Currently I am watching two different dramas starring the same actor, Namkoong (also Namgoong) Min. Namkoong Min is very versatile in his acting, able to successfully and hilariously do slapstick comedy and also thrillers and serious dramas. He first came on my radar in the show In Need of Romance 3, or I Need Romance 3, playing a jerk of a boss. He is also very easy on the eyes and I think it’s cool we are almost exactly the same age. Playing a minor character, he had such stage presence, and I wondered at the time why he wasn’t playing a lead.
Sometimes actors take awhile to reach their stride. Talent sometimes takes awhile to be noticed, especially as the competition is fierce: Everyone is good looking, everyone is talented, etc. Last year I decided to watch 2020’s Awaken, unsure if it was a show I would actually like. The show blew me away, especially the main actor, who I kept thinking looked a lot like that jerk boss from the I Need Romance series. I was seriously amazed to find this was actually the same actor! Min looks so, so different in Awaken and his performance is wonderful. He definitely carries the show.
Now I have decided to check out his other shows, realizing that he is getting cast as a leading man, and am currently watching both Doctor Prisoner and The Undateables. The first is a fast-paced thriller where the actors are all having a grand time being villainous and near glorious scenery chewing. The second is a romcom, alternately slapstick and bittersweet. Min is great with both characters, it’s honestly hard to believe he is playing both of them. He is truly a versatile actor and almost chameleon like. The writing of both shows needs a little help, but they are still worth watching just for his performances. Other shows of his on my list to watch are the thriller The Veil that came out fall of 2021, and an adorable looking one called Hot Stove League from 2019-2020 about a professional baseball team. He is definitely an actor to keep one’s eye on for the future, and of course now I want him to star in something with acting chameleon Seo In Guk.
A Life of Story 