One of the most recognisable and successful performers in South Korea, Lee Byung-hun is back on our screens this week in the dramatic conclusion of Netflixโs global K-drama phenomenon, Squid Game.
Since his television debut in 1991, Lee has found sustained critical and commercial acclaim on the big and small screen, overcome tabloid scandals, and even appeared in Hollywood action blockbusters like G.I. Joe, Terminator Genisys and The Magnificent Seven.
Lee will also be the subject of a 10-film retrospective in South Korea later this month at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, where he is this editionโs actor in focus.
Here we rank his 12 finest cinematic performances to date.
12. The Man Standing Next (2020)
The assassination of President Park Chung-hee in 1979 by his own intelligence chief, Kim Jae-gyu, was one of the most shocking incidents in Koreaโs history and has been dramatised numerous times, not least in 2005โs darkly comic The Presidentโs Last Bang.