‘I wanted to play an everyday character’: Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae on his sudden rise to global fame in the Netflix series and what drew him to the show
- After 28 years as an actor and fearing being typecast as a villain, Lee Jung-jae relished playing an ordinary person in Gi-hun – and the work that goes into it
- He says he was drawn by Squid Game’s ‘grotesque and chilling’ premise, and the way it carefully develops characters so that when they face off it is cathartic
By Lee Gyu-lee
This article contains spoilers.
Actor Lee Jung-jae has already established himself as one of the top actors in Korea, building an extensive portfolio over the 28 years of his career, from playing a charismatic villain in The Face Reader (2013) to a ruthless Yakuza gangster in Deliver Us From Evil (2020).
But it only took one series for the 48-year-old actor to rise to international stardom with the role of a broke, yet good-hearted gambling addict in Netflix’s new hit original, Squid Game.
“I was in a phase where I was contemplating what my next project should be. Because as I got older, the roles I was offered were mostly villains or other such fierce characters,” the actor told The Korea Times.
The nine-part thriller series is based on high-stakes rounds of children’s games, in which participants risk their lives to become the sole survivor who wins 45.6 billion won (US$39.4 million).
Lee says he was drawn to the idea of the survival-themed series. “The idea of taking the games we used to play when we were young and making them into survival games was grotesque and chilling,” he said.
“Also, unlike other survival game genre works, the series takes a closer look into the sorrows and sufferings of the people who take part in the game, and carefully develops them. So when the characters face off in the ending, it comes out as truly cathartic.”
Does Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae look familiar to you? Here’s why
Lee’s character, Gi-hun, became a persistent gambler after getting laid off from his previous job, even stealing from his elderly mother, whom he lives with. His daughter is about to move abroad with his ex-wife’s family.
Driven to make money to gain his daughter’s custody and for his mother’s surgery, he joins the game without knowing much about what he’s getting himself into.
Lee, who is widely known for his sophisticated, sharp look in Korea, was willing to step out of this well-established image for a transformation to portray the divorced, down-and-out character.
“I wanted to really look like a person living in a basement-level apartment in Ssangmun-dong. When I first came in for a fitting, the costume director gave me the most unflattering clothes that were not even my actual size. And I said, ‘I’ll take whatever you give me,’” he said.
“As an actor, I did what I had to do to bring out the character of Gi-hun, so I’ve never felt embarrassed about the look.” Along with Gi-hun’s appearance, he said that he studied people on the street to refine the details in his acting.
“One thing I did differently [from previous works] was that I would go for a walk a night before filming and observe the people on the streets to find elements to add to the character,” he said, adding that portraying an ordinary person was harder than his previous roles.
“With villainous characters, it’s not so hard to act once you set the character in the beginning, but [with this character], there were a lot more things to put into the equation to look natural.”
The series delicately follows the emotional state of Gi-hun, as he barely makes it through each round of the deadly games, while struggling between following his conscience and risking his life.
I saw some parody videos that viewers made, which are funny. I think they have so many more ideas than we did [in Squid Game]
Lee noted that his sympathetic character delivers the main message of the series. “I’m not sure if audiences abroad would have agreed with this character offering to help others, even under extremely hard circumstances. But I think this is a type of sentiment that Koreans have,” he said.
“To me, he just seemed like a warm-hearted person, and there was nothing about the story that I couldn’t wrap my head around. He had the bravery to hold onto the things that he shouldn’t let go of. And that part of the character reflects the message of the series, I think.”
The actor explained that he put his heart into every scene, and that he was surprised to see the outcome of his acting. “When I first saw my acting, I laughed for a while … I was using gestures and expressions that I don’t normally use, and that I have not been using for quite a time,” he said.
“Especially with the Dalgona game, I thought to myself, ‘Do I really need to lick this hard?’ … But when you think about the fact that he is risking his life, it made sense to go all out. I felt intense emotions in every game.”
Adding that he was awed by the scale of the set, he praised the production team’s efforts in bringing fiction to life on the screen.
“The size of the set, as if it were a playground, was staggering, and the artistry of its design was excellent, as if it was a modern art exhibition,” he said. “So it kept me curious to see what each next set would look like, and when I get to the set I would just be busy taking pictures of it.”
Lee, who is currently working on his new film, says that he is enjoying seeing how the series has become a sensation on the internet whenever he has free time.
“I saw some parody videos that viewers made, which are funny. I think they have so many more ideas than we did,” he said, adding that the series’ skyrocketing popularity feels surreal.
“I’m really thankful that so many people, including the press, seem to like the series. And as I have been doing, I’m just going to keep doing my best.”
