Lee Jung Jae has become the first Korean actor ever to be nominated for an Emmy Award in the category of best lead actor in a drama series.
The veteran actor who helmed the lead role in Netflix‘s global hit series Squid Game was nominated for a 2022 Emmy Awards for best lead in a drama series.
Lee Jung Jae’s fellow nominees include distinguished actors Jason Bateman (Ozark), Brian Cox (Succession), Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul), Adam Scott (Severance), and Jeremy Scott (Succession).
Squid Game was nominated in a whopping 14 award categories, including outstanding drama series.
The series’ actress HoYeon Jung and actors Park Hae Soo and Oh Yeung Su were also nominated for best-supporting actress and best-supporting actor, respectively.
The historic nomination makes Lee Jung Jae one of three Korean actors to be nominated for the first time in the award show’s history.
Although the actor has undoubtedly become best known globally for his role in Squid Game, to any K-film aficinado, the veteran actor has long been one of Korea’s greatest leading men.
The actor’s illustrious 30-year-career catalogs an impressive list of Korean Cinema’s finest, which include noir cult-classics City Of The Rising Sun (1998) and The New World (2012) and his more recent efforts Deliver Us From Evil (2019) and Assasination (2015).
Highly regarded by his peers, the actor co-founded Artist Company, one of Korea’s most powerful actor agencies, alongside close friend and fellow actor Jung Woo Sung.
