'Agent Kim Reactivated' 30-year acting vet So Ji-sub is 'just getting started'

So Ji-sub doesn't mind being called an action star. In fact, he welcomes it.

“I think it is a good thing to have a title associated with you,” he told reporters at a roundtable interview Thursday following the conclusion of SBS’s chart-topping crime action series “Agent Kim Activated.”

“Like Liam Neeson, who is still doing action films,” So said, referring to the star of “Taken” (2008), whose character has often been compared with his in the SBS series. So plays a former secret agent who hunts down those responsible for kidnapping his daughter. “I think it would be good to carry that image of an action actor."

So's love for action, and noir, was what made him choose to do "Agent Kim Activated" in the first place. Last year, after returning the small screen in around three years for Disney+ crime series "Mercy for None" (2025), he said he had a hankering for action again.

“There was plenty of action, but Manager Kim’s story was also heartbreaking,” So said. “I was personally curious to see how I would portray a father with a high school-aged daughter."

His preference for conveying himself through action rather than words is closely tied to his philosophy as an actor.

“I am not someone who expresses emotions in an overt or exaggerated way,” So said. “I prefer to compress them again and again, stripping back the dialogue and, in a sense, acting through my eyes. In this series, too, I worked hard to convey the character’s emotions through his gaze rather than words.”

“It's not easy. I'm constantly trying to persuade viewers through my performance," he said.

So believed that playing the father of a teenage daughter would allow him to show viewers a new side of himself, which he said was "not easy" nearly 30 years into his acting career.

“When I was working much more frequently, I tried to choose projects that did not overlap with the one before,” So said. “If I had just played a highly emotional role, I would look for something darker and more restrained next. I tried many different things in search of something new.”

“Now, I am considering the opposite approach: leaning further into what I already do well,” he added.

“Agent Kim Reactivated” reached a peak viewership rating of 27.1 percent — a rarity in the streaming era — while ranking first in its time slot across all channels throughout its 10-episode run and drawing a cumulative audience of more than 25.6 million viewers. On Netflix, where it streamed globally, the series ranked No. 1 in the platform’s non-English TV category for three consecutive weeks.

On the back of the SBS series' popularity, the actor beat even girl group Rescene to be named the top "rising star" in the Korea Reputation Center's monthly celebrity brand reputation index released Thursday, for the first time since the organization began compiling it in 2025.

The irony was not lost on So, though he laughed and said it felt as though he were “just getting started.”

“I’m incredibly grateful. I think it has been a little over 20 years since I began playing leading roles,” So said. “The fact that people continue to seek me out and watch my work makes me wonder why, too.”

As the Korea Reputation Center later explained to the Korea JoongAng Daily, the “rising star” category does not refer specifically to newcomers, instead recognizing celebrities whose positions in the monthly popularity ranking have risen rapidly. Previous winners have included younger actors such as Byeon Woo-seok and Park Ji-hoon.

This time, however, the top spot went to So, who debuted in 1997. While he said he did not know the secret to his longevity, he was unequivocal about the sense of responsibility he brings to each project and the standards he maintains on set.

“Being punctual is probably the most important thing to me,” So said. “I could count on one hand the number of times I have been late to an appointment. Unless there is a special circumstance, I am usually there early. I think that is simply the basic thing to do.”

He said he also avoids making ratings pledges — promises by cast members to take part in a playful social media challenge, fan event or other activity if a show reaches a certain viewership milestone — because “once I say something out loud, I want to keep it.”

Above all, So said his priority was ensuring that the people who trusted him did not lose out because of their decision to work with him.

“I hope the people who trust and follow me do not suffer any losses, that the [project] does well and that everyone I work with succeeds,” he said. “Personally, I just hope I can continue choosing my next project without too much difficulty.”

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]