Heo Sung Tae

Heo Sung Tae (허성태) built one of the most distinctive late-blooming acting runs in Korean film and television. After graduating from Pusan National University with a Russian-language major and working in the corporate world, he pivoted into acting in 2011 through SBS's Miraculous Audition. That detour matters because it still shapes his screen energy. He does not move like a factory-trained actor. He feels lived-in, dangerous, and specific.

His breakout came with The Age of Shadows in 2016, and the next few years turned him into a dependable scene-stealer across crime films and prestige thrillers. Global audiences locked onto him through Squid Game, where Jang Deok-su made his menace instantly legible far beyond Korea. More recently, he showed his range again in Crash and Good Boy, proving he can hit action, comedy, and character drama without losing his edge.

Now Heo fronts Fifties Professionals on MBC as Kang Beom Ryong, a former gangster reduced to running a convenience store on Yeongseon Island. The role fits what he does best: men carrying past violence in their posture even when life tells them to smile through the day.