The much-loved web series Squid Game 2, which released on December 26, has already raced its way to the top of viewership charts, and has become one of the most talked about shows of the year. While Lee Jung Jae has returned as Seong Gi hun on the show, the one new character which has been grabbing eyeballs this season is that of the eccentric rapper Thanos, played by Choi Seung-hyun.
Despite being a negative character, the purple-headed rapper Thanos became one of the fan-favourites on Squid Game 2, due to his ‘high on life’ attitude (quite literally), chaotic energy, and a dark, passive dominance.
Choi Seung-hyun, who is also popularly known as T.O.P of the K-Pop band, BigBang, won hearts with his portrayal of Thanos, and fans noticed how the character had an uncanny resemblance to the former K-Pop idol’s real life. While Thanos is seen consuming drugs on the show, Seung-hyun, in real life, was arrested in 2017 on charges of drug abuse.
Who is Thanos aka Choi Seung-hyun?
Seung-hyun, who went MIA post his drug abuse scandal in 2017, marked his comeback of sorts with Squid Game 2 after a hiatus of 9 years, and fans felt that the actor played his past self in the show.
For those unversed, Seung-hyun debuted as the lead rapper of the boy band BigBang in 2006 and went by the stage name T.O.P. Soon after BigBang became one of the biggest boy bands of Asia, Seung-hyun went solo, and in 2010, he released in first solo single, Turn It Up. A year prior to that, in 2009, he marked his acting debut with I Am Sam.
Seung-hyun’s uber-successful career went for a toss when, in 2017, the Korean media reported that he was found guilty of marijuana consumption. He was arrested and sentenced to 10 months in jail, but he pleaded guilty and requested for leniency to avoid jail term.
The news about Seung-hyun’s drug scandal broke when he was serving his mandatory military service as a conscripted police officer, and because of the controversy, he was transferred to a different police station. But soon after, he was found unresponsive in the police barracks, reportedly due to a medical reaction.
It was after this scandal that Seung-hyun completely vanished from the limelight, until he finally returned for Squid Game 2.
‘Took him guts to play Thanos’: Squid Game 2 creator
A certain section of the internet was unhappy with the makers of Squid Game 2 casting Seung-hyun in the show, given his controversial past. But creator Hwang Dong Hyuk stated that it took him a lot of courage to ace the role.
“I feel that it took him a lot of guts to portray a character, especially someone who shares a lot of similarities that are quite negative to him as a person too,” Hwang Dong Hyuk stated, defending his decision to cast Seung-hyun.
