- Fans and critics are raving about a new player in “Squid Game” season two, Thanos.
- Thanos is a rapper who seems to delight in the death games.
- Choi Seung-hyun, who plays Thanos, was already a popular K-pop star before landing the role.
Warning: spoilers ahead for “Squid Game” season two.
“Squid Game” season two introduces a new cast of eccentric players, but the character fans and critics are talking about most is Thanos.
Thanos (Player 230), named after the alien the Avengers fight in the Marvel movies, is a purple-haired, self-absorbed, and callous internet rapper and one of the main antagonists of season two.
He takes over from season one’s Jang Deok-su (Player 101) as the main bully within the deadly children’s games. But while Deok-su was a menacing criminal, Thanos is a celebrity and a wild card.
Thanos and his sidekick Nam-gyu (Roh Jae-won) seem to enjoy the games, unlike the other characters who are competing for money to pay off their debts. They laugh, skip, and take drugs from Thanos’ secret stash as people are killed around them and continually vote to continue the slaughter.
Choi Seung-hyun’s screwball performance as Thanos has been getting a lot of praise, including from The Wrap, which hailed it as one of the best TV performances of 2024.
“Squid Game” season two is looking to be a global hit like the first, which could raise Choi’s profile outside South Korea, as it did with other actors from the show including Lee Jung-jae.
Here’s what to know about Choi and his character’s fate.
Choi began his career as a K-pop rapper
Choi is better known by his stage name T.O.P, which he adopted in 2006 when he joined the boyband Bigbang, one of the first K-pop bands to become popular in the West.
The band’s fifth record, 2012’s “Alive,” was the second album by a South Korean artist to chart on the US Billboard 200, placing 150th.
In 2016, they were the first South Korean band to be included in Forbes’ top 100 richest celebrities list, after earning $44 million that year: more than Drake, Katy Perry, and Maroon 5, respectively.
Choi, who was an underground rapper before joining Bigbang, has also released hit solo tracks “Turn It Up” and “Doom Dada,” but hasn’t reached the heights he did with the band.
In 2007, Choi began pursuing acting, appearing in the TV romance K-drama “I Am Sam.” He has starred in other shows and movies, and won acting awards in Korea.
In “Iris,” a thriller TV series, Choi acted alongside “Squid Game” star Lee Byung-hun, who plays the Frontman in the Netflix show.
Choi’s career in Korea stalled after he was convicted of using marijuana
In 2017, Choi paused his career to complete military service as a conscripted police officer.
However, that June, Choi was indicted by South Korean prosecutors for using marijuana several times in October 2016.
A day later, Choi was found unconscious after overdosing on prescribed tranquilizers, and hospitalized.
A month later, Choi pleaded guilty to using marijuana in court and was sentenced 10-months in jail, suspended for two years. He also had to complete his military service as a public service worker instead of as a police officer as planned.
He told reporters at the court: “I’m truly sorry that I disappointed my fans and the public. I will do my best to make a fresh start and not to make such a mistake again with what I’ve learned from this lesson.”
Choi appeared in Bigbang’s single “Still Life” in 2022, but that year YG Entertainment announced that he had ended his contract with the company, and a year later, Choi confirmed he had withdrawn from the band.
Choi will likely not return in ‘Squid Game’ season three
“Squid Game” is a bold return for Choi, especially playing a character who openly uses drugs.
Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of “Squid Game,” told People before the series aired that it took “a lot of guts” for Choi to portray Thanos.
“Despite the long hiatus, I have to say, as a director, he performed very impressively and I’m very satisfied with what he did with the character,” Hwang said.
In the season finale, there is a brutal fight in the men’s changing rooms between those who want to stay in the games and those who want to leave. Thanos, the instigator of the brawl, is stabbed in the neck with a fork and bleeds to death.
So, it’s unlikely Thanos will return in season three unless there is some sort of flashback.
