Shin Ha-kyun first trained as a stage actor at the Seoul Institute of the Arts before acting in a large number of plays by Jang Jin. Shin was cast in Jang's first movie, The Happenings, and he has since appeared in almost all of Jang's feature films.[2] Impressed by his acting abilities, director Kim Jee-woon cast him in minor roles in The Foul King and his 30-minute internet film Coming Out.[3]
In Park Chan-wook's acclaimed 2002 film, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Shin played a deaf man with bright green dyed hair who is driven by desperation to kidnap a young girl.[5][6] In Jang Joon-hwan's Save the Green Planet! (2003), Shin played a mentally unbalanced man who believes that aliens are plotting to invade the earth.[3]
Also noteworthy are Shin's performances in two films set during the Korean War: Welcome to Dongmakgol, a dramedy that takes place in a small mountainous village,[7][8][9] and The Front Line, a harrowing tale of soldiers fighting over a small, bomb-blasted hill that regularly changes hands.[10][11][12] His other film roles include: a developmentally disabled man in My Brother, a rural postman in A Letter From Mars, a suspect under interrogation in Murder, Take One,[13][14][15] an eccentric hitman in No Mercy for the Rude,[16] a struggling artist who makes an unwise bet in The Devil's Game,[17] a sickly cuckolded husband in Thirst,[18] a macho cop in Foxy Festival,[19] and a music teacher having an affair in Cafe Noir.[20]
Primarily a film actor, Shin's first TV series was 2003's Good Person on MBC. In 2010 he returned to television in Golden House.[21] His portrayal of a cold, ambitious neurosurgeon in the 2011 medical dramaBrain, brought him to new heights of mainstream popularity.[22][23][24][25][26] For his performance in Brain, he won the Grand Prize ("Daesang") at the KBS Drama Awards.[27]
He then played a septuagenarian whose body magically reverts to his thirties in the 2014 romantic comedy series Mr. Back.[32] Shin next gave a villainous turn as an evil mastermind game planner in the action-thrillerBig Match.[33] In 2015, he headlined his first period film with Empire of Lust, playing a distinguished admiral of the recently established Joseon empire.[34][35][36][37]
In 2016, Shin starred in the police procedural crime drama Piped Piper (2016), playing a negotiator.[38] He then starred in the comedy film Detour,[39] followed with comedy thriller Room No.7.[40] He also played a supporting role in the action film The Villainess co-starring Kim Ok-bin.[41]
In 2018, Shin starred in the romantic comedy film What a Man Wants.[42] The same year, he was cast in the comedy film Inseparable Bros.[43] He returned to the small screen in the Korean remake of British crime drama Luther.[44]
^Kim Ji-hye (July 12, 2022). "신하균, 유병재 코미디와 만났다…범상치 않은 '유니콘" [Shin Ha-kyun and Yoo Byung-jae met comedy... Unusual 'unicorn] (in Korean). SBS Entertainment News. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022 – via Naver.
^Jo Ji-young (March 21, 2022). "[공식] 천우희 주연 스릴러 '앵커', 4월 20일 개봉 확정" [[Official] Thriller 'Anchor' starring Chun Woo-hee to be released on April 20th] (in Korean). Sports Chosun. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022 – via Naver.
^Yeon Hwi-seon (August 9, 2023). "신하균X김영광X신재하, 범죄 누아르 '악인전기' 출연 [공식]" [Shin Ha-kyun X Kim Yeong-kwang X Shin Jae-ha, appeared in crime noir 'Wicked Legend' [Official]] (in Korean). OSEN. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023 – via Naver.
^Choi Jeong-ah (January 10, 2024). “큰 거 온다” 김수현·고윤정·신민아…tvN, 드라마 라인업 공개 [“Something big is coming” Kim Soo-hyun, Go Yoon-jung, Shin Min-ah... tvN reveals drama lineup]. Sports World (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024 – via Naver.
^Kim Hye-jeong (September 2, 2021). "이준익 감독×신하균×한지민 '욘더'로 만난다 [공식]" [Director Lee Jun-ik × Shin Ha-kyun × Han Ji-min Meet in ‘Yonder’ [Official]]. Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2021 – via Naver.
^Park Soo-in (March 17, 2022). "신하균 원진아, 이병헌X유병재 뭉친 시트콤 '유니콘' 합류" [Shin Ha-kyun, Won Jin-ah, Lee Byung-hun X Yoo Byung-jae join the sitcom 'Unicorn'] (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2022 – via Naver.
^"택시 드리벌 - 당신은 어디까지 가십니까?" [Taxi Driver - Where are you going?]. DA-Arts. Archived from the original on 2023-09-02. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
^Jung, Yu-jin (December 31, 2018). 소지섭 ‘데뷔 23년 만에 첫 대상’(mbc연기대상)[포토엔HD] [So Ji-sub Soo'First Debut in 23 Years' (mbc Drama Awards)[Photo and HD]]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 31, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2020 – via Naver.
^Kim Jin-seok and Jo Yeon-kyung (April 12, 2021). "57회 백상예술대상, TV·영화·연극 부문 최종 후보 공개". isplus.joins (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.