i think he will make a wicked Mr. Darcy.

oh i know! first thing i thought when I saw the photo was "he looks like the Asian version of colin firth...aka Mr. Darcy"

Thank you so much Javabeans for this writeup. :)
He's such a talented and versatile actor, he is just LOVE. ~blush~

Now that you guys mention it, he does! do.Ob !

I found that part cute about his son.

it's interesting he likens precise enunciation to radio/voice actors. is the theater tradition in korea not big on enunciation? (assuming that's where bulk of actors trained, even as first medium in college courses.) i guess brit classical theater, makes the most requirement of this area (i.e. turning your whole body including voice into instruments), though this is also due to the play/power of words demanded by great scripts.

often i'm confused what korean audience demands of enunciation. sometimes there are complaints about people slurring (kwone sang woo in the old days was one example among many.) others dislike actors who speak too clearly (is there no certain social class/age group, or personal habit in korea that speaks precisely anymore?)

one audience winner seems to be taking on local dialect, whether it's accurate (not that i can tell - but it can sound exaggerated for comic/dramatic effects.)

wohoo! thanks for featuring KMM again, javabeans!
this guy just ROCKS!

*****

Ah, Mr. Darcy!
He'd make a great Mr Darcy indeed (Colin Firth or Matthew Macfadyen)
^^

*****

thank God for a very supportive wife
and a very cute and cuddly son ^^

He really is a Korean Mr. Darcy. Or, this photoshoot. I saw the knee-high boots and mellllltteeeedddddd.

I just find him to be one of those men who has this fierceness and depth in their eyes - that's the attractiveness that draws you in. I mean he's extremely good looking, but I think it's because of his aura and not so much his facial features. I prefer that kind of handsomeness over just plain good looks. :P

"it’s interesting he likens precise enunciation to radio/voice actors. is the theater tradition in korea not big on enunciation? (assuming that’s where bulk of actors trained, even as first medium in college courses.)"

You can kinda pick up which Korean actors came from theatre background, because those actors have a highly developed performance voice, and you can visibly see the difference when they're in character. For one thing, they don't rely on a relationship with a camera as much to convey presence. And they can yell. Both are huge advantages if you're playing an alpha. Kim Myung-min was a upcoming actor in the mid-90s, one thing led to another and he built a resume in theatre before moving to TV. His Kang-mae speaks in this hawkish hauteur not unlike Ralph Feinnes; it's very dry, but very funny. I'd love to see him work in the J-drama format.

"i guess brit classical theater, makes the most requirement of this area (i.e. turning your whole body including voice into instruments), though this is also due to the play/power of words demanded by great scripts"

It's also part of the stereotypical Brit vs. American discussion on acting: invention vs. presence, presentational vs. internality, technique vs. good casting. To a degree, you see that varying differences between them in Korean, Chinese, and Japanese TV. I was recently watching Tastuya Fujiwara do Hamlet, and though I didn't feel very much presence or emotional connection with the text, I absolutely loved the almost ghoulish interpretation he went with his character, turning his whole body into a ghastly bat of ineffectual vinctiveness. Or whenever you watch Sean Penn, he seems to literally snorting and blowing demons out of his nose. I'm not sure if it's "good" acting per se, but it's sometimes mesmerizing to watch.

OMG! YESSS!

That's what who he reminds me of--- MR DARCY!!

*swooonss*

thanks for featuring KMM, javabeans!
He totally rocks! :)

OMG--Why doesn't Korea produce their own version of Jane Austen so KMM can be Darcy? He'd be perfect! Koreans dig Austen, no?

i love him ever since beethoven virus....he would make a great mr. darcy. he can even be a great scrooge....i wonder how he would act in a less assertive character? white tower also sees him as more cold hearted and assertive kind...maybe his next movie, the one with the lou gehrig (sp?) disease will let us see a different aspect of his acting........ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... can't wait!

Koreans seem to really like the WASPY look. I can't stand it and it especially looks lame on Asians. Ralph Lauren must sell big there. Give me Prada and totally modern anytime. And Prada looks fantastic on Asians.

LOL - credits to enkhee who brought up Mr. Darcy :) Had a good laugh.

My first impression of KMM was he looked like this actor I am familiar with:
http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/people.asp?id=3957

Beethoven Virus was my first encounterance of KMM. I am going to watch Behind the White Tower in Christmas (also because of Lee Sun Gyun). KMM did capture the essence of Kang Mae well and to someone with a little music background, I find his conducting scenes convincing. Still remembers clearly his "dong dong" comment re: "ajumma - cellist Jung Hee Yun ssi". Actually, other music scenes in BV are also convincing and some arrangements of the presented repertoire are quite well done.

Good he didn't leave for New Zealand and great that he has a supportive and understanding wife and an adorable son! KMM rocks! Thanks for featuring him, javabeans!!

@sonam,

"Koreans seem to really like the WASPY look."

Back in high school (aka "Seoul of Fullerton") my friends called it the "GQ Look." And "oppa!!" roughly translated to "totally GQ guy who was helpful/sweet to us."

FWIW, I've always thought young Kim Rae Won was kind of my model of my high school was like.

What's with the late Victorian poet look? No eye candy here. Now White Tower was eye candy.

I agree with Ink---it's the intensity, the expression in the eyes, the intelligence, more than just the looks. He is very special.

when I saw him on that tree, i immediatley thought of Mr. Darcy. puahaha. great minds think alike ;)

yah, WASP-chic is back! does that make kangmae some equivalent of malevolent WASP? lol...

@ belleza, thanks for your feedback.
the earliest performance i could find of KMM was Sorum, about the only time when he wasn't "shouty" (it was bigger on atmosphere i guess.) you're right it's very obvious which actors have strong theater background, and another way to look at it is simply transplanting what they learned to the space before camera/crew...wholesale LOL. i think it was a recent GQ korea editorial or commentary piece, that championed an exact transfer of stage technique for TV/film as the only way to do it. not saying everyone should "mug" like garbo or dietrich for the camera like there's nothing in the world but their own star mystique, but relationship to camera can be its own special thing, a happy medium i guess. there is definitely a trend of alpha male performances that try to wipe out the camera between actor and audience...which is very popular, and makes me feel people are really hoping for live theater experience when they watch filmed stuff? :D

"It’s also part of the stereotypical Brit vs. American discussion on acting: invention vs. presence, presentational vs. internality, technique vs. good casting."

i agree those were roughly the major distinctions (mostly in 50s-60s? early turn of century american stage/screen was close to early brit), though you could find renegades within both camps that blur the differences and can do both. i don't watch much J dorama anymore and can't honestly remember what the actors tend to do. they do seem to have many more cross-medium influences: manga/anime/visual kei cross-over?, manzai or other comic traditions, some theater, lackadaisical indies...is fujiwara's hamlet on DVD? i never noticed him pulling out stage craft until a maniacal, Hamlet-esque soliloquy type in one of the Deathnote movies (when he's cornered!)

isn't fujiwara pretty unique among his age group anyway? the director ninagawa who's been grooming him has always been adding very grotesque, artfully OTT visual effects to reinterpret old classics (guessing it was a compendium of influences of avant-garde that also spilled over to 70s indie/b-movies, stage productions competing to keep audience during 80s excess of spectacle overkill everywhere in consumerist culture.)

"Or whenever you watch Sean Penn, he seems to literally snorting and blowing demons out of his nose. I’m not sure if it’s “good” acting per se, but it’s sometimes mesmerizing to watch."

penn was so different in the 80s! what happened to the boy LOL...i can only remember his Mystic River being this fuming, bullish style, though he's hiding the huffing/puffing better these days (viz Milk.) anyway i'm still confused about what korean audiences really think about slurred/clearly spoken actors (or how quick they change minds about merits of cha tae-hyun overnight LOL) it's probably constantly changing depending on the context?!

--

i never thought he has that attractive look. He has the cool look but wow. After I see this and Mr. Darcy being my favorite book character, I actually like how he looks. How amazing some pictures and different clothes plus background can do....

:D

Sean Penn is a really great actor. He is hardly "blowing snot out of his nose" in the "Sweet Low Down", "Milk" and a myriad of other rolls. Spicoli was absolute perfection.

Love KMM. I could watch the subtle choices he makes as an actor endlessly.

"Sean Penn is a really great actor. He is hardly “blowing snot out of his nose” in the “Sweet Low Down”, “Milk” and a myriad of other rolls. Spicoli was absolute perfection."

Sean's one of the great actors of his generation. He's also one of the most mannered, hammy actors who can also be considered truly great, and yes I've seen Sweet Low Down, I Am Sam, She's So Lovely, Fast Times, etc. He's mesmerizing to me at what he does in both positive and not-so-positive ways.

@Ed,
"penn was so different in the 80s! what happened to the boy LOL…"

I feel, contrary to his reputation, Penn's not so much an actor's actor, as he (like Edward Norton) is a writer's actor. He's great at observing character and environment when he's reciting fairly mundane dialogue, there's always something going on. The problem is, with Penn sometimes, he can be self-conscious about letting us know there's something going on.

"you’re right it’s very obvious which actors have strong theater background, "

A lot of TV actors kinda go into Talking Head mode, whereas the theatrical brats are actually engaging the space. Kang Ji Hwan is like that too. If you listen to how he delivers lines, you'll notice how often he starts off with a moody and somewhat disinterested recitation, as if he doesn't even know what he's saying, and he doesn't move. Then, depending on what's happening in the scene, he'll modulate his cadence or whatever. As if he's now thinking about how he should respond to you. And then he'll move.

"but relationship to camera can be its own special thing, a happy medium i guess. "

I still feel relationship to camera is the most important thing (and that is of course my American sensibility.) So Ji Sub has a terrific relationship with the camera. Jo in Sung developed a wonderfuly narcissistic relationship with the camera. But the one actor that I always single out as having an intimate, profound relationship with the camera is Kim Gab Soo, who's like a genius at the reaction shot. I remember watching this scene in short drama, where he's walking across the street, and you know what's going to happen next. Says nothing. Just walks across the street. Medium-to-close up on his face. His expression was devatating, of a man whose spirit was completely gone and was longing to die. I just started crying on the spot because it was a completely real moment of overwhelming grief. Ask him to do a reaction of his village torn asunder, or him winning the next hand of blackjack, or having a really good meal. He'll come up with one that makes you go "yes, that's exactly it." He find the truth some of the time, and poetry almost all of the time in his work.

"(mostly in 50s-60s? early turn of century american stage/screen was close to early brit), though you could find renegades within both camps that blur the differences and can do both. "

There's different aspects to the argument. You have Golden-era Hollywood, which emphasized the role of good casting and promoting "Star Quality" and personalities and finding personal connection with the character. Some people the latter is "method", but true Method Acting (as promoted by Adler) still mantains that acting is an inventive process, NOT role-play therapy. The 2nd aspect of course is Strasberg and Adler schools which reinventing American acting in the 50s/60s. I think what Brando's performances really changed wasn't so much the consensus of "good acting", but the discourse of American movie criticism in regards to performance. It transgressed from a discussion of personality, imagery, and external choices to a pop-psych inquiry into the Shadow of the performer. If Heath Ledger delivered the Joker 60 years ago, his ghoulish creation would have been evaluated on its terms and only then qualifying against his persona as a celebrity and onscreen presence. Now, even had he lived, the Joker would be an inquiry into Heath Ledger's soul, and many of the questions would have pointed toward Heath's introspect about his human condition.

"isn’t fujiwara pretty unique among his age group anyway?"

Yeah, because he started out with a background in theatre. Kinda like how Shido Nakamura came from kabuki. The odd thing is, I actually can't stand most of Fujiwara's overtly hammy "haven't slept in 3 days" performances. Ironically, his Romeo is pretty similar to his Hamlet. Which is to say, his Romeo played a little like Leonardo Dicaprio doing Leonardo Dicaprio doing Romeo. Dreadful. And yet. His Hamlet was a delight to watch! I actually enjoyed it more than, say, Kenny's take on it.

"i don’t watch much J dorama anymore and can’t honestly remember what the actors tend to do. they do seem to have many more cross-medium influences"

I still kinda see J-drama as a funky space where idols, musicians, and theatre vets congregate to make inspirational dramas about flipping doubles/doubles at In-N-Out. But, yeah, J-drama still bears some of the influences of the BBC TV system, especially in how they comparmentalize their live programming. For example, in the afternoon, they'll have something like "Teen Romance Hour", where they run lengthy teen soaps not unlike Korean melodramas. Or they'll do "Masterpiece Theatre"-style tanpatsus adapting well-regarded novels or social subjects. Although they don't have a "Mystery!" programming per se, Asahi produces who-dun-its as a formal staple of their programming.

Love Kim MyungMin <3<3<3
one of the best actors around...and his performance almost never dissapoints^^

loved him in BV because he's such a convincing actor although I was already aware of White Tower (was intending to watch it because of LSG but now I have two reasons to do so!) We need actors like him every now and then.

Thanks for this article.

Why didn't he come to New Zealand??? (I'm actually super glad he's an actor, of course, but as I live in NZ I can't help but feel annoyed he didn't come here instead!)

He looks very dashing in the photos, too :) Thanks for posting them!

I first saw Kim Myung Min in bad family, i like the series but his character isn't enough for me to notice him. Recently I finished watching Beethoven Virus and I absolutely like his character's brutal honesty. I agree with you people that he is like Mr. Darcy. He's not addictingly handsome like Bae Yong Jun for me but his greatest charm lies with his acting, he's truly convincing. The love story in Beethoven Virus could have been so much better but I guess they wanted to really focus more on relationship among the orchestra members and conductor, I would have wished to see maestro and lead girl kiss but there's none...the most that they did is just hold hands and that's it...hehe oh well, it was still a very good inspirational drama, and it isn't your typical drama, it's an eye opener that will lead you either in denial or in reality. ;-)

Still can't get enough of him...I even called my new black & white kitten as Thoven...hehehe.. I've agreed that he is not that dashing & handsome if you look at him at the first glimpse, but his aura that we're talking about. You can't help imaging yourself having a guy like him forever or maybe one day...wow... KMM awesome