Tang Wei

Tang Wei Film Career:
Tang Wei made her film debut in Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, starring opposite Tony Leung.

She was born in Hangzhou on October 7, 1979, near Shanghai, China. As a teenager, Ms. Tang began modeling. In 2004, she made it to the final round of the Miss Universe pageant in Beijing. She graduated from China’s Central Academy of Drama with a major in Film Directing.

Tang Wei ws already a star in mainland China, having performed in stage plays and in the telefilm Jinghua Swallow. The latter earned her the Best Actress award at the 2006 CCTV Movie Channel Awards. She has also written short novels and stage dramas, and directed theater productions.

In 2008, the Chinese government blacklisted Tang Wei because of the sexual nature of her performance in Lust, Caution.

Yu Nan

Yu Nan Biography:
Born in 1978 in China, Yu Nan graduated from the Beijing Film Academy's acting department. A regular actress in Want Quan An's films, she made her debut in his film Luna Eclipse. Her performance caught the attention of French film producers who cast her in Karin Dridi's Fureur.

Since then, Yu Nan has starred in The story of Ermel , her second collaboration with Wang Quan an, which won her the Best Actress award at the Paris Film Fesvial. They worked together in

Tuya's Marriage which won the Golden Bear at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival. She next starred in Wang Xiaoshuai's In Love We Trust, winner of the 2008 Berlin Film Festival Festival screenplay award. Yu Nan had a featured role in the Wachowski Brother's new film Speed Racer.

Han Suk-kyu

Complete filmography:

Solace (2006)
A Bloody Aria (2006)
Forbidden Quest (2006)
Mr. Housekeeper (2005)
The President's Last Bang (2005)
The Scarlet Letter (2004)
Double Agent (2003)
Tell Me Something (1999)
Shiri (1999)
Christmas in August (1998)
The Contact (1997)
No. 3 (1997)
Green Fish (1997)
The Gingko Bed (1996)
Dr. Bong (1995)
Mommy, the Star, and the Sea Anemone (1995, cameo)

Han Suk-kyu (b. August 17, 1964) began his career in the early 1990's as a dubbing artist, before being cast in the TV drama Moon Over Seoul. By the late 90s he had become one of the most popular actors in Korea, starring in a series of both highly acclaimed and extremely popular films including Lee Chang-dong's debut film Green Fish, the groundbreaking gangster comedy No. 3, the hugely popular internet romance The Contact, Hur Jin-ho's classic Christmas in August, and the film that officially kicked off Korea's modern-day commercial boom, Kang Je-gyu's Shiri. At this time, Han was receiving a higher guaranteed salary for his films than any other actor (~$350,000 in 1999).

From 1999 until early 2003, however, Han took an extended leave of absence from filmmaking, only appearing occasionally on TV commercials. By the time of his return in the film Double Agent -- a spy film in which he stars with Ko So-young, which was a disappointment at the box-office -- he had lost his status as the most popular actor in the Korean film industry. The following year, his appearance in The Scarlet Letter with now-deceased actress Lee Eun-ju opened well, but failed to make a big impression with audiences.

Han's appearance in Im Sang-soo's political bombshell The President's Last Bang marked an impressive return to form, however, and even if it didn't translate into success at the box office, it showed that Han remained at the top of his form. For his next project Han discards his serious image to play a stay-at-home dad who dresses up as a woman in order to enter a TV quiz show for housewives.

Interview excerpts:

People say that you have benefitted from your voice. Do you think this is true? "I think so. When I first started acting on TV, people criticized me, saying I spoke like a 1960s movie star. Now I know how to control my voice. My experiences as a dubbing artist and a singer in high school taught me pronunciation and better control over the language." [Cine 21, #174, Nov. 3, 1998]

Shim Eun-ha

Complete filmography:

Interview (2000)
Tell Me Something (1999)
The Uprising (1999)
Art Museum by the Zoo (1998)
Christmas in August (1998)
Born to Kill (1996)
My Old Sweetheart (1995)



Shim Eun-ha (b. September 23, 1972) debuted in 1994 in the basketball-themed TV drama The Last Match, and quickly became the nation's most popular and talked-about star. After acting in three more television dramas and two lesser-known films (including Born To Kill with Jung Woo-sung), she made a permanent mark in the film industry with her performance in Hur Jin-ho's modern-day classic Christmas in August (1998). Later that year Art Museum by the Zoo, which presented a more down-to-earth side of the actress, saw her win over more critical praise for her acting abilities. Throughout this period, Shim consistently topped magazine polls as the most popular actress in the film industry.

In Tell Me Something, her star power combined with Han Suk-kyu to create one of the most highly anticipated works in Korean film history (though most viewers ultimately expressed disappointment at the film's convoluted narrative). The following year she appeared in Korea's first Dogme film Interview, which would end up being her last appearance.

In 2002, after rumors surfaced of an engagement which was later called off, Shim decided to give up her entertainment career. In the ensuing years, despite periodic rumors that she would resume her film career, Shim has tried her best to remain out of the public eye, studying in France and taking up painting. However despite (or perhaps because of) her long absence, she remains the undisputedly most popular actress of the last decade. In October 2005 she was married to a professor from Yonsei University, and at the time she re-affirmed that she will not return to acting.

Interview excerpts:

What kind of film would you most like to make? "Something provocative and urban, with a decadent feel to it. A film featuring great female attraction. Something like Beatrice Dalle in Betty Blue, perhaps. Is there anything that can compare to that film?" [Cine21, #182, Dec 1998]