The Handmaiden - actors, characters and roles

All actors and their roles in the film "The Handmaiden"
아가씨 (2016)
Timing: 2:25 (145 min)
The Handmaiden - TMDB rating
8.189/10
4257
The Handmaiden - Kinopoisk rating
7.706/10
197967
The Handmaiden - IMDB rating
8.1/10
201000

Actors and characters

Photo Kim Min-hee #23118Photo Kim Min-hee #23119Photo Kim Min-hee #23120Photo Kim Min-hee #23121

Kim Min-hee

Kim Min-hee
Character Lady Hideko
Photo Kim Tae-ri #23126Photo Kim Tae-ri #23127Photo Kim Tae-ri #23128Photo Kim Tae-ri #23129

Kim Tae-ri

Kim Tae-ri
Character Sook-hee
Photo Ha Jung-woo #23135Photo Ha Jung-woo #23136Photo Ha Jung-woo #23137Photo Ha Jung-woo #23138

Ha Jung-woo

Ha Jung-woo
Character Count Fujiwara
Photo Cho Jin-woong #4331Photo Cho Jin-woong #4332Photo Cho Jin-woong #4333Photo Cho Jin-woong #4334

Cho Jin-woong

Cho Jin-woong
Character Uncle Kouzuki
Photo Kim Hae-sook #23146Photo Kim Hae-sook #23147

Kim Hae-sook

Kim Hae-sook
Character Ms. Sasaki
Photo Moon So-ri #23148Photo Moon So-ri #23149Photo Moon So-ri #23150Photo Moon So-ri #23151

Moon So-ri

Moon So-ri
Character Hideko's Aunt
Photo Lee Yong-nyeo #23152

Lee Yong-nyeo

Lee Yong-nyeo
Character Bok-soon
Kwak Eun-jin
Character Kkeut-dan
Photo Lee Dong-hwi #23153

Lee Dong-hwi

Lee Dong-hwi
Character Goo-gai
Photo Jo Eun-hyung #23154
Jo Eun-hyung
Character Young Hideko
Photo Rina Takagi #23155
Rina Takagi
Character Hideko's Mother
Photo Han Ha-na #23156
Han Ha-na
Character Junko
Photo Lee Kyu-jung #23157
Lee Kyu-jung
Character Maid 1
Photo Kim Si-eun #23158Photo Kim Si-eun #23159
Kim Si-eun
Character Maid 2
Photo Ha Si-yeon #23160

Ha Si-yeon

Ha Si-yeon
Character Maid 3
Eun-yeong Kim
Character Maid 4
Photo Jeong Ha-dam #23161
Jeong Ha-dam
Character Maid 5
Photo Yoo Min-chae #351413
Yoo Min-chae
Character Ggeut-dan
Won Geun-hui
Character Butler
Kim Jong-dae
Character Mansion Driver
Jang Han-sun
Character Kouzuki Porter
Photo Kim Lee-woo #301701
Kim Lee-woo
Character Japanese Officer 1
Shinsuke Fujimoto
Character Japanese Officer 2
Katsuhiro Nagano
Character Monk
Photo Lee Ji-ha #23174
Lee Ji-ha
Character Female Owner of Ryokan
Photo Lim Han-bin #23171

Lim Han-bin

Lim Han-bin
Character Boy in Picture (uncredited)
Takashi Kakizawa
Character Mental Hospital Doctor 2
Seo-Yoon Hwang
Character Mental Hospital Nurse 1
Shin-hye Park
Character Mental Hospital Nurse 2
Photo Lee Ji-hye #370412
Lee Ji-hye
Character Young Hideko's Maid 1
So-Yeon Heo
Character Young Hideko's Maid 2
Photo Lee Yoon-jae #66346
Lee Yoon-jae
Character 'The Golden Lotus' Reading Guest 1
Photo Choi Jong-ryul #23165Photo Choi Jong-ryul #23166Photo Choi Jong-ryul #23167
Choi Jong-ryul
Character 'The Golden Lotus' Reading Guest 2
Photo Kim Joon-woo #351414
Kim Joon-woo
Character 'The Golden Lotus' Reading Guest 3
Bae Il-hyuck
Character 'The Golden Lotus' Reading Guest 4
Photo Kim Soo-woong #246812
Kim Soo-woong
Character 'The Golden Lotus' Reading Guest 5
Jo Yong-hyeon
Character 'The Golden Lotus' Reading Guest 6
Photo Park Ki-ryung #258354

Park Ki-ryung

Park Ki-ryung
Character 'The Whip Speaks' Reading Guest 1
Photo Choi Byung-mo #23164

Choi Byung-mo

Choi Byung-mo
Character 'The Whip Speaks' Reading Guest 2
Photo Han Chang-hyun #54752

Han Chang-hyun

Han Chang-hyun
Character 'The Whip Speaks' Reading Guest 3
Photo In-woo Kim #23162Photo In-woo Kim #23163
In-woo Kim
Character 'The Whip Speaks' Reading Guest 4
Photo Kwon Hyuk #41320
Kwon Hyuk
Character 'The Whip Speaks' Reading Guest 5
Im Hyeong-tae
Character 'The Whip Speaks' Reading Guest 6
Photo Oh Man-seok #23168
Oh Man-seok
Character 'Bells of Passion' Reading Guest 1
Kim Byung Gi
Character 'Bells of Passion' Reading Guest 2
In-su Kim
Character 'Bells of Passion' Reading Guest 3
Alexander Scarborough
Character Pyeonghwa Hotel Restaurant Manager
Jin-Chul Kim
Character Pyeonghwa Hotel Restaurant Guest 1
Do-Hyung Kim
Character Pyeonghwa Hotel Restaurant Guest 2
Eun-ji Hong
Character Pyeonghwa Hotel Restaurant Guest 3
Photo Song Da-eun #301702
Song Da-eun
Character Pyeonghwa Hotel Restaurant Guest 4
Photo Jung In-gyeom #23172Photo Jung In-gyeom #23173

Jung In-gyeom

Jung In-gyeom
Character Ronin 1
Nam Gyeong-min
Character Ronin 2
Photo Ahn Seong-bong #16158
Ahn Seong-bong
Character Harbor Ticket Office Ronin
Photo Seon Uk-hyeon #23170
Seon Uk-hyeon
Character Harbor Ticket Office Staff
Lee In-chul
Character Photo Studio Owner

What's left behind the scenes

  • An adaptation of the novel "Fingersmith" by British writer Sarah Waters. The film's setting has been moved from the Victorian era to Korea under Japanese occupation.
  • The director's cut of the film has a runtime of 167 minutes.
  • The film features two main characters – a lady and her maid. The original title of the film is "The Lady" (Agasshi – a respectful term for an unmarried woman), while its international title is The Handmaiden.
  • Kim Tae-ri was chosen for the role from 1500 applicants. According to Park Chan-wook, he immediately remembered Kang Hye-jung, who played the female lead in his "Oldboy" (2003) when he first saw the actress. Kim Tae-ri was approved for the role after a 15-minute audition.
  • The film's characters speak Korean and Japanese. Before filming began, Japanese teachers were assigned to all the actors. After the film was shown at Cannes, Japanese journalists gave actress Kim Min-hee a standing ovation, applauding her mastery of the Japanese language.
  • Kim Tae-ri is a big fan of Kim Min-hee's talent. During auditions and casting, she had no idea that Kim Min-hee would be playing Lady Hideko. After approving Kim Tae-ri, the film's director Park Chan-wook asked her who her favorite actors and actresses were and was pleasantly surprised by her answer. Kim Tae-ri and Kim Min-hee met and became friends back in 2014 during the preparation for filming. At the Buil Film Awards ceremony in 2016, established by the Korean newspaper Busal Ilbo, Kim Tae-ri dedicated her award for Best New Actress to Kim Min-hee, saying in her acceptance speech that she "fell in love with her at first sight".
  • Lady Hideko was named after the Japanese actress Hideko Takamine (1924-2010). Suk-hee is named after Sue, or Susan Trinder, the heroine of Sarah Waters' novel 'Fingersmith'.
  • The rights to show the film were sold to 116 countries even before its premiere.
  • Before filming began, Park Chan-wook sent a finished screenplay to Sarah Waters. The author of 'Fingersmith' liked the script. She made only one comment: in her opinion, it would be more correct to state in the credits that the film was made 'based on' the novel, rather than 'inspired by'.
  • Filming began on June 15, 2015, in Kuwana (Mie Prefecture, Japan) and ended on October 31. Filming took place in various locations in Japan and South Korea.
  • Although Cho Jin-woong played the role of the old man Kodzuki in the film, in real life he is only two years older than Ha Jung-woo, who played Fujiwara, and only six years older than Kim Min-hee, who played the role of his niece.
  • While working on the English subtitles for the film, American film critic Darcy Paquet, living in Korea, received instructions from director Park Chan-wook not to translate certain lines, but to take them from Sarah Waters' novel, as they had been translated into Korean and Japanese as closely as possible to the original.
  • The pornographic depiction of a woman and an octopus in the first part of the film is a woodcut print, "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife," by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) from the Edo period. The pornographic story read by Hideko's aunt in the second part is an excerpt from the erotic novel in vernacular Chinese, "Plum Blossoms in a Golden Vase," known since 1617.
  • While working on the script, director Park Chan-wook and Jeon So-gyeong repeatedly sought advice from a lesbian acquaintance.
  • Even before finishing Sarah Waters' novel "Tipping the Velvet", Park Chan-wook decided to make a film based on it with a happy ending.
  • During the erotic scenes, all members of the film crew were asked to leave, so only women with microphones on booms remained on set. Filming was done with remotely controlled cameras. Outsiders were prohibited from visiting the set on those days, and the men working on the film were simply given the day off. The erotic scenes were shot first: the director decided it was the most difficult part and needed to be finished as soon as possible. Kim Tae-ri and Kim Min-hee first discussed all the nuances of these scenes with the director.
  • In Singapore, the erotic scene with Kim Min-hee and Kim Tae-ri was cut from the theatrical version of the film due to censorship concerns.
  • Lady Hideko was named after the Japanese actress Hideko Takamine. Suk-hee is named after Sue, or Susan Trinder, a character from Sarah Waters' novel "Tipping the Velvet".
  • Before filming began, Park Chan-wook sent the completed screenplay to Sarah Waters. The author of "Tipping the Velvet" liked the screenplay.
  • Filming began on June 15, 2015, in Kuwana (Mie Prefecture, Japan) and ended on October 31. Filming took place in various locations in Japan and South Korea.
  • While working on the English subtitles for the film, American film critic Darcy Paquet, living in Korea, received instructions from director Park Chan-wook not to translate certain lines, but to take them from Sarah Waters’ novel, as they had been translated as closely as possible to the original for Korean and Japanese.
  • The pornographic depiction of a woman and an octopus in the first part of the film is a woodcut print, "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife," by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) from the Edo period. The pornographic story read by Hideko’s aunt in the second part is an excerpt from the Chinese erotic novel "Plum Blossoms in a Golden Vase,” known since 1617.
  • The film features two main female characters – a lady and her maid. The original title of the film is "The Lady" (Agasshi – a respectful term for an unmarried young woman), while its international title is The Handmaiden.
  • Kim Tae-ri was chosen for the role from 1500 candidates. According to Park Chan-wook, when he first saw the actress, he immediately remembered Kang Hye-jung, who starred in his "Oldboy." Kim Tae-ri was approved for the role after a 15-minute audition.
  • Kim Tae-ri is a big fan of Kim Min-hee's talent. During the auditions and casting, she had no idea that the latter would play Lady Hideko. After approving Kim Tae-ri, the film's director Park Chan-wook asked her which actors and actresses she liked the most and was pleasantly surprised by her answer. Kim Tae-ri and Kim Min-hee met and became friends back in 2014 during preparations for filming. At the Buil Film Awards ceremony, established by the Korean newspaper Busal Ilbo, in 2016, Kim Tae-ri dedicated her award as Best New Actress to Kim Min-hee, saying in her acceptance speech that she “fell in love with her at first sight.”
  • Lady Hideko was named after the Japanese actress Hideko Takamine. Suk-hee was named after Sue, or Susan Trinder, the heroine of Sarah Waters’ novel ‘Fingersmith’.
  • Before filming began, Park Chan-wook sent the completed screenplay to Sarah Waters. The author of ‘Fingersmith’ liked the screenplay.
  • The pornographic depiction of a woman and an octopus in the first part of the film is a woodcut print, 'The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife,' by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) from the Edo period. The pornographic story read by Hideko’s aunt in the second part is an excerpt from the Chinese erotic novel ‘The Plum in the Golden Vase,’ known since 1617.
  • Even before finishing Sarah Waters’ novel ‘Fingersmith,’ Park Chan-wook decided to make a film based on it with a happy ending.
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