From idol to acting, the delicate and warm actor Yim Si-wan.
I’ll find out about Yim Si-wan’s age, height, debut, and more.
Profile
Age: Born on December 1, 1988, currently 36 years old
Hometown: Seoul
Height: 172cm
Blood Type: B
Family: Parents, older sister
Education: Hakjin Elementary School > Eomgung Middle School > Gudeok High School > Dropped out from Mechanical Engineering at Pusan National University > Dropped out from Theater Major at Dong-A Broadcasting and Arts College > Practical Music Studies at Woosong Information College
Military Service: Completed service as a Corporal in the 25th Infantry Division of the Republic of Korea Army
Agency: Plum A&C
Affiliated Group: ZE:A (Children of Empire)
Position: Lead Vocal
Debut: January 15, 2010, with ZE:A’s 1st single “Nativity”
Religion: None
MBTI: ENFJ
Yim Si-wan first debuted as a member of the boy group ZE:A in January 2010.
Afterwards, in 2012, he started his acting career by playing the young Heo Yeom in the MBC mini-series “The Moon Embracing the Sun,” gaining public attention.
Yim Si-wan went on to showcase his acting prowess through various roles in films and dramas, including playing Park Jin-woo in the movie “The Attorney” and portraying Jang Geurae in the drama “Misaeng,” demonstrating the youth of the 1980s to the present.
He successfully transitioned from villain roles to portraying real-life figures and even comedic acting within a span of 1 to 2 years, establishing himself firmly as a representative male actor in his thirties.
Yim Si-wan was not initially considered for acting activities within ZE:A.
Despite having no prior acting lessons, he started his acting journey after auditioning for the role of Heo Yeom in “The Moon Embracing the Sun” in 2012.
During auditions, the production team had difficulty finding the right person for the role of Heo Yeom and even reached out to idol group members for auditions. Yim Si-wan auditioned alongside his group members Kevin, Jung Hee-cheol, and Park Hyung-sik and was ultimately cast in the role.
Subsequently, he built up his filmography with dramas such as KBS’s “The Equator Man,” MBC’s “Standby,” KBS’s “Hope for Dating,” MBC’s “Triangle,” and tvN’s “Misaeng.”
In the movie “The Attorney,” released on December 18, 2013, Yim Si-wan portrayed Jin-woo, a university student unjustly tortured due to the Yongsan Tragedy, marking a turning point in his career from a handsome idol actor to a respected actor.
Despite being a representative figure in the entertainment industry, Yim Si-wan frequently plays high school or 20s roles even in his mid-thirties.
He demonstrated exceptional acting skills in the drama “Misaeng,” based on the webtoon of the same name, portraying Jang Geurae, a young rookie thrust into the unfamiliar world of the workplace, capturing the sentiments of young people in the workforce.
Subsequently, Yim Si-wan appeared in the movie “The Merciless” as Jo Hyun-soo, a noir genre film that he had long desired to do.
Yim Si-wan was invited to the 70th Cannes Film Festival for the Midnight Screening section, where he received standing ovations for 7 minutes and became the first idol actor to enter Cannes, garnering acclaim.
In 2022, he appeared in the Wave original drama “Tracer,” depicting a thrilling historical drama about a ruthless man embroiled in the ‘trash hatchery’ of the National Tax Service.
Following this, Yim Si-wan portrayed the character Ahn Dae-beom, a librarian with hidden scars and pain, in the drama “I Don’t Want to Do Anything,” based on the webtoon of the same name.
In 2023, he starred in his first Netflix original film, “Unlocked” playing Jun-young, who stalks Nami after finding her lost smartphone, once again taking on a villainous role.
