'Squid Game' Cast Then And Now
This is what the cast of Netflix's 'Squid Game' has been up to since the first season premiered in 2021.
It’s the K-drama that got everybody talking and, finally, three years after its first series burst onto Netflix, Squid Game is finally making a return to the small screen later this year.
The premise of the show is simple: Squid Game focusses on 456 people (all with serious debt issues) as they compete in six children’s games over six days to win £28 million ($38 million). But all is not quite as it seems: the games are gorier and more life-risking and disturbing than any children’s game we’ve ever seen before. For those who are yet to treat themselves to binging the series for the first time, just remember that all is not quite as it seems.
Once the dystopian thriller series hit our screens in September 2021, it quickly became Netflix’s number one ‘must-see’ show across 90 countries and the streaming platform’s most successful non-English show of all time. It soon also became Netflix's biggest ever series launch, and the hashtag #squidgame had over 27.5 billion (yes, billion) views on TikTok in a matter of weeks after the show’s release.
The second season, which will be released later this year, sees four of the first series’ main characters, played by Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-jun and Gong Yoo, reprise their roles. Netflix has confirmed that the storyline of the second season will follow the first series’ protagonist, Seong Gi-hun (played by Jung-Jae), as he ‘abandons his plans to go to the U.S. and starts a chase with a motive.’ Talk about a cliff-hanging teaser.
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The countdown until the second season is on, but if you’re missing your favourite Squid Game players, here’s a refresher of what they’ve been up to since the first season premiered.
Lee Jung-jae (Seong Gi-hun) In 'Squid Game'
Not content with bagging a Primetime Emmy for his role in the hit Netflix series, Lee Jung-jae a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of main character, Seong Gi-hun, Squid Games’ protagonist has also been tapped as a global amassador for Gucci. He most recently honoured the heritage Italian label’s 100th birthday by fronting a campaign for the brand’s travel range, following in the footsteps of Barbie star Ryan Gosling.
It’s not just the fashion world who’s endorsed the star, he’s been continuing to add strings to his acting bow since Squid Games’ premiere too. In 2022, he made his debut as a director, for spy film Hunt, and in 2023, he wrapped filming on upcoming Star Wars series The Acolyte, in which he stars opposite Amandla Stenberg.
Jung Ho-yeon (Kang Sae-byeok) In 'Squid Game'
Another Squid Game star to be cemented as a fashion darling is model-turned-actor, Jung Ho-yeon, who won a SAG Award in 2022 for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series, becoming the first actress in a non-English-language TV show to take home the trophy. Given that, prior to Squid Game, Ho-yeon, who know goes by Hoyeon, had never acted. Today, she is a global ambassador for Louis Vuitton, Adidas, and Lancôme and later this year will star opposite Cate Blanchett in Apple TV+’s series, Disclaimer, which she shot in London last year. The series marks Hoyeon’s first English-speaking role, which, she told GQ, was ‘challenging.’
‘I love challenging myself,’ she said of the role. ‘And trying to speak English well and act well at the same time was very challenging – maybe too challenging. But I have this desire to put myself on the edge.’
Park Hae-soo (Cho Sang-woo) In 'Squid Game'
Things have gone from strength to strength for Hae-soo, whose character Cho Sang-woo was one of the few to reach the series' dreaded final. In 2022, he starred in three Netflix productions – Yaksha: Ruthless Operations, Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area, and Narco-Saints – and even hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live Korea, too. And his star is only continuing its ascent, as in February 2024, it was announced that Hae-soo is set to make his Hollywood debut after being cast in upcoming espionage Amazon Prime series, Butterfly.
Anupam Tripathi (Ali Abdul) In 'Squid Game'
Since Squid Game premiered in 2021, Tripathi, who moved from his native India to South Korea to attend Korea National University of Arts on the Arts Major Asian scholarship, completed a Master’s degree in Acting at his alma mater and this year will star in popular South Korean TV series, King The Land.
Wi Ha-joon (Hwang Jun-ho) In 'Squid Game'
Ha-joon, who played one of the guards in the game of Squid Game, has been slowly but surely racking up the acting gigs with Bad and Crazy, Little Women and Disney+ original K-drama series, The Worst Evil, among his most recent credits.
It was confirmed by his representative in January 2024 that Ha-joon will also star in an upcoming romance K-drama series, which has been tentatively titled Graduation. The actor will star as Lee Joon-ho, a student at a university located in the affluent Daechi neighbourhood of South Korea, who falls in love with an instructor at the school.
Gong Yoo In 'Squid Game'
Gong Yoo, who played the recruiter for the games who lured players into participating, played the lead character in 2021 thriller series, The Silent Sea, and is set to play the lead in another show too, this time Netflix's upcoming original K-drama series The Trunk.
O Yeong-su (Oh Il-nam) In 'Squid Game'
After winning the Golden Globe in 2022 for Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture, O Yeong-su was accused of historical sexual misconduct in an incident believed to date back to 2017.
The actor, who has denied all accusations against him, is still being pursued by the Suwon District Court, with the prosecution advocating for not only a one-year imprisonment of the star, but also the public disclosure of his personal information. His trial began in February 2023 and is will be concluded by March 2024. In response to the news, Yeong-su's role in upcoming South Korean film Big Family, is set to be edited out.
Naomi May is a seasoned culture journalist and editor with over ten years’ worth of experience in shaping stories and building digital communities. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard, where she worked across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Digital Editor at ELLE Magazine and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others. Naomi is also the host of the ELLE Collective book club.
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