I found one. (facepalm)
“Ask the Stars” with Gong HyoJin (“When Camellia Blooms”)
It’ll be on tvN.
He’s such a bother!
He wreaks havoc on my schedule. I must clear out the other kdramas on my view-list to make way for his. I tighten the moderation on the blog. I update the “banned words” so I don’t get excessive LMH “saranghae” posts. I have to spruce up our “Shallow Island” (you know about this, right?) to welcome the oldtimers. I shut down the blog to new posters in case they’re LMH oppa-fans. I turn off the notifications before bedtime so I can get a good night sleep.
Ugh! Just thinking about all that botheration gives me a headache.
🙂
@Swiss_postscripts
Oh gosh! I really must have jinxed myself with this list. Lol.
I googled it and Lee Dong Wook has a drama out this year.
“The series tells the story of Jeong Ji-an (Kim Hye-jun), who becomes the target of highly skilled killers due to the dangerous legacy left by her uncle Jeong Ji-man (Lee Dong-wook), who died unexpectedly. Trying to figure out what’s going on, she then goes back to her early years to remember what her uncle taught her.” — from wiki
So he’s dead already and he appears on screen in the flashbacks?
I don’t mind watching him in this as there’s no loveline/romance involved. But it’s only Disney, and Disney and I have this weird love-hate relationship.
@Fern,
I get what you mean about sex appeal.
I often read that Cha EunWoo looks like he walked out of a manhwa (or webtoon?) and I can see the similarities in facial features, height, outfits, and so on.
But he simply isn’t “hot.” (Do the kids still use that word nowadays? Is my age showing?)
Just do this comparison in your head: Which one is hotter?
Cha Eun Woo: 26 years, DOB: March 30, 1997
OR
Timothee Chalamet: 28 years, December 27, 1995
Their picture profiles, pulled up from IMD
CEW:
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzFjODJhZDItNmI2Mi00MDdlLWI5NzQtMWM3MTUzNDVkMmE3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzY1ODU1OTk@._V1_.jpg
TC:
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNThiOTM4NTAtMDczNy00YzlkLWJhNTEtZTZhNDVmYzlkZWI0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTEyMjM2NDc2._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg
It’s that confidence, that swagger, that intensity, that ineffable quality of being totally immersed in you and the moment you’re both in, which maketh a sexy-licious man.
And CEW is faking it.
I was just abt to say that LMH has a drama this year, and I am excited for it😂 Sorry @packmule
Okay. Back to the others
1. No opinion. I watched Gangnam beauty, and don’t remember his role there so 🤷🏿♀️
2. For a split second , I thought you were referring to abt LJW and almost screened. I’ve only seen the crime prince in AOS so again, no opinions but like you said, he should that character well
For Hwang Min Hyun, I think it’s the character he was trying to portray that came off that way. Let’s give him another chance
5. Ok Taec Youn was alright in Vincenzo. Didn’t bother with Heartbeat but that gif scene you posted is funny
6. That’s a pretty ass man.
LOL @pkml3! That was soooo funny!! 😂 How you must hate-like-love-despise having LMH on your blog again! 😣😍😋😩😇🤣
You’re going to be busy! 🥳
Ref Timothee Chalamet, except for his eyes, I actually don’t find him that ‘handsome’, but he does have charisma and that is very attractive in a man. Good acting chops, too. I feel the same way about Lee Jae Wook – good actor, draws your gaze without being a beauty.
I understand the appeal of LMH, but he’s more about a ‘solid’ performance than about excellent acting to me. I don’t personally find him charismatic in the dramas I’ve seen. But I’ll watch him if I can in 2024.
I quite liked the Crown Prince in AOS. I’ll defer judgment until I see him again.
@pkml3: yup! the first two eps toggled between present and past, and I think this would probably be the way forward for the series. i love LDW that is not in a romantic role in this – the persona is grumpy uncle babysitting/discipling spunky niece (I watched Kim Hye Jun in Inspector Koo and she did the unhinged act really well, so trainee hitwoman in TSFK seems up her alley too). I think I know what you mean about Disney… (but it also gave me Vigilante and Nam Joo Hyuk in a non-romantic role so… 😜I felt he credibly showed new range in that one!)
I will ride or die for Shin Seung Ho and support for his campaign to a leading role!!! jk
I actually first saw him in the highteen romance webdrama “Ateen” and he is the male lead who gets the girl, so you could say he got a “leading” role already.
He has a romance movie with Irene of Red Velvet, but i think it is melo? I haven’t watch it yet.
Most if not all of his other roles have been serious so far. I’ve watched DP and Alchemy of Souls S2 and because he is only a support, he’s often overlooked.
I believe he can nail being the leading man on a romcom! I am looking forward to his progress and wish to see him as a leading man in 2025!
@packmule You have my support regarding LMH😄
I think CEW is shy/timid and romance just isn’t something he’s confident enough to pull off. I liked him in that island show—he had no love line.
The only person I can think of that you haven’t mentioned that I’ve not yet seen as a full main lead but has potential is Choi min hyuk. He was in 2521 and twinkling watermelon.
I saw the actor who played the crown prince in double Pattie and I thought he was great there. The Fl on the other hand was blah
Clearly I didn’t read your description well enough and added my last two as ones who possibly could lead and not ones who should take a step back
Love this list, thanks @pkml3!
Lee Dong Wook is especially off-putting to me and tops my list.
May I add to the list Lee Sang-yi from My Demon (Do Hee’s cousin)? Sure he is disadvantaged next to Song Kang and it may be down to the role that he plays but I don’t enjoy watching any scenes that he’s in! He gives me the creeps.
@Hana, I didn’t watch enough of My Demon to get his character, but I remember I preferred him to the ML in Home Town Cha Cha Cha. 😄
I have two more to add
1. Ryeoun—I like his look but his bulging eye acting was awful in The secret romantic guesthouse. He was better in twinkling watermelon but I think that’s because it was more of an ensemble and it doing sign language was a distraction from his eye acting.
2. Kim Dong wook. I want to like him but I just can’t. He’s been in find me in your memory, you are my spring and my perfect stranger. I can imagine him as a villain and 2ml but romantic leading man isn’t it
I Actually like kim dong wook. Just the other day I was wondering why? He is not typically handsome. I think it is because I enjoyed him in find me in your memory and to some extent in perfect stranger. I see him as communicating compassion well. I see that he has played some rather complex
Roles and I have not any desire to see him in those shows.
I find it very fascinating how people register different actors so differently. And yet there are many we can mostly all agree on. I
🙂
@Birdie007,
I get what you mean about Kim Dong Wook. I noticed him in “Find Me in Your Memory” and I quickly figured out what his appeal was. Just like Park Min Young (“Healer” and “Marry My Husband”) does a great impression of everyman’s sweetheart (she’s arguably the Korean Meg Ryan), Kim Dong Wook’s trademark is the RESPECTABLE ahjussi.
He does it so well that he’s typecast in “Find Me in Your Memory” = “You are My Spring” = “My Perfect Stranger” = “Deceitfully Yours”
His characters may have different professions, i.e., tv anchor, psychiatrist, tv anchor/high school teacher, lawyer, respectively. But the personality remains the same: dour and humorless; prosaic but can get testy when challenged; generally slow to anger and law-abiding but can become vigilante when sense of justice is provoked.
He plays the type of a man a Korean girl can bring home to her parents. Her Daddy will get along with him just fine, and her Mom will dote on him and cook all his favorite side-dishes. He’s marriageable, a “husband material.”
That’s why watching his characters can be comfortable watch for me. I know what to expect of him. He isn’t going to show his naked torso in a shower scene and he isn’t going to french-kiss the girl. I know he’s going to deliver.
But yes, for us Americans, there’s something shady about a guy who’s Mr. Clean. The serial killer Ted Bundy was after all a very charming guy. And politicians often project an image of being a family man/woman…until they’re not.
Anyway, I remembered something about his personal life. He was married last month to a “non-celebrity” Korean girlfriend. At least, that’s what his management company wrote in the public announcement last August: the fiancee was a non-celebrity.
So knetizens were surprised to find out after the wedding that he got married to a Girl’s Day ex-trainee. Her name is Stella Kim. She, too, announced her wedding around the same time but she didn’t mention the groom’s name. Both of them kept their relationship private.
Stella Kim is an American citizen. Or at least, she was born in Korea, and moved to the US with her family when she was a child. You could say that her values are more American than Korean.
She trained with the members of that popular girl group when she was in middle school/high school. She would go back to Korea during the summer vacation. But when she was about to sign the contract and debut with the group, her parents put their foot down. She went on to college here, at NYU.
Here’s an old YT vid on her side of the story, her struggles during and after the girl group training.
https://youtu.be/P3knfN5-QWA?si=faQn_d5D4BOYfjyK
She seems to have survived that stage of her life pretty well. Good for her.
Re. the marriage. Don’t quote me here, but I think they had a Catholic wedding in the Myeongdeong Catholic cathedral, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.
To me, their marriage validates my impression of Kim Dong Wook as a decent guy. Given how cautious her parents were when raising her, they wouldn’t have approved of that marriage if he was a jerk.
I guess, he takes on roles that don’t deviate much from what he’s comfortable with: his own skin. 🙂
I don’t need to wonder any longer why I like kim dong wook😄
Pingback: Bitch Talk: On Leading Actors for 2024, part 2 – Bitches Over Dramas
@Pm3
ahh that’s funny. re: LMH show in 2024. thanks for the update. yahoo! i’ve seen the FL in “it’s ok that’s love” i haven’t seen “when camilla blooms” yet. at least now, you can prepare yourself, right?
yes, i know of the “shallow island” haha. i’m an island girl so, spruce away. I’m ready.
jinxed. better yet, wish come true? no date yet though. so we shall wait.
@packmule3, I heartily agree that older actors should not be paired with younger actresses in romances. I remember watching the likes of Fred Astaire, Cary Grant and Humphrey Bogart in these roles and I was creeped out. The movie Sabrina comes to mind-yuck. If you notice, women leads generally don’t get these types of parts. If they do, the results are tragic Misogyny seems to be at play here.
I want to see the new Lee Min Ho drama but not for him. I like Gong Hyo Jin a lot. First saw her in The Greatest Love which brings to mind her pairing with Cha Seung Won, who is ten years her senior. I liked the premise of the drama but was uncomfortable with the casting. I like Gong Hyo Jin because she can play an every woman. She does not seem to be affected. However, in her real life she married younger man, Kevin Oh, a Dartmouth graduate who was born and grew up in the US. This is real life role reversal. But she is interesting in that she grew up in an English speaking country, Australia so perhaps her attitudes are different and she is now married to a native English speaker, albeit with a possible soft New York accent. Anyway, go know!