Teo Yoo is the first Korean actor to be nominated for the Best Actor Award at the British Academy Awards.

Actor Teo Yoo (42) was nominated for the Best Actor Award at the 77th British Academy Awards (BAFTA) for the movie ‘Fast Lives’. This is the first time that a Korean male actor has been nominated for a British Academy acting award, and even if the scope is expanded to include Asian male actors, it is a rare event. In 2021, Yoon Yeo-jeong was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Award for ‘Minari’.

According to the British Academy on the 18th, Teo Yoo was nominated for the Best Actor Award alongside leading American actors such as Bradley Cooper (‘Maestro’), Paul Giamatti (‘Barton Academy’), and Cillian Murphy (‘Oppenheimer’). Teo Yoo’s nomination for Best Actor, who was previously nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globe Awards, was almost a surprise.

Teo Yoo’s presence is increasing ahead of the American Academy Awards, and attention is being paid to whether he will cause trouble at the Oscars as well. The British Academy Awards is one of the influential barometers of the American Academy Awards. The American media is also focusing on him. In an interview with the New York Times on the 13th of last month, Teo Yoo said, “As an East Asian actor, it’s really special to play the male lead in a romantic movie and be recognized for it, instead of relying on genres like martial arts or comedy. It feels like a dream come true.”

Teo Yoo, who grew up in Cologne, Germany, studied acting in New York, but opportunities were not easily provided. I also received the ‘Fast Lives’ scenario while filming a reality cooking program. He said, “I wondered if I should perform on the streets in Europe, but her wife led me to the idea that I could work as an actor in Korea.” Teo Yoo was on the rise and was cast as ‘Jang Gyun’, a Korean National Intelligence Service agent, in the Netflix American drama ‘Recruit Season 2′.

Attention is also being paid to whether ‘Fast Lives’ will win the American Academy Awards. The film was nominated for the British Academy Award for Best Non-English Film. Previously, ‘Fast Lives’ was nominated in five categories at the Golden Globe Awards, but failed to win an award. It won Best Picture at the National Association of Film Critics Awards announced on the 7th.

Celine Song, a Korean-Canadian who directed this film, is the daughter of Song Neung-han, the director of the film ‘Number 3.’ She is a second-generation Korean-American who immigrated to Canada at the age of 12 and then worked as a playwright in New York, and the director’s autobiographical experiences are incorporated into the film. This is a work that talks about Na-young (Greta Lee), who immigrated to Canada as a child, and her best friend from elementary school, Hae-seong (Teo Yoo), who reunites in New York after 20 years, and about the ‘relationship’ that penetrates the present, past, and future.

It was first released at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, received favorable reviews, and was then invited to the competition section of the Berlin International Film Festival. It was produced by American film company A24, and CJ ENM Vice Chairman Lee Mi-kyung participated as an executive producer. It is scheduled to be released in Korea this year.

Reporter Lee Jeong-woo krusty@munhwa.com