Son Suk-ku

In this Korean name, the family name is Son.

Son Suk-ku (Korean: 손석구; Korean pronunciation: [son.sʌk̚.ku]; born February 7, 1983) is a South Korean actor. He gained recognition for his roles in the television series Matrimonial Chaos (2018), Designated Survivor: 60 Days (2019), D.P. (2021–2023), My Liberation Notes (2022), and A Killer Paradox (2024), as well as the films Nothing Serious (2021) and The Roundup (2022).

Son Suk-ku
Son in 2022
Born	(1983-02-07) February 7, 1983 (age 42) Taepyeong-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon, South Korea
Alma mater	School of the Art Institute of Chicago (FVNMA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2014–present
Korean name
Hangul	손석구
Hanja	孫錫久
Revised Romanization	Son Seok-gu
McCune–Reischauer	Son Sŏk-ku

Early life

Son was born on February 7, 1983, in Taepyeong-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon, South Korea.^[1] He started studying abroad early in middle school and continued his studies in Canada and the United States.^[2] He majored in visual arts and film at the School of Art Institute of Chicago, dreaming of becoming a documentary director.^[3]

In 2005, during his mandatory military service, he volunteered to join the Zaytun Division, a Republic of Korea Army contingent which carried out peacekeeping and reconstruction missions in war-torn Iraq.^[4][5][6]

Career

Son began his acting career, playing a minor role in 2014 film Scarlet Innocence and appeared in Black Stone (2016), Sense8 (2017) and Mother (2018).

His popularity began to rise with his starring role in KBS2 romantic comedy drama Matrimonial Chaos (2018) and his supporting role in the tvN political thriller drama Designated Survivor: 60 Days (2019).^[7]

In 2021, he played Captain Im Ji-seop in the Netflix series D.P.^[8] The same year, he starred in the romance film Nothing Serious which marked his first big-screen leading role. Son made his directorial debut in the Watcha short film Unframed – Rebroadcast.^[9]

In 2022, Son starred in the JTBC slice-of-life drama My Liberation Notes. His portrayal of Mr. Gu, a reclusive alcoholic stranger, earned praise from critics and audiences and he topped the drama performers popularity ranking for five consecutive weeks.^[10][11][12] The same year, he starred as the villain Kang Hae-sung in the crime action blockbuster The Roundup, which became the highest-grossing film of 2022 in South Korea, selling 12 million tickets.^[13] Success of his 2022 projects raised his popularity and recognition.^[14]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2014	Scarlet Innocence	Casino henchman 2	Bit part
2016	Black Stone	First Lieutenant	Independent film
2017	Wedding	Sung-hoon	Short film
2019	Hit-and-Run Squad	Ki Tae-ho		[15]
	Shimchung Girl	Doctor
2021	Nothing Serious	Park Woo-ri		[16][17]
	Unframed – Rebroadcast	Director, script writer	Short film	[18][19][20]
2022	The Roundup	Kang Hae-sang		[21]
2023	It's Okay!	Dong-wook	Special appearance	[22]
2024	Troll Factory	Im Sang-jin		[23]
2025	Virus	Nam Soo-pil	Special appearance	[24]
TBA	Dreams	Dong-wook

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2016	Kidnapping Assemblyman Mr. Clean	Sang-chul's subordinate	Special drama
2017	Sense8	Detective Mun	Season 2
2018	Mother	Seol-ak
	Suits	David Kim
	Matrimonial Chaos	Lee Jang-hyun
2019	Designated Survivor: 60 Days	Cha Young-jin
	Be Melodramatic	Kim Sang-soo	Special appearance (Ep. 10, 12–16)	[25]
2021–2023	D.P.	Im Ji-seop	Season 1–2	[26][27]
2021	Jirisan	Lim Cheol-kyeong	Special appearance (Ep. 6)	[28]
2022	My Liberation Notes	Mr. Gu (Gu Ja-gyeong)		[29]
2022–2023	Big Bet	Oh Seung-hoon		[30][31]
2024	A Killer Paradox	Jang Nan-gam		[32][33]
2025	Heavenly Ever After	Ko Nak-Joon		[34]
	Nine Puzzle	Kim Han Saem		[35]

Music video appearances

Year	Song title	Artist	Ref.
2019	"Alone" (혼자)	Gummy

Theater

Year	English title	Korean title	Role	Ref.
2023	Army on the Tree	나무 위의 군대	Recruiter	[36]

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee / Work	Result	Ref.
APAN Star Awards	2022	Excellence Award, Actor in Miniseries	My Liberation Notes	Nominated	[37]
		Popularity Star Award, Actor		Nominated	[38]
		Best Couple Award	Son Suk-ku (with Kim Ji-won) My Liberation Notes	Nominated
Baeksang Arts Awards	2019	Best New Actor – Film	Hit-and-Run Squad	Nominated	[39]
		Best New Actor – Television	Matrimonial Chaos	Nominated	[40]
	2023	Best Actor – Television	My Liberation Notes	Nominated	[41]
Blue Dragon Series Awards	2022	Best Supporting Actor	D.P.	Nominated	[42]
Brand of the Year Awards	2022	Best Actor	Son Suk-ku	Won	[43]
Buil Film Awards	2022	Best New Actor	The Roundup	Nominated	[44]
Chunsa Film Art Awards	2022	Best Supporting Actor		Nominated	[45]
Director's Cut Awards	2022	Best New Actor in film	Nothing Serious	Nominated	[46]
Grand Bell Awards	2022	Best Supporting Actor	The Roundup	Nominated	[47]
KBS Drama Awards	2018	Best New Actor	Suits, Matrimonial Chaos	Nominated	[48]
Kinolights Awards	2022	Actor of The Year (Domestic)	The Roundup, My Liberation Notes	2nd Place	[49]
Korean Association of Film Critics Awards		Best New Actor	The Roundup	Won	[50]

Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Cine21	2021	New Actor to watch out for in 2022	1st	[51]
	2024	"Korean Film NEXT 50" – Actors	Placed	[52]
Elle Japan	2022	Top 16 Hallyu Best Actor	1st	[53]
Forbes	2023	Korea Power Celebrity 40	7th	[54]