How Red Velvet's Bodyguard Became A Movie Star Alongside Irene In Box Office-Topping Film

Red Velvet's former bodyguard is now a popular South Korean actor who has starred in several K-drama series.

On Monday, South Korean actor Shin Seung-ho's past photos were posted in an online forum in South Korea. Titled "Shin Seung-ho's time as Red Velvet's bodyguard," the post showed photos of Seung-ho's pre-actor era when he was guarding the Red Velvet members at a fan sign event.

According to Kyunghyang, a local media outlet in South Korea, Seung-ho was a soccer player but had to quit the sport after suffering a serious injury. With this, he worked part-time as a department store guard and security receptionist.

In Seung-ho's viral photos from way back, he was seen guarding Red Velvet members Joy and Irene. According to Koreaboo, the interaction between pre-debut Seung-ho and the Red Velvet members happened when the girl group promoted its mega-hit "Russian Roulette" in 2016.

After an unexpected turn of events, from being one of Irene's bodyguards, he became the K-Pop idol-actress' co-star in the 2021 movie "Double Patty."

The South Korean drama film helmed by director Baek Seung-hwan was Seung-ho and Irene's big screen debut.

Seung-ho revealed that it wasn't his first time to meet Irene during their movie interview for "Double Patty" at Melon Station.

Irene was surprised when Seung-ho told the story of how he was assigned to be one of the security guards of Red Velvet during their fan meeting at the mall at the time. "No way. Really?" she said.

Seung-ho went on to share that he didn't remember the first time he met Irene at first. According to him, it only came to his memory again when they spent time working together on "Double Patty."

"At that time, I couldn't imagine myself becoming a celebrity, so I just found it really cool," the actor shared.

The 27-year-old South Korean actor made his acting debut in the 2018 coming-of-age web K-drama series "A-Teen," where he received attention as one of the leads.

Since then, he has starred in other K-drama series such as "At Eighteen," "How To Buy A Friend," "Alchemy of Souls," "Love Alarm," "D.P." and "Weak Hero Class 1."

In 2023, he won the Male Rising Star Award at the Brand Customer Loyalty Awards in South Korea for his portrayal in "Alchemy of Souls."

He also made a mark with his portrayal as an elderly soldier in "D.P.," earning him a Best New Actor (Television) category nomination at the 2022 Baeksang Arts Awards.

Shin Seung-ho