Song Kang-ho and Kim Min-hee Selected as '25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century' by The New York Times

Critics Nora Dajis and A.O. Scott Provide In-Depth Analysis of Past Works

Song Kang-ho and Kim Min-hee were named among 'The 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century' by The New York Times. In an article published on the 25th (local time) by film critics Nora Dajis and A.O. Scott, they were mentioned as the sixth and sixteenth, respectively.

The New York Times described Song Kang-ho as "drawing the attention of American audiences by playing a poor father in the 2020 Academy Award-winning Best Picture, Parasite," and included a statement from director Bong Joon-ho, who has consistently worked with him.

According to this, Director Bong was impressed by Pansoo, a character played by Song Kang-ho in Lee Chang-dong's film Green Fish (1997). Regarding why he cast Song as rural detective Park Doo-man in his second feature film Memories of Murder, he said, "That role was born for him, and that role was made for Song Kang-ho."

He described Song Kang-ho as "always seeming to have a hidden new layer. Like a canvas that keeps growing and growing. No matter how many brushstrokes you make, there is still space to paint more," adding, "I still want to see what kind of roles he will take on. To me, he is an inexhaustible diamond mine." He continued, "He has the ability to breathe life into every moment with a unique and inimitable voice starting from ordinariness," and said, "That is what truly makes Song Kang-ho and the characters he plays special."

The New York Times also highlighted Kim Min-hee's nuanced acting. Referring to Yoon Hee-jung in Hong Sang-soo's film Right Now, Wrong Then (2015), they said, "Her performance is at the center of the film." They also spotlighted her transformative acting in Hong's films starring her and in Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden (2016).

In this evaluation, Hollywood actor Denzel Washington was mentioned first. Other prominently featured actors included French actress Isabelle Huppert, British actor Daniel Day-Lewis, Canadian actor Keanu Reeves, and Australian actress Nicole Kidman.