'Squid Game' star Lee Jung-jae opens up on offers from Hollywood, reveals future plans

Despite the unparalleled success of Netflix's Korean series, Squid Game, actor Lee Jung-jae hasn't yet received new offers from Hollywood. In a conversation with Variety, Lee, who plays Seong Gi hun in the survival game TV series, revealed that he would be happy to be associated with an overseas production if the right offer comes along. 

Lee Jung-jae plays a penniless, divorced dad, who, in order to make ends meet, steals from his family, gets beaten up by his lenders and wastes away his meagre means in gambling. His life-changing moment occurs when he becomes the 456th contender in the deadly games, where his amiable nature and skill set helps him overcome several obstacles. 

Squid Game's Seong Gi hun on Hollywood projects 

Apart from awaiting Hollywood projects, the actor also shed light on the show's overarching success, which Lee said he didn't expect when he first came on board. However, after reading the show's script, he realised that it 'contained elements' that the audience outside Korea could resonate with. He also revealed that the stellar record of the show's director Hwang Dong-hyuk attracted him towards the show. 

Lee is now being hailed as one of the most 'bankable actor' in Korea after the show became Netflix's biggest non-English language show worldwide. However, he says nothing much has changed for him as an actor. He added that Gi-hun’s character transforms a lot during the course of nine episodes, making Gi-Hun have a 'large spectrum', which any actor would look forward to trying in their career. 

Lee is currently producing and making his directorial debut with the Korean-language spy thriller titled Namsun. Stating his keenness for acting, Jae mentioned that he also wants to try other things out as he has always been curious about other trades.

For the unversed, the South Korean survival thriller series is based on a group of people from varied backgrounds who sign up for a series of childhood playground games with life-threatening consequences, to win a whopping cash prize of 45.6 billion. These include Red Light, Green Light, marbles, The Glass Stepping Stones, Tug of War among others. The series features Park Hae Soo, Wi Ha‑joon, Lee Jung‑jae and more in pivotal roles.

(IMAGE: INSTAGRAM/ @SQUIDGAME_NETFLIX/ FACEBOOK/ @LEE JUNG JAE)