Kim Hee-won began his acting career on stage, taking part in musicals such as Seoul Line 1 and Jesus Christ Superstar. In 2007, he landed his first screen role in the comedy-drama film Miracle on 1st Street and it opened the door for him to more TV and movie projects. In 2010, he joined the blockbuster action-thriller film The Man From Nowhere. In 2013 and 2014, he played supporting characters in the hit television dramas You From Another Star and Misaeng, which aired on SBS and tvN, respectively. In 2016, he acted alongside Lee Seon-kyun and Song Ji-hyo in JTBC’s This Week, My Wife Will Have an Affair. In 2017, he starred in the crime-action film The Merciless, which won him Best Supporting Actor at the 26th Buil Film Awards and the 4th Korean Film Producers Association Awards. In 2020, he became a fixed cast member of the tvN travel reality show House on Wheels. In 2021, he portrayed a debt collector in the film Pawn, which earned him the Best Supporting Actor trophy at the 41st Golden Cinematography Awards.

Kim Hee-won studied at the Seoul Institute of the Arts.