Lee Do Hyun Back on the Small Screen in Sweet Home 3 During His Military Enlistment and Netizens Marvel at His Range Having Filmed It Along with The Good Bad Mother and Exhuma at the Same Time

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• Him and LJW are the only hope for the upcoming generation but considering that LDH will be 30 next year guess LJW is the only hope for 20s actors. The upcoming batch of 20s actors is mostly lacking in star quality and CEW is single handily Hard carrying the Hallyu Stardom for the current batch of 20s despite his lack of acting skills. The 30s actors and actresses are the truly most interesting and qualified batch right now.

  • If it’s just acting I could add another, lee junyoung who acts alongside lee jaewook in impossible heir. But he hasn’t had any breakout role yet. I didn’t notice before, but he was so good in class of lies, love n leashes, and brave citizen. He was on romcom dreaming of freaking fairytale recently and is also good. Pretty good range, pity he isn’t good at choosing scripts

    • In addition to Lee Jae Wook and Lee Junyoung, I actually think two other actors who could also reach this level could be Moon Sang Min or Seo Ji Hoon. Moon Sang Min did an amazing job in Under the Queen's Umbrella, but unfortunately his recent projects however haven't really been doing well. His recent pick and focus of romcoms however seems geared at trying to expand his popularity and his fanbase.

      Seo Ji Hoon hasn't really ever been a romcom male lead (he's usually the second lead instead), but I'm positive that if he had a good script he'd easily blow up in a similar way to Byeon Woo Seok.

    • MSM is uneven. He’s great in UTQU but not in WI. Instead I’d pick LCM as a better actor and more versatile too. He has potential to be the next LDH.

    • @Wai: Who is LCM?

    • @jaychou

      For moon sangmin, I have only briefly seen wedding impossible, I didn’t think he was that good. And his recent project with shin hyunbin seems to imply he is getting typecasted as immature young master.

      Moon sangmin needs to choose different works to stop getting typecasted, taking slight detour and picking non male lead role seems to be the way

    • @Wai

      I think it’s lee chaemin, the one who plays kang ha in hierarchy. I don’t know if he is good tho, haven’t watched any of his drama

    • @Sunny

      I think it’s lee chaemin, the guy who acts as kangha in hierarchy. I don’t know if he is good tho, haven’t watched any of his drama

    • @Yuhyi:
      Agree about MSM. It seems like his agency want to fast track him to leading man status via romcoms when he would have benefited from taking on some challenging supporting roles following the good buzz from Queen's Umbrella instead

      Thanks for clarifying who LCM is. I wonder for what role because I haven't heard anything good about anyone's acting in Hierarchy lmao. And none of his other roles look to have been anything special. He is very good looking but we don't need another Song Kang serving visuals, body and not much else. In the context of the conversation about Lee Do Hyun's stellar career he needs more than that

    • @Sunny
      I think agency always like to take shortcuts. It’s like how lee junyoung got casted three times in idol role between 2020-2022 (good casting, imitation, let me be your knight). The latter two can even be said to be industry recognized failure. Since he is an idol, he did the role really well, but the story is just shit. I think he got his game back now that he focus on support role in good project like weak hero class 2.

      Agree with lee chaemin, he does seem to be cool in some short videos of hierarchy, but it’s too early to say whether he is good at acting or not. he would needs more work to prove it

• He is such a good actor, I might even check out Sweet Home 3. I haven't watched season 2 though, I wonder if it's necessary.

• When did he film Death's Game?

• Gosh he's such a versatile actor. I felt unexplainable guilt when I watched Hotel del Luna because I was totally shipping him with IU more than YJG. Mind you, I also think YJG is a good actor.

  • Its not an issue of acting because no one can argue YJG is a bad actor. He just has zero chemistry his female leads as an adult. HDL's love story was so unconvincing because he looked like IU's lil bro and he looks his age.

    • I didn't think YJG looked like her little brother. I just didn't think their story was as captivating.

  • Chemistry sometimes depend on the writing too. Lee do hyun had chemistry with IU but then again his chemistry with Song Hye Kyo was non existent. SHK had better chemistry with Jung Sung Il in the same drama. He could not make any impact in Glory despite being a very good actor.

    • @Jimmy: He was miscast in The Glory. Too young for the role and his character was basically a plot device tool for SHK's character but as an actual character he was pretty unnecessary. It felt a bit like production said to the writer "we need to include a popular male actor in his 20s in the story for a romance or something" so she had to shoe horn him into the story somehow.

• Sweet Home 3 is like Arthdal Chronicles 2: the sequel almost no one asked for or ever wanted and yet have. But at least we get to see LDH. SK also does better relatively in this franchise vs all his other dramas.

• I think he is the top actor in his 20s (just about as he turns 30 next year) right now. His filmography is pretty impeccable. There was a brief period a couple of years ago where he almost got caught in a noona romance rut ('Melancholia' followed by 'The Glory')but his team were smart and quickly course corrected his career.

  I saw a comment on another site that LDH is what PBG's acting career could have been if hadn't didn't taken such long hiatuses in his career. Not sure I agree but I thought it was an interesting comment.

  I'm trying to think of what other actor in his 20s can be considered on LDH's level now. Maybe Ahn Hyo Seop or Lee Jae Wook but neither of them have really got the acting cred or hits that LDH has achieved. Anyone have some other suggestions?

  • PBG = Park Bo Gum

  • I don't think AHS is in the same league of acting department as LDH and LJW. I consider LJW on par with LDH, perhaps I like LJW a bit better than LDH cos of on screen charisma. Both of them have hit dramas under their belts but LJW can carry a drama by himself while I always saw LDH in his much-talked dramas with seasoned veterans. His acting in Sweet Home impressed me more than overhyped Song kang but not so much in the Glory. I didn't finish either one of these two dramas but watched quite a few eps to say this. I may be biased though, just as I was about BWS for Lovely Runner. LOL.

    So far in the 20s group of K actors, LJW is still the one impressing me most after watching different dramas of him. He is versatile and has the best acting range IMO.

    I have to watch the Good Bad Mother yet. It may change my assessment about LDH though.

    • @Somebody: You make a good point that LDH hasn't yet a drama on his own. LJW has managed to lead a hit drama and I agree he is clearly very talented and charismatic but his problem is he doesn't have many good quality projects on his filmography. Still, he only just turned 26 and has a lot of time before enlistment. I just hope he starts to make wiser choices so he doesn't end up in rubbish like The Impossible Heir again

      LDH has the advantage because he has overall picked much better, more memorable projects which showcased his wide range. And even when he is working with acclaimed veterans, it's not like he is a passenger. He more than holds his own onscreen alongside them and delivers very strong performances (with the exception of The Glory where he was miscast IMO).

      And on top of all this he is openly dating too whilst his career thrives unabated. He must be the envy of all the other young actors lol!

    • wdym He carried 18 Again and is the heart and soul of that drama, even won a Baeksang for his role there. He already impressed me in Sweet Home and Hotel del Luna but showed he wasn't just going to ride one role to carry his acting career.

    • @Sunny, yup! I hope LJW's new drama this year won't be a downer like IE. Although IE has one of the worst FL I've ever seen and the plot seemed to have come from a bit of lazy writing, it still showcased LJW's acting range and his acting was pretty convincing.

      Even LDH had more successful dramas, he was still not the main lead carrying those dramas. 18 again got Kim Ha Neul and the Glory got Song Hye Kyo, Lim Ji Yeon, and others in a very strong cast. I actually consider him the weakest among the main cast of the Glory where his presence was overshadowed by other actors who stood out more. Even being an impressive supporting role doesn't automatically elevate him to an equally strong ML. He still needs to prove that to me.

    • Some more potential names: Lee Jong Won- his agency seems to be pushing him pretty hard. Lead role with top actress Honey Lee in Knight Flower out of pretty much nowhere and next is a lead role with Kim Se Jeong. Already landed a YSL brand ambassador contract. He is 29 but he has already completed his military enlistment.

      Weak Hero Class 1 was a big hit and the young cast are very promising particularly
      Hong Kyung - already won a Baeksang, Revenant with Kim Tae Ri/Oh Jung Se. His vibe, looks and drama/film choices reminds me most of Lee Do Hyun
      Choi Hyun Wook - belongs to Kim Soo Hyun's agency. Twenty-Five, Twenty-One; Twinkling Watermelon, DP2. Taxi Driver, Racket Boys
      Shin Seung-ho - DP, Alchemy of Souls

    • @Somebody: I almost forgot but he was the male lead for "Youth of May" which wasn't a ratings hit but was very well-received and cemented his place as one of the most reliable actors in his age group.

      But it doesn't seem to me that LDH cares so much about "leading man" status anyway. He seems more interested in playing interesting character roles in good stories. I think LJW (and a lot of young actors) would benefit from this approach.

      His special appearance as young Shin Ha Kyun in Beyond Evil or second billing roles after Ra Mi Ran in The Good Bad Mother or Kim Ha Neul in 18 Again did a million times more for his career and reputation as actor than carrying a mediocre drama as male lead. Fortunately, he and his team also appear to have very good taste in picking projects.

    • @Sunny, wow! You know so much about the up-and-coming rising SK heartthrobs. LOL. I need to speed up my familiarity with these gorgeous men to grace my screen. LMAO. I actually loved watching Lee Jong Won in Knight Flower. His puppy eyes full of infatuation for Honey Lee gave me quite a satisfying feeling to imagine unrequited romance. LOL. I wish he got more screen time though. I'll definitely be interested in watching his new dramas as a leading man.

      I think I may need to check out LDH's dramas. He appeared to be a very good actor in Sweet Home. But as I said, his presence in the Glory was like nonexistent to me. He as the young version of LSK's character in Beyond Evil was also pretty decent although I didn't bother to find out who the young actor was. LSK's outstanding acting overshadowed everyone else in that drama. I may take a look of the Good Bad Mother sometime although I don't think the plot is intriguing to me per the synopsis. If he's charismatic enough to carry a drama on his shoulders, he should take ML always and stop supporting roles with other more established and reputable veterans. That way, he could be more convincing as ML material. Similar to corporate environment, whom you work with does have impacts on your job performance. Nonetheless, a good analyst or engineer will be a good team player forever if not taking any project lead roles; he won't be regarded as a trustworthy project leader based on his resume without any significant experience leading impressive projects. That's my point. To me, LDH is in a similar career status as I described about corporate environment. Yet to see him prove ability to carry dramas ALONE like Lee Jae Wook.

• Lee Do Hyun is the only undeniable & indisputable excellent actor that has captivated me in every different role he has been casted insofar; 18 Again, Sweet Home S1, Youth of May, Melancholia, The Glory, Death's Game ( Ep 4 ) & Exhuma.

  I am a fussy pot & am also very selective for good movies, no fan of cringey kdramas especially but will relentlessly tune in just for him. He hasn't failed me till now.

  • Lee Do Hyun is incredibly amazing in portraying an adult in a wheel chair with a mental state of 7 yo child in The Good Bad Mother with natural cuteness, pureness & innocence.