Actor Spotlight: Kim Myung Soo 김명수

Name: Kim Myung Soo 김명수
Born: March 13, 1992

Height: 180 cm (5'9")

Occupation: Actor/singer

Top Ranking Drama on MyDramaList: Angel's Last Mission: Love

Kim Myung Soo (L) is a well known actor and singer for the boy band INFINITE where he debuted in 2010. His acting debut came in 2011 with the Japanese drama "Jiu" and since then has acted in multiple Korean dramas. At the time of this writing he has recently been enlisted for mandatory military service in the Korea Marine Corps. This coming on the heels of releasing his debut single album Memory.

Awards Won:

Special Award in 2017 for "My Catman" at the Seoul Webfest Awards; Popularity Award, Actor and Best Character Award, Fighting Spirit Acting in 2017 for "The Emperor: Owner of the Mask" at the MBC Drama Awards; Best Icon in 2018 at the 3rd Asia Artist Awards; Popular Star (Actor) in 2019 for "Angel's Last Mission: Love" at the 2019 Asia Model Awards; Best New Actor, Best Couple Award, and K-Drama Hallyu Star in 2019 for "Angel's Last Mission: Love" at the 33rd KBS Drama Awards.

For more biography and his drama list visit his page here: Kim Myung Soo (L)

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Kim Myung Soo becomes the first actor I will review. I have now watched him in four different dramas and feel I have seen him in a wide enough range to give my personal opinion on him as an actor. I will also give my thoughts on him vocally since he is also a well known singer for the boy band INFINITE as well as just having released his debut single album.

Dramas with Kim Myung Soo I have seen at the time of this writing:

* Meow, the Secret Boy - Sergei/Hong Jo

* Miss Hammurabi - Im Ba Reun

* The Emperor: Owner of the Mask - Commoner Lee Sun

* My Lovely Girl - Shi Woo

Actor Review

The first drama I saw Kim Myung Soo in was My Lovely Girl. This is still one of my favorite roles he has played. It suited him well as it was probably a very familiar role having been through boy bands and debuts in real life. He really held up well against Rain (Jeong Ji Hoon) really to the point of being an equal contender in the race for Yoon Se Na's affections... at least in the minds of those watching. I found a lot of negative reviews actually were founded on the fact that he did not win her in the end. His acting in this drama was excellent.

The next couple dramas I watched with him were Meow, the Secret Boy and Miss Hammurabi. Both of these roles kept him pretty mild-mannered and kind. This is definitely a role that suits him well and he did a fine job.

His role in Meow, the Secret Boy was more lighthearted and comedic, which he pulled off very well. I found him extremely endearing in the role of Hong Jo, in fact, and couldn't imagine the role played by anyone other than him. Why can't a cat that changes into a human be a real thing? Really, why?

He played a more serious role in Miss Hammurabi, but still mild-mannered as he played a character that didn't like to "stir the waters". But his character did grow and change, and he suited the role perfectly.

None of these three roles, I have just mentioned, I felt stretched him super much as an actor. However, they did give me this really gentle impression of Kim Myung Soo. I wanted to see him pushed to see his capabilities, but at the same time, I think I am content with him filling roles like these ones as he does it so well.

My recent watch of The Emperor: Owner of the Mask finally gave me a broader view of Kim Myung Soo as his character was a lot more dynamic and it gave a good view of how he acted with different emotions and situations. Surprising to me, I found that he could pull of cold and mean way better than I expected. He genuinely made his character difficult to like. However, I felt that his acting did struggle the more the intensity required of him. Cold, angry and hard he portrayed well, but when it came to acting out the extreme pain and hysterical behavior of Lee Sun I felt his acting suffered and became less believable.

In Summary, I think Kim Myung Soo a great actor. He will continue to do well in roles that allow him to be mild-mannered and kind. I think these roles suit him best. However, also cold indifference, and even a deadly calmer anger role would suit. But, roles that cause him to have to act out intense behaviors may be a bit more difficult for him. As he continues to grow as an actor, this definitely may change.

Singer Review:

I have to say, I rather enjoy listening to Kim Myung Soo, known professionally as "L", sing. He has a pleasant singing voice. He has been singing with the group INFINITE since 2010 and has appeared on shows like King of Mask Singer. He has sung some OSTs for the dramas he has been in. One being for his drama Angel's Last Mission: Love where he sung the beautiful song "The Nights That I Miss You."