Lee Do-hyun

1. Early life and education

Lee Do-hyun was born in Seoul, South Korea on April 11, 1995. Lee is the eldest son and has a younger brother, Lim Dong-hyuk, who has an intellectual disability.^[3] Lee graduated from the Department of Film and Theater at Chung-Ang University.^[4]

2. Career

2.1. 2017–2018: Career beginnings

Lee made his acting debut in the 2017 black comedy Prison Playbook, in which he portrayed the young version of Jung Kyung-ho's character.^[5]

In 2018, Lee was cast in the romantic television series Still 17 in a supporting role as a member of the high school's rowing club.^[6] For his performance, he was nominated in the "Character of the Year" category at the 2018 SBS Drama Awards alongside Ahn Hyo-seop and Jo Hyun-sik.^[7] The same year, Lee also appeared in Clean with Passion for Now, playing the female lead's younger brother and a promising Taekwondo athlete.^[8]

2.2. 2019: Rising popularity

In 2019, Lee joined the cast of the dark fantasy television series Hotel del Luna which became one of the highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television.^[9] He also made a special appearance in tvN's The Great Show.^[10] Lee starred in Scouting Report, the fifth drama of KBS Drama Special's tenth season, for which he won the "Best Actor in a One-Act/Special/Short Drama Award" at the 33rd KBS Drama Awards.^[11][12]

2.3. 2020–present: Transition to lead roles

In 2020, Lee had his first lead role in the romantic comedy 18 Again, based on the 2009 American film 17 Again.^[13] His performance in the drama earned him the Best New Actor award in television at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards^[14] and Best New Actor award at the 7th APAN Star Awards.^[15] Later that year, he had a starring role in Netflix's Sweet Home, adapted from the webtoon of the same name.^[16] He received a good response for portraying a cool-headed and cynical character.^[17]

In 2021, Lee appeared in Beyond Evil, directed by Shim Na-yeon, where he played younger self of Shin Ha-kyun's character.^[18] He also starred in KBS2's Youth of May, a drama set in 1980 during the Gwangju uprising, earned him a "Next Generation Melo-king" title for his spectacular performance in a melodrama genre.^[19][20][21] Later in July 2021, Lee was confirmed to join the tvN drama Melancholia with Im Soo-jung, airing in the second half of 2021.^[22] At the end of 2021, Lee became the MC of the 2021 KBS Drama Awards with Sung Si-kyung and Kim So-hyun.^[23]

In 2022, Lee starred in the web series Reincarnation Romance, a short web series advertising motion sickness pills. This is the third reunion with Go Min-si.^[24] In December, Lee returned to the small screen with the Netflix drama written by writer Kim Eun-sook titled The Glory, with Song Hye-kyo.^[25] In 2023, Lee chose Death's Game as his last project before joining the military because of the bond he made with director Ha Byung-hoon, which he worked with in 18 Again.^[26]

3. Personal life

3.1. Military service

On February 2, 2023, it was reported that Lee would enlist in the military for the first half of the year.^[27] Later the agency confirmed that no decision has been made and that if the date of the mandatory military service is received, it would be told for sure.^[28] On August 3, 2023, Yuehua Entertainment announced that Lee would enlist at the Air Force military band on August 14.^[29] On May 13, 2025, Lee was discharged after serving 21 months in the military.^[30]

3.2. Relationship

On April 1, 2023, Yuehua Entertainment confirmed that Lee is dating actress Lim Ji-yeon, whom he met while filming The Glory.^[31][32]

4. Filmography

4.1. Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2017	Summer Night	Lim Seo-jin	Bit part (Short film)	[33]
2024	Exhuma	Yoon Bong-gil		[34][35]

4.2. Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2017–2018	Prison Playbook	young Lee Joon-ho	Cameo (Episodes 1, 6, 9)	[5]
2018	Still 17	Dong Hae-beom		[6]
2018–2019	Clean with Passion for Now	Gil Oh-dol		[8]
2019	Hotel del Luna	Go Cheong-myeong		[9]
	The Great Show	young Wi Dae-han	Cameo (Episodes 1–3)	[10]
	KBS Drama Special – "Scouting Report"	Kwak Jae-won	Season 10, episode 5	[12]
2020	18 Again	young Hong Dae-young / Go Woo-young		[13]
2020–2024	Sweet Home	Lee Eun-hyuk	Main role (Season 1 & 3) / Cameo (Season 2)	[16][36]
2021	Beyond Evil	young Lee Dong-sik	Cameo (Episodes 1–2, 5, 11)	[18]
	Youth of May	Hwang Hee-tae		[20]
	Melancholia	Baek Seung-yoo / Baek Min-jae		[22]
2022–2023	The Glory	Joo Yeo-jeong		[37]
2023	The Good Bad Mother	Choi Kang-ho		[38]
2023–2024	Death's Game	Jang Geon-woo	Cameo (Episodes 4 and 6)	[39][26]

4.3. Hosting

Year	Title	Notes	Ref.
2021	2021 KBS Drama Awards	with Sung Si-kyung and Kim So-hyun	[23]

4.4. Music video

Year	Title	Artist	Album
2025	착하다는 말이 제일 싫어 (Being a Good Girl Hurts)	Choi Ye-na	Blooming Wings

5. Accolades

5.1. 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	2021	Best New Actor	18 Again	Won	[40][15]
Asia Artist Awards	2020	Popularity Award (Actor)	Lee Do-hyun	Nominated	[41]
	2021	Rookie of the Year Award	Youth of May	Won	[42][43]
Asian Academy Creative Awards	2021	Best Actor in Supporting Role (National Winners – Korea)	Sweet Home	Won	[44][45][46]
Asian Film Awards	2025	Best Newcomer	Exhuma	Nominated	[47]
Baeksang Arts Awards	2021	Best New Actor – Television	18 Again	Won	[48][49][14]
	2024	Best New Actor – Film	Exhuma	Won	[50]
Blue Dragon Film Awards	2024	Best New Actor		Nominated	[51]
Blue Dragon Series Awards	2022	Best New Actor	Youth of May	Nominated	[52]
Brand Customer Loyalty Awards	2023	Best Actor – OTT	The Glory	Nominated	[53]
Brand of the Year Awards	2021	Rising Star Actor	Lee Do-hyun	Won	[54]
	2023	Male Actor of the Year (OTT)		Won	[55]
Buil Film Awards	2024	Best New Actor	Exhuma	Nominated	[56]
Director's Cut Awards	2025	Best New Actor (Film)		Won	[57][58]
Global Film & Television Huading Awards	2023	Best Global Teleplay Leading Actor	The Glory	Nominated	[59]
KBS Drama Awards	2019	Best Actor in a One-Act/Special/Short Drama	Drama Special – Scouting Report	Won	[12]
	2021	Top Excellence Award, actor	Youth of May	Won	[60]
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries		Nominated	[61]
		Best Couple Award	Lee Do-hyun (with Go Min-si) Youth of May	Won	[62]
Kinolights Awards	2021	Actor of the Year (Domestic)	Sweet Home Youth of May	5th	[63]
Korea First Brand Awards	2021	Best New Actor	18 Again	Won	[64]
SBS Drama Awards	2018	Character of the Year	Still 17	Nominated	[7]
Seoul International Drama Awards	2021	Outstanding Korean Actor	Sweet Home	Nominated	[65][66]

5.2. Honors

Name of country or organization, year given, and name of honor or award

Country or Organization	Year	Honor or Award	Ref.
Newsis K-Expo Cultural Awards[1]	2023	National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee Award	[68]

5.3. Listicles

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

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Cine 21	2020	New Actor to Watch in 2021	1st	[69]
	2023	Top 5 New Actor to Watch in 2023	2nd	[70]
	2024	Korean Film Next 50 – Actors	Placed	[71]
Forbes	2022	Korea Power Celebrity Rising Star	Placed	[72]