Before Lee Hong-gi debuted as a singer with the band FT Island, he was a child actor and made his acting debut in 2002 in the KBS2 TV series Magic Kid Masuri as Masuri's friend.^[1] This sitcom gained popularity among elementary school students. He was also featured in Kkangsooni, where he played the character of Eo Soo-bong, and sang for the sitcom's OST.
In 2008, he was offered the lead role in Master of Study, the Korean adaptation of Japanese drama Dragon Zakura. Master of Study should have aired in the beginning of 2009 but due to preproduction difficulties, the drama was postponed to the beginning of 2010 which led FNC Entertainment to refuse Lee's role because of his busy schedule with FT Island.