The “Squid Game 2” director explained why he insisted on casting the former BIGBANG TOP despite the controversies surrounding the idol actor.
On November 14, Netflix shared that a production conference will be held on December 9 ahead of the release of the highly anticipated season 2 of the hit series, “Squid Game,” on the 26th of next month.
According to press reports, the former BIGBANG TOP, however, will not be present, apparently aware of his casting controversy. In particular, some viewers refused to warmly welcome his return to the big screen after 9 years, citing the 2016 marijuana smoking scandal as the main reason.
Additionally, other netters mocked him for attempting to return to the entertainment scene via the big project, despite hinting at his retirement in 2020.
After the production team remained silent for a long time, director Hwang Dong Hyuk finally decided to clarify his decision to choose TOP and revealed that he initially doubted his decision as well. He narrated:
“I didn’t think it would be controversial (…) I thought, ‘If all this time had passed, wouldn’t it be right to start doing something like this?’ and I chose it. However, there are a lot of concerns from people who think that maybe my decision was a little wrong and short-sighted.”
Hwang pointed out that there are some stars who managed to return to work after their reflections and punishments, but seeing the backlash created by TOP, he almost fired him.
However, the director also explained why he ended up keeping the idol actor after a series of auditions and screenings and realized that he was still “the most suitable choice”.
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“He was strong-willed, so I personally supervised his audition. He worked very hard and sent me his practice videos. When he was unsure about some of his parts while reading the script, he would check them, demonstrating both commitment and ability.”
Hwang continued:
“Actually, I had my eyes on Choi Seung Hyun (TOP) as an actor. I can’t go into details, but it’s a role that requires a lot of courage. I chose him because I thought he was the most suitable choice.
Even though it was controversial, (at that point) I concluded that I had to show the results of why I had to do this project with this actor because we had been through so much together that it was hard to change my mind.”
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