Choi Gwi-hwa joined the Meulmye Theatre Company in Bucheon in 1997.

In 1999 he began honing his screen acting with a large number of short movies, landing his first role in a feature-length film in Why Did You Come To My House (2009).

His breakthrough role was that of a deputy chief in the cult hit series Misaeng: Incomplete Life (2014), a satirical exploration of life in a typical Korean office environment.

Choi has since made notable performances in Train to Busan (2016), The Wailing (2016), A Taxi Driver (2017), and Bad Guys: Vile City (2017).

His scene-stealing performance as a police chief in Ma Dong-seok's The Outlaws led him to be awarded Best New Actor by the Korea Film Director's Network.