2014–present
In 2014, he reunited with Volcano High director Kim Tae-kyun in Innocent Thing, a thriller about a high school girl who becomes obsessed with her married gym teacher. He also teamed up again with Successful Story of a Bright Girl costar Jang Na-ra in You Are My Destiny, a Korean remake of the similarly titled 2008 Taiwanese drama. Shortly after, he and Jang starred together for the third time in Old Farewell, about a boxer who travels into the past and re-encounters his recently deceased wife. It was part of the single-episode anthology Drama Festival, and helmed by one of their directors on Fated.
In 2015, Jang returned to the milieu of period dramas with Shine or Go Crazy, a fictional romance between a cursed Goryeo prince and the last princess of Balhae. The film Empire of Lust followed, in which he played the wily and ambitious Yi Bang-won who launched a coup to become the king of Joseon. He was next cast in the Chinese film Inside or Outside, a detective mystery co-starring Simon Yam and Wallace Huo. Jang then played a Joseon innkeeper merchant in The Merchant: Gaekju 2015.
In 2016, Jang was cast in the Chinese drama New Sea. Back in Korea, Jang starred in KBS's medical drama A Beautiful Mind, playing a genius neurosurgeon. Though the drama was critically praised, the number of episodes were brought down from 16 to 14 because of low viewer ratings.
In 2017, he starred in his first cable drama, crime thriller Voice by OCN, where he played an ex-detective who joined a call center's team to track his wife's killer. Voice became a hit and its ratings broke OCN's dramas records when it was aired in Korea. His movie Ordinary Person opposite Son Hyun-joo was released in March 2017, where he acted as a manipulative National Planning Security chief. He also starred in weekend drama Money Flower, earning much acclaim and a Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actor nomination for his role as a revenge-seeking lawyer. The same year, he was cast in action film The Swordsman.
In 2018, Jang returned to the small screen with SBS' romantic comedy drama Wok of Love, playing a former gangster turned restaurant owner; and MBC's action melodrama Bad Papa, playing a former champion boxer who chose to become a bad man in order to become a good father.
In 2019, he took part in reality TV program Urban Cops where celebrities team up with real life cops to solve crimes in the city. The same year, he was cast in the historical drama My Country: The New Age, playing the role of Yi Bang-won.
In 2020, Jang acted as a genius profiler in OCN drama Tell Me What You Saw. His movie The Swordsman was released in September 2020. The same year, he took part in reality TV program Yacht Expedition: The Beginning.
In 2021, Jang took part in outdoor survival variety TV program Law of the Jungle-Pioneers and cooking show National Bang Bang Cook Cook. His noir movie Tomb of the River was released in November 2021.
In 2022, Jang returned to the small screen with KBS2's historical drama Bloody Heart, playing the first vice-premier and a living symbol of power and a figure that everyone obeys. His movie The Killer: A Girl Who Deserves to Die made its world premiere at the Udine Far East Film Festival in April 2022, held a red carpet premiere at Los Angeles in June 2022 and hit the big screens simultaneously in South Korea and North America on July 13, 2022. He also won the Daniel A. Craft award for Excellence in Action Cinema at the 21st New York Asian Film Festival. In November 2022, he took part as a judge in tvN's variety program Super Action.
In March 2023, Jang decided not to renew his contract with Sidus HQ after working with the agency for 26 years since his debut. In April, he returned to the small screen with tvN's drama Family: The Unbreakable Bond. In August, he took part in reality TV travel program Express Delivery: Mongolia Edition.
In August 2024, Jang's interactive film In the Realm of Ripley made its world premiere at the 81st Venice Film Festival.
In January 2025, it was announced that Jang will make his directional debut with action film 'Stop Stop Dark Cold', in a partnership with a Hollywood-based production team. In February 2025, Jang's reality TV program Language Training Before It's Too Late: Shala Shala in Cambridge was aired. He also took part as a cast member in music entertainment show Handsome Trot.
In 2026, he was cast in the historical drama The Great King Munmu, a production of KBS. He plays Yeon Gaesomun, the god of war and a ruthless dictator born by Goguryeo.
