Key Takeaways
Lee Jun-hyuk says his first true solo lead role came only after two decades in acting, through the Tving series Lotto 1st Place Goes to Work, adapted from a web novel.
The series performed strongly on both streaming and broadcast TV, while Lee described the production as resembling jazz because so much depended on timing, improvisation, and ensemble work.
He is now preparing for SBS's occult drama Awake, where he says he is throwing himself into the role with even greater intensity.
For Lee Jun-hyuk, the first lead role of his 20-year acting career came with a character who has won 1.3 billion won in the lottery and still goes to the office. That is not the kind of part that can be carried by star power alone.
In Lotto 1st Place Goes to Work, every scene depends on rhythm, timing, and the other actors around him. Lee says that is why the drama felt like jazz: not because it was loose or careless, but because the best moments emerged when everyone listened closely and reacted in real time.
The ratings and streaming numbers were solid. But the more interesting story is how a long-running supporting actor handled the shift to center stage.
A long wait for the center of the frame
Lee Jun-hyuk began acting in 2007, and for years he was the kind of performer who helped shape a drama without always being its face. Lotto 1st Place Goes to Work, a Tving series based on the web novel of the same name, was the first time he truly had to carry an independent story from start to finish. He had previously led Good or Bad Dong Jae, a spinoff of the popular tvN series Stranger, but that project belonged to an existing universe. This one was different.
He said getting the project off the ground was not easy. According to him, the script had been rejected many times before production finally moved ahead. Lee also admitted he is not the kind of actor with a long list of big commercial hits, which made the challenge even more understandable. In the drama industry, name recognition matters, but trust and performance matter more when a production is asking one actor to hold the whole thing together.
That is why this role feels less like a promotion than a change in position. A supporting actor stepping into the lead needs more than extra lines. He has to carry the drama's pace, keep the story grounded, and still leave room for the actors around him to shine.
Why he called it jazz
Lee reached for jazz as the best way to explain the production. Jazz is not music that simply follows the score. It depends on the players hearing one another and shaping the performance moment by moment. On set, he said, the satisfaction came when the actors' rhythms, the camera movement, the lighting, and the director's guidance all aligned at once.
The comparison is more than a poetic flourish. Gong Eun-tae, the character he plays, is not a polished hero. He is an office worker whose life changes after winning 1.3 billion won, yet he still goes to work and slowly learns how to speak up for himself. The world of the drama is built on the idea that life does not stop just because one person suddenly becomes rich. That kind of story cannot survive on one performance alone.
Lee singled out fellow cast members Seo Hyun-woo, Bae Ye-jin, Hong Jin-gi, and Ha Yul-ri, saying the ensemble mattered deeply to the show's success. His gratitude toward Seo Hyun-woo was especially striking. Strong supporting players make a lead more convincing, and in that sense lead acting is less about standing alone than about making everyone around you stronger.
Seen that way, the show's success should not be reduced to Lee's personal breakthrough. The spirit of jazz is not solo vanity. It is the ability to hear the gaps left by others and keep the whole performance moving without losing the beat.
A workplace drama, but not only about work
What makes Lotto 1st Place Goes to Work effective is how it balances fantasy and familiarity. The premise starts with a huge windfall, but the story quickly settles into the office, where the real drama is about labor, hierarchy, pride, anger, and the relationships that shape daily life. Gong Eun-tae begins to speak up, push back, and eventually grow into a real colleague rather than just a stressed manager. The structure may feel classic, but the emotions still land.
Lee said he does not have firsthand experience of ordinary office life, but he found clear parallels with the entertainment industry. Teams succeed only when the group rhythm works. Sometimes people need to stand out. Sometimes they need to resist. In acting, as in office life, age and rank do not always line up neatly, and that unstable hierarchy is part of why the drama felt so familiar to him.
The numbers backed up the reception. On Tving, the series ranked first in weekend and weekly subscriber contribution for four consecutive weeks. It also reached number one on Disney Plus in Japan. When the tvN broadcast version aired, episode 8 hit a nationwide rating of 5.9 percent, the show's best so far. That kind of dual success suggests the series was more than a streaming curiosity.
What comes after the first lead
Lee Jun-hyuk is often discussed for his looks, and this project was no exception. Some viewers joked that he had already won the lottery with his face. Lee answered that kind of praise with characteristic restraint, hinting that appearance is temporary while credibility inside a scene lasts much longer.
His self-discipline is part of that long game. He said he eats only about half a meal a day, describing a harsh routine that he maintains to stay in shape. But the point is not just physical maintenance. For an actor, the real question is whether he can keep finding new expressions and new textures from one project to the next.
That is why his next project matters. He will follow this office drama with Awake, an occult series for SBS. The shift from office suit to priestly robes already signals a very different tone. Lee said there are not many reference works for such a project, which is exactly why he is committed to helping create one. After finally arriving at the center of a drama, he seems intent on making the next step even more memorable.
In that sense, Lee Jun-hyuk's latest run is not simply a late success story. It is a portrait of how someone who has stayed in the game for a long time can become the center without losing the habits of an ensemble player. Lead roles are not just about being in front. They are about receiving everything around you and making it sing. Jazz may be the most accurate word for that.
