Cha Tae-hyun (차태현)

An actor, variety show star, director, DJ, and singer, Cha Tae-hyun must have been destined for show business. Surrounded by artists, he has a special effects assistant director for a father, a voice-over artist for a mother, and a film producer for a brother. Having married a lyricist, would his three children grow up as artists as well?

Photo from HanCinema

Birthday: March 25, 1976

While well-loved for his hit comedic films My Sassy Girl (2001) opposite Jun Ji-hyun and Scandal Makers (2008) with Park Bo-young, he does not shy away from serious roles. He portrayed a former horse jockey who found healing in a horse named Woo-bak in the movie Champ (2011). He also played a firefighter judged in the afterlife in the fantasy blockbuster movie Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds (2017).

His work on television is equally, if not more, expansive. In 1995, he started his career when he won the KBS Super Talent Contest Silver Medal. He later won Baeksang Best New Actor for his role in the MBC medical series Sunflower (1998). He starred in the KBS dramedy about variety shows The Producers (2015) along with Gong Hyo-jin, Kim Soo-hyun, and Lee Ji-eun (IU). In the famous variety show 2 Days & 1 Night (2012-2019), he himself became a cast member. He tried his hand in directing in the slice-of-life series Hit the Top (2017).

His artistic expression not confined to the screen, he hosted KBS Cool FM's Mr. Radio (2007–2008), winning the 2007 KBS Entertainment Awards Best Radio DJ. In addition to studio albums and singles, he released soundtracks for his melodrama Juliet’s Man (2000), comedy hit film Hello Ghost (2010), and OCN crime series Team Bulldog: Off-Duty Investigation (2020).

He starred as an altruistic detective in 2022's science-themed comedy k-drama Brain Works. For three seasons of the reality show Unexpected Business, he ran a supermarket with his real-life BFF Jo In-sung. He reunited with the Hallyu star in his role as an electrifying character in the 2023 Disney+ hit superhero k-drama Moving, an adaptation of Kang Full’s webtoon of the same name.