Actor You Need to Know: Wi Ha-joon

Wi is sublime, specifically in dramatic acts that represent deeper issues, revealing inner emotional truths as well as the varying moods of various men

- DEBASHREE DUTTA

THE WHOLE NINE YARDS of Wi Ha-joon’s acting aside, for me, what he did in Midnight (2021) is conspicuous. I despised him as much as I was awed by his unnervingly malicious Do-shik—a deranged serial killer. The raved psychological thriller film is a fatal hide-and-seek between him and a deaf Kyeong-mi (Jin Ki-joo) after she sees him stabbing a woman, becoming his next quarry. Wi carved a real creep out of Do-shik, eliciting the ultimate embodiment of fear lurking in the shadows. And while Korean content is already well-versed in portraying such characters and narratives, through casting Wi as Do-shik, the industry secured another savvy performer whose hegemony shows on screen, perhaps more as “the bad guy.”

Wi, 32, a theater and film major, made his debut in 2012 with a short film, followed by stints in a string of movies until landing a breakout role in the ghoulish horror