Cho Seung-woo to make small screen debut in "Jewel in the Palace" director's next series

Actor Cho Seung-woo [10Asia]

MBC's new historical series has locked in actor Cho Seung-woo as its male lead, according to Cho's agency PL Entertainment.

The musical "Jekyll and Hyde" star will be making his grand debut in the small screen by taking the lead in MBC's upcoming drama, "The Horse Doctor" (translated title), an official from PL told 10Asia in a brief telephone interview on Tuesday.

"We've been eyeing many scripts for Cho to make his small screen debut in. He's been active in musicals and movies but because it's his first time in a TV series, we're quite excited about doing this," the official said.

The forthcoming historical series is based on a true story about a horse doctor from the Joseon Dynasty that made his way to become a royal physician.

It will be helmed by producer Lee Byung-hoon, whose credits mostly include big historic hits like "Jewel in the Palace" (MBC, 2003-2004), "Huh Joon" (MBC, 1999-2000), "Yi San" (MBC, 2007-2008) and "Dong Yi - Jewel in the Crown" (MBC, 2010).

The firm added that the series will crank in as soon as Cho wraps up his current musical "Doctor Zhivago" early next month.

Cho, who started off his career as actor in a film in 1999, has scored big commercial success with domestic films such as "The Classic (2003)," " Malaton" and "Tazza: The High Rollers."

With his powerful voice, he has also pursued his career in musicals including "Carmen," "Rent," "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," "Jekyll and Hyde" and "Zorro."

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