01of 18Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hunNoh Juhan/NetflixThe last but most important player to join the games, Lee plays a bumbling, debt-ridden absent father who, at times, you want to root for. However, Player 456 is far from the ruthless roles Lee’s played in the past.
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Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun
Noh Juhan/Netflix
The last but most important player to join the games, Lee plays a bumbling, debt-ridden absent father who, at times, you want to root for. However, Player 456 is far from the ruthless roles Lee’s played in the past.
02of 18The actor, who has been acting for nearly 30 years, played Hoon Goh in the 2010 thrillerThe Housemaidand Ray in the 2020 dramaDeliver Us from Evil. He’s also won two Grand Bell Awards (the South Korean equivalent tothe Oscars) and has been nominated three times for best actor.Lee will be adding “director” to his list of accomplishments in the near future: The star will be producing, starring in and making his directorial debut on the upcoming projectHunt, which is set to begin filming in 2021, according toThe Korea Times.
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The actor, who has been acting for nearly 30 years, played Hoon Goh in the 2010 thrillerThe Housemaidand Ray in the 2020 dramaDeliver Us from Evil. He’s also won two Grand Bell Awards (the South Korean equivalent tothe Oscars) and has been nominated three times for best actor.
Lee will be adding “director” to his list of accomplishments in the near future: The star will be producing, starring in and making his directorial debut on the upcoming projectHunt, which is set to begin filming in 2021, according toThe Korea Times.
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Park Hae-soo as Cho Sang-woo
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“Life continues, [and] there are hopefully many years ahead,” she toldVoguein October. “I just want to move forward courageously and experience the world.”
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Oh Young-soo as Oh Il-nam
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Viu Singapore/YouTube
Oh made his first appearance after the release ofSquid Gameon MBC’s “How Do You Play?” for a special interview withYoo Jae SukandLovelyz’sMijoo. During his interview, he revealed that “being famous is tough” for him and that, since he was the oldest actor on set at 77, he would go “overboard in pretending to be young in order to match their energy.” He also shared some wisdom on how he plans to proceed following the show’s record-breaking success.
“I don’t have any grand ambitions,” he told hosts Yoo and Mijoo. “Big or small, I’ve received a lot of things while living my life. Now, I want to leave behind those things that I’ve received.”
09of 18Anupam Tripathi as Ali AbdulNoh Juhan/NetflixThe one character you want to protect throughout the series is Ali: a struggling undocumented factory worker from Pakistan who needs to earn money for his young family. The good-hearted player is too pure for the games and eventually betrayed before he can get to the final challenge.As for Tripathi’s real-life story, the New Delhi-born star broke into the South Korean entertainment industry after winning a scholarship and studying acting at Korea National University of the Arts. Tripathi was able to master Korean in less than two years, according toVariety, and he’s since landed parts in 2014’sOde to My Fatherand 2016’s hit dramaDescendants of the Sun.
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Anupam Tripathi as Ali Abdul
The one character you want to protect throughout the series is Ali: a struggling undocumented factory worker from Pakistan who needs to earn money for his young family. The good-hearted player is too pure for the games and eventually betrayed before he can get to the final challenge.
As for Tripathi’s real-life story, the New Delhi-born star broke into the South Korean entertainment industry after winning a scholarship and studying acting at Korea National University of the Arts. Tripathi was able to master Korean in less than two years, according toVariety, and he’s since landed parts in 2014’sOde to My Fatherand 2016’s hit dramaDescendants of the Sun.
10of 18"This was just the starting point for me. Let’s see how far I can move on in a better way as an actor or on my craft,“he toldVarietyin October. Tripathi, who is also fluent in English and Hindi, said he would love to “explore how I will do in my own language.““I would love to express myself there,” the actor said of India. “That is my ultimate dream – to perform in front of my own home and own audience.”
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“This was just the starting point for me. Let’s see how far I can move on in a better way as an actor or on my craft,“he toldVarietyin October. Tripathi, who is also fluent in English and Hindi, said he would love to “explore how I will do in my own language.”
“I would love to express myself there,” the actor said of India. “That is my ultimate dream – to perform in front of my own home and own audience.”
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Kim Joo-ryoung as Han Mi-nyeo
Player 212 brings her own type of chaos to the game. The cigarette smuggling, loud-mouth bully meets her death while seeking revenge.
12of 18Kim has been a working actress for over 20 years, appearing in 2003’sMemories of a Murder, the drama seriesSky Castleand 2017’sBluebeard. However, her work onSquid Gamewill be the most memorable, she toldOSEN, because of thebond she formed with the cast and director on set.“I’ll never forget for the rest of my life because we laughed and cried together, and the director and staff all created a comfortable and pleasant atmosphere,” she told the outlet.
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Kim has been a working actress for over 20 years, appearing in 2003’sMemories of a Murder, the drama seriesSky Castleand 2017’sBluebeard. However, her work onSquid Gamewill be the most memorable, she toldOSEN, because of thebond she formed with the cast and director on set.
“I’ll never forget for the rest of my life because we laughed and cried together, and the director and staff all created a comfortable and pleasant atmosphere,” she told the outlet.
13of 18Heo Sung-tae as Jang Deok-suNoh Juhan/NetflixThe ring leader and villain loses his life once karma catches up to him.Playing the macho gang leader would be one of Heo’s great success stories, but in real life, it took a major toll on his health. After seeing that Heo had lost a lot of weight during the pandemic, director Hwang Dong-hyuk was concerned that he looked too “scrawny” to play the alpha villain, according toAllkpop. So Heo gained more than 30 lbs. in a month, which wreaked havoc on his health.
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Heo Sung-tae as Jang Deok-su
The ring leader and villain loses his life once karma catches up to him.
Playing the macho gang leader would be one of Heo’s great success stories, but in real life, it took a major toll on his health. After seeing that Heo had lost a lot of weight during the pandemic, director Hwang Dong-hyuk was concerned that he looked too “scrawny” to play the alpha villain, according toAllkpop. So Heo gained more than 30 lbs. in a month, which wreaked havoc on his health.
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“My health became so bad because I gained so much weight in just a short time,” Heo said, according to theAllkpop. “The muscles on my calf tore and also my knees hurt. Overall, my health depleted. It doesn’t matter about losing weight but I think I have to carefully consider if I am given another role where I have to gain weight. I think gaining weight is three times harder than losing weight.”
15of 18Wi Ha-joon as Hwang Jun-hoNoh Juhan/NetflixThe police officer who goes rogue to find his missing brother sneaks his way into the games and discovers the horrors of the Squid Game corporation. By the end of the series, audiences are left wondering if Hwang is still alive or dead.
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Wi Ha-joon as Hwang Jun-ho
The police officer who goes rogue to find his missing brother sneaks his way into the games and discovers the horrors of the Squid Game corporation. By the end of the series, audiences are left wondering if Hwang is still alive or dead.
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“It took a lot of time to overcome that fear,” he told the outlet. “I took quite a few swimming lessons to shoot that scene, but I was able to complete it well so I’m very happy about the outcome.”
17of 18Lee Byung-hun as The Front Man (Hwang In-ho)Noh Juhan/NetflixThe ominous Front Man finally takes off his mask toward the end to reveal who he is and how he got to be the head of operations for the games. His true identity leads to complicated family issues that have fans wondering if they’ll explore his backstory in season 2. The actor is, of course, mega star Lee Byung-hun.
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Lee Byung-hun as The Front Man (Hwang In-ho)
The ominous Front Man finally takes off his mask toward the end to reveal who he is and how he got to be the head of operations for the games. His true identity leads to complicated family issues that have fans wondering if they’ll explore his backstory in season 2. The actor is, of course, mega star Lee Byung-hun.
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“I do not want to name any individual names, but I felt like when I was working in Hollywood, there were some fellow colleagues of mine who didn’t even look me in the eyes because I was Asian,” he said. “I tried to [introduce myself] and shake their hands, but they would all ignore me and walk past me. I couldn’t shake their hands until we had finished filming the movie.”
“By now, I am very used to dealing with racism and racist people,” he continued. “I haven’t given up on Hollywood yet, I still want to [make movies there] and fight for [more Hollywood representation].”
source: people.com
