O Yeong-su (actor)

O began acting in 1963 as part of a theatre crew called "The Square".[5] He was a member of the National Theater Company of Korea from 1987 to 2010, where he worked with actors such as Jang Min-ho,[6] whom he considers his mentor.[7] Throughout his career, he has done productions of A Confession for a Black Prostitute (흑인 창녀를 위한 고백, Albert Camus's play adaptation of the novel Requiem for a Nun by William Faulkner[8]), A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Merchant of Venice, among many others. According to O, he had appeared in over 200 productions by 2013.[9]

In his thirties, he played Faust in Goethe's Faust. In retrospect, he said he was probably too young for the role at the time.[9] In his fifties, he played the titular Richard III. He said he was never satisfied with his performance because he felt like he was too old for the role.[9] In his sixties, he expressed an interest to play Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman.[9]

In 2014, O played Prospero in a National Theater of Korea production of William Shakespeare's The Tempest celebrating the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth.[10]

O played a Yeonguijeong in the play Prince Yeonsangun, and appeared in The Problematic Figure in July 2015 and as Vasíly in the play Fathers and Sons, based on the novel of the same name in August 2015.[6]

In 2017, he played the titular King Lear in a production with the Daegu Metropolitan Theater Company. He had previously done a production of King Lear at the Daejeon Museum of Art in 2010.[7] In 2021, it was revealed that he would play the role of Sigmund Freud in the play "Freud's Last Session" by Mark St. Germain which is expected to start its first performance in Daehangno on January 7, 2022.[11]

O often portrays monks on-screen.[6] He credits his experience with Buddhist plays for getting him similar roles on film and television.[12]

In 2021, he played Oh Il-nam in the Netflix original series Squid Game. The series, which became the most-watched show on Netflix worldwide in its first month of airing, drew newfound attention to O.[13] In January 2022, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, Television for his role in the series.[14] He became the first Korean actor to win a Golden Globe.[15]

In November 2021, he narrated an episode of the documentary program "Documentary Three Days."[16]

On the first day of the 2021 Korean Series, O threw the first pitch.[17]

In 2022, O was appointed ambassador for Korean performance tourism by Park Bo-gyoon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.[18]

• "Episode 18, the relationship that grows as we stay" (제18화 머물수록 커지는 인연)(2015) (ad for SK Telecom,with Kim Seol-hyun)[20][21]