After proving his versatility in other genres, notably in the period thriller Blood Rain (2005) and the melodrama My Son (2007), Cha's popularity continued with the television series Bodyguard (2003), City Hall (2009), The Greatest Love (2011), A Korean Odyssey (2017), One Ordinary Day (2021) and Our Blues (2022).

The following summer, the runaway success of Kim Sang-jin's comedy Kick the Moon (over 4.3 million tickets sold) secured his place in the industry as a leading actor with strong star appeal.

The film grossed over 2.4 million admissions and drew Cha additional praise for his acting abilities (he would later team up again with director Jang Gyu-seong for 2007 comedy Small Town Rivals[5]).

[31][32][33][34] In 2011 his character in the hit romantic comedy series The Greatest Love, arrogant top star "Dokko Jin," became a mini pop culture phenomenon, giving rise to numerous commercial deals and parodies, as well as awards for Cha.

[43] This was followed by his third team-up with director Jang Jin in the comedy noir film Man on High Heels, which subverted Cha's "macho" image by having him play a transgender homicide detective.

[44][45] In 2015, Cha appeared in Three Meals a Day: Gochang Village, a cable reality show set on the remote Manjae Island for which he earned the nickname "Chajumma" (from the word ajumma) because of his versatile cooking skills despite the minimal amount of ingredients and implements.

[48][49] Cha next plays cartographer and geologist Kim Jeong-ho in Kang Woo-suk's period epic Gosanja, Daedongyeojido, adapted from Park Bum-shin's novel The Map Maker.