D.O. (entertainer)

D.O. was born on January 12, 1993 in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea, and grew up in Ilsandong-gu of Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.[4] He went to Goyang Poongsan Elementary School, Baekshin Middle School, and Baekseok High School. He has an older brother who is three years older than him.[4] D.O. began singing in primary school and was an avid participant in local singing competitions throughout his high school career.[4] After winning one of the competitions, he was advised to audition for SM Entertainment.[5] He performed Na Yoon-kwon's "Anticipation" and Brown Eyed Soul's "My Story" at his audition.[5] D.O. subsequently became a trainee during his last two years of high school.

D.O. in October 2013

D.O. was formally introduced as the eighth member of Exo on January 30, 2012, with the release of the Korean version of the single "What Is Love", sung by D.O. and Baekhyun.[6] The group debuted on April 8 with the extended play Mama.[7] In July 2013, he was featured in the song "Goodbye Summer" from f(x)'s second studio album Pink Tape.[8] In September 2014, D.O. made his acting debut with a supporting role in the movie Cart, playing a high school student and son of a grocery store worker and union member (played by Yum Jung-ah).[9] The movie premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. He also released an original soundtrack titled "Crying Out" for the movie.[10]

Later in 2014, D.O. made his small screen debut playing a supporting role in the SBS drama It's Okay, That's Love, which starred Gong Hyo-jin and Jo In-sung.[11] D.O. was praised by film critic Heo Ji-woong for his performance in the series,[12] and was later nominated for the Best New Actor award at the 51st Baeksang Arts Awards.[13] In June 2015, D.O. featured in KBS' drama Hello Monster, playing a psychopath.[14] In November 2015, D.O. was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award at the 52nd Grand Bell Awards for his role as Tae-young in Cart.[15]

In January 2016, D.O. was announced as one of the cast of voice actors for the feature-length animated film Underdog, which premiered in 2019.[16][17] He voiced Moongchi, a stray dog who is separated from his owner.[16] In February 2016, he collaborated with Yoo Young-jin on a duet titled "Tell Me (What Is Love)" for SM Station.[18] He had previously performed a short version of the song as a solo performance throughout Exo's first concert tour. Later in February, D.O. starred as the male lead alongside actress Kim So-hyun in the romantic film Pure Love.[19] In October 2016, D.O. starred alongside Chae Seo-jin in the web drama Be Positive.[20] The series became the most watched Korean web drama of all time.[21][22] In November 2016, D.O. starred alongside Jo Jung-suk and Park Shin-hye in the film My Annoying Brother, playing a national level Judo athlete.[23] D.O. and Jo Jung-suk also recorded the ending theme song, titled "Don't Worry", for the movie.[24] D.O. was awarded the Blue Dragon Film Awards Best New Actor award a year later for his performance in the film.[25]

D.O. at a press conference for Room No.7 in November 2017

In 2017, D.O. starred in the comedy thriller film Room No.7.[26] The same year, he played a supporting role in Kim Yong-hwa's film Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds, a blockbuster adaptation of the webtoon of the same name, about a court in the afterlife where the deceased undergo multiple trials for 49 days.[27] In 2018, D.O. starred in Swing Kids, a film set in a prison camp in South Korea during the Korean War. He plays a North Korean soldier who falls in love with tap dancing in the midst of all the chaos.[28][29] Later that year, he was cast in his first small-screen leading role, playing a crown prince in 100 Days My Prince.[30] The series was a commercial success, becoming the fifth highest-rated Korean drama in cable television history[31] and in 2020, became the first CJ ENM drama to be broadcast in Japan's public television channel, NHK General TV.[32] In December 2017, D.O. attended the Macau International Film Festival alongside director Choi Dong-hoon as a Korean public relations ambassador.[33]

Later in May, he announced his upcoming enlistment for South Korea's mandatory military service by posting a handwritten letter on Exo's official fan club.[34] He enlisted as an active duty soldier on July 1, 2019, and served at the Capital Mechanized Infantry Division (Fierce Tiger Division) as a food handler (kitchen police).[35][36][37] On the same day, he released the single "That's Okay", a song that he co-wrote, through the SM Station project.[38] In 2020, D.O. made his musical theater debut in a rerun of the original military musical Return: The Promise of the Day, playing the role of Seungho.[39]

After taking his final military vacation leave in December 2020 without returning to his base in compliance with the army's protocols regarding the COVID-19 pandemic,[40] D.O. was discharged on January 25, 2021.[41] In February, he was announced to have been cast as the male lead in Secret, a South Korean remake of the 2007 Taiwanese film of the same name.[42] His role in the movie is a student who plays the piano.[43]

On June 25, 2021, SM Entertainment announced that D.O. would release his first solo album at the end of July 2021.[44] His first extended play Empathy was released on July 26, along with its lead single "Rose".[45] The album topped the Gaon Album Chart.[46]