Choi Min-Sik Returns To The Small Screen As A Casino Mogul In ‘Big Bet’

It takes an actor with considerable presence to play such legendary and memorable characters as Admiral Lee Sun-shin in The Admiral: Roaring Currents, Mr. Baek in Park Chan-wook’s Sympathy for Lady Vengeance or the doomed inventor Jang Yeong-sil in the historical drama Forbidden Dreams. It’s hard not to focus on Choi Min-sik when he appears in a film. That’s also true when he’s in the rare TV drama.

The actor has appeared in more than 30 films during his 30+ year career, but more than two decades have elapsed since he was seen on the small screen. This year the actor surprised fans by returning to TV with a starring role in the Disney+ drama Big Bet aka Casino. In this drama he plays the character Cha Moo-sik, a legend in Korea’s casino world.

Big Bet is the story of one self-made man who does not play by the rules. The first few episodes of this drama jump back and forth in time to offer some perspective on Moo-sik’s story, how he suffered as a child and eventually became a gambling mogul. It opens in 2015 when he’s arrested in the Philippines and finds himself at a press conference, surrounded by reporters asking about murders he supposedly committed. He has nothing to say.

Then the story jumps back in time to show Moo-sik as a resourceful child, the son of a poor illiterate mother and a petty gangster who is often in jail. When he was temporarily in an orphanage Moo-sik was already determined to improve his lot in life, enduring an assault by fire ants just to make pocket change. Despite gaps in his education, he manages to start a language academy, but when offered a chance at opening a casino, he jumps at it. It’s easy money, but it’s also illegal and there is only so long you can outrun the law.

Inevitably his illegal dealings force him to flee the country, escaping to the Philippines where he soon hits rock bottom. That means he will have to reinvent himself yet again.

Moo-sik is a character that’s hard to pigeonhole and that’s perhaps what lured Choi to the small screen again. While it’s hard not to like and root for a character who uses his wits to overcome such oppressive odds, he is so very flawed. A smart businessman and loyal to his allies, he also lies to his family. He gambles to excess, wasting a fortune. He lets others take the rap for his crimes. He’s capable of violence, but does that mean he committed the murders he’s accused of? Viewers will have to watch the series to find out just how flawed this character really is and whether they might forgive him.

The series is written and directed by Kang Yoon-sung, who won a Best New Director Award at the 2018 Baeksang Arts Awards for his commercial hit The Outlaws and who also directed a season of the historical zombie TV series Kingdom. With Moo-sik he’s created a complex ruthless character who repeatedly defies the odds.

The series also stars Son Suk-ku, last seen in My Liberation Notes, Lee Dong-hwi, last seen in Glitch, and Heo Sung-tae, who appeared in the drama Behind Every Star. The drama also features many talented character actors to round out the story, including Kim Roe-ha, Lee Kyu-hyung, Lee Moon-sik and Kim Min-jae. The Disney+ drama airs on Hulu in the US.