Kim Dong-hwi

Kim Dong-hwi was born on December 26, 1995 as the only child. In high school, he was actively involved in the dance club, exploring various genres like K-pop and street dance. Recognizing his son's talent, such as forming a street dance team with friends and participating in competitions, Kim's father first encouraged him to pursue acting.^[1][2]

In his third year of high school, Kim Dong-hwi started acting in plays. In his first play, he was cast in a multi-role performance, which is typically reserved for the most skilled actors. However, at the time, it was the only role left, and Kim portraying a homeless person, a nail salon owner, and the youngest member of the theater troupe across three acts. Before taking on the multi-role, Kim already decided to properly learn the craft of acting. The teacher advised him to start with physical training, so he would run, crawl on the floor, and engage in various exercises. Kim felt both awkward and exhilarated as he expanded his physical and emotional range to embody the diverse characters.^[3]

Kim Dong-hwi quickly developed a passion for acting, appreciating "the joy of working together as a team for a long time" on stage. Driven by a desire to "experience real-life situations," he auditioned for The Royal Tailor (2014) at the age of 19. He was selected for a role as a younger version of the character acted by Yoo Yeon-seok. After demonstrating his potential, the production company Bidangil Pictures later offered him another role, as a younger version of the character acted by Yoo Yeon-seok in Perfect Proposal (2015).^[1]

Kim applied for the audition independently, without an agency, and overcame a highly competitive selection process with a 250:1 ratio to secure the lead role in In Our Prime, acting alongside veteran actor Choi Min-sik.^[1] Kim acted as high school student Han Ji-woo in the film.^[4] He prefers paper scripts to reading them on wearable devices, and analyzes characters by scribbling them with his hands instead of using a keyboard. "When I was filming In Our Prime, I bought a notebook to analyze characters. Even after using up that notebook, I still buy the same kind of notebook every time. I write about my character research, as well as my daily diary, reviewing the shooting conditions."^[5] For his role, Kim won the Best New Actor award at the 43rd Blue Dragon Film Awards.^[6]

In film Christmas Carol, Kim Dong-hwi plays Hwan, another boy who is bullied by Ja-hoon (Song Gun-hee), the revenge target of the twin brothers played by actor Park Jin-young.^[7]

Kim's role models include acclaimed actors Choi Min-sik, Lee Byung-hun, Cho Seung-woo, and Park Jung-min.^[8]

Kim Dong-hwi’s hobby is film camera photography. He is so passionate about film cameras that he runs a separate account for film camera uploads, in addition to his main Instagram account.^[7]