Lee Byung-hun started his career by appearing in the television series ‘Asphalt My Hometown.’ He went on to appear in television shows like ‘Flower That Never Wilt’ (1991), ‘Days of Sunshine’ (1992), ‘Tomorrow Love’ (1992), ‘The Sorrow of the Survivor’ (1993), and ‘The Fragrance of Love’ (1994). He made his big-screen debut in the 1995 South Korean romantic comedy film ‘Who Drives Me Crazy’ directed by Koo Im-seo. That same year, she also starred as ‘Lee Dong-ho’ in the South Korean action thriller film ‘Runaway,’ which earned him the ‘Grand Bell Award.’
In the 2000 mystery thriller film ‘Joint Security Area,’ Lee was seen playing the role of ‘Sgt. Lee Soo-hyuk.’ He amassed considerable praise for his performance in the film and went on to win the ‘Busan Film Critics Award’ and ‘Grand Bell Award.’ The film earned praise from critics and became one of the highest-grossing films in South Korea. He bagged another ‘Grand Bell Award’ for his performance as ‘Seo In-woo’ in the 2001 film ‘Bungee Jumping of Their Own.’ After starring in films like ‘Addicted’ (2002), ‘Everybody Has Secrets’ (2004), ‘Once in a Summer’ (2006), and ‘The Good, the Bad, the Weird’ (2008), Lee made his Hollywood debut in the 2009 American military science fiction action film ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’ directed by Stephen Sommers. The film received negative reviews from critics but was a commercial success.
In 2010, Lee starred as ‘Kim Soo-hyun’ in the South Korean action thriller film ‘I Saw the Devil.’ The film earned critical acclaim upon release and was a financial success. He reprised his role as ‘Thomas Arashikage / Storm Shadow’ in ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation,’ the sequel to the 2009 film ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.’ In 2015, he joined the cast of the South Korean political crime-action film ‘Inside Men.’ He played the role of ‘Ahn Sang-goo’ in the film which earned him several awards, including the ‘Grand Bell Award,’ ‘Baeksang Art Award,’ and ‘Blue Dragon Award.’ He next appeared in films like ‘The Magnificent Seven’ (2016), ‘A Single Rider’ (2017), ‘Keys to the Heart’ (2018), ‘Ashfall’ (2019), and ‘The Man Standing Next’ (2020).
Lee was last seen in the 2021 South Korean disaster-action film directed by Han Jae-rim. He is all set to appear in the upcoming South Korean disaster-thriller film ‘Concrete Utopia’ where he will play the role of ‘Yeong-tak.’ He will also be seen in the upcoming Netflix film ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love.’