Squid Game‘s Lee Jung-jae on His Season 2 Evolution

Squid Game returns successful conscionable a fewer weeks, erstwhile again headed by its Emmy-winning star, Lee Jung-jae, who fans present cognize adjacent amended acknowledgment to his crook connected Disney+ Star Wars bid The Acolyte. Lee’s quality successful Squid Game, Gi-hun, is an improbable leader successful play one—he’s a selfish gambler who joins the deadly contention retired of desperation, and someway stumbles distant the winner. In play two, which picks up a fewer years later, helium re-joins the crippled hoping he’ll beryllium capable to teardrop the Squid Game enactment down from the wrong out.

As you tin imagine, Gi-hun has changed a batch from the irresponsible goofball stealing wealth from his mother’s slope relationship we met astatine the commencement of play one—and aft each he’s been through, positive his post-game activities that we larn astir erstwhile play 2 picks backmost up, it’s astir similar gathering a full caller character.

At a caller Squid Game 2 property roundtable, Lee spoke to a radical of journalists, including io9, astir however Gi-hun has evolved. He’s decidedly mired successful survivor’s guilt and PTSD, and helium is simply a haunted yet determined man.

“It was really overmuch much challenging for maine to represent the darker Gi-hun,” Lee explained done a translator. “When you are a darker character, you can’t beryllium truthful expressive, and Gi-hun is ever tense. In play two, he’s ever focused connected achieving his lone 1 extremity of redeeming radical and putting an extremity to the game.”

He continued. “So I thought, what would marque maine look precise grounded? I effort to enactment myself successful his shoes, but I’m the 1 who played Gi-hun and truthful who tin I inquire for much advice? So that was the hard part. But I thought that, due to the fact that his lone extremity successful play 2 is to marque it retired live with his [fellow] contestants, if I recognize the backstories of the different characters amended and deeper, that would truly assistance me. Because I recognize that portion helium is simply a darker character, helium is simply a precise altruistic character. So and I understood that, [and] that made it easier for maine to represent this character.”

© No Ju-han/Netflix

In the aforesaid roundtable, chap returning formed subordinate Lee Seo-hwan—we met him arsenic Gi-hun’s racetrack buddy Jung-bae successful play one; successful play two, helium becomes Player 456’s comrade-in-arms aft entering the crippled arsenic Player 390—said helium didn’t consciousness excessively overmuch unit returning to Squid Game, contempt it unexpectedly becoming specified a planetary phenomenon.

“I really didn’t consciousness the unit due to the fact that we already made our characters successful play 1 truthful we don’t person to make a caller 1 this clip around,” helium said. “And that’s precisely what manager [Hwang Dong-hyuk] wanted, [was] to proceed connected with the quality that I made successful play one. So I really felt precise comfy going to acceptable and conveying and portraying my character.”

He continued. “And we person these A-listers, precise seasoned actors successful the cast, truthful I knew that I could bash my occupation well, and past everything other volition conscionable travel truthful smoothly due to the fact that they’re each conscionable truthful large actors. And I loved watching them perform—even connected days that I didn’t person scenes, I would conscionable spell to the workplace to ticker different radical play due to the fact that it was conscionable truthful amusive to watch.”

He ended by joking, “And we person precise bully catering nutrient there, truthful I emotion that too. So I deliberation this is the clip I consciousness the astir pressure, similar doing these interviews and junkets. I’m getting a batch of unit from this.”

Squid Game play 2 hits Netflix December 26.

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