Actor Noh Jae-won Reflects on His Role in Squid Game 3

On July 9, actor Noh Jae-won (32) shared his thoughts on working alongside Choi Seung-hyun during an interview at a café in Jongno, Seoul, discussing the Netflix original series Squid Game 3 (오징어 게임3), written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk. Noh expressed, "I poured my heart into preparing for my role throughout the filming. When the last shoot wrapped, I felt an emptiness as if a hole had opened in my heart. Now that the series is out, I feel excited and grateful, as it has brought the biggest change in my life. It feels surreal, and I wonder when I will experience something like this again."

He continued, "My father is proud of me. He has watched many of my works, but this one is his favorite. In our family group chat, he mentioned, 'Jae-won, Director Hwang Dong-hyuk is the Korean Steven Spielberg. I saw your performance, but I worry if there’s a bit of Nam-kyu in you.' I did draw from my own experiences to portray the character, not in a violent way, but from a place of wanting attention and love."

Noh revealed that he initially auditioned for a generic role, not specifically for Nam-kyu. "I didn’t have high expectations, thinking I would just be one of 456 participants, likely in a minor role. While I was happy to be cast, I was also filled with anxiety about how to prepare for such a significant role. I didn’t want to be just a side character next to Thanos; I wanted to portray Nam-kyu with depth."

He noted the challenge of balancing his ambitions with the director's vision, stating, "With so many characters, it was hard to showcase all my desires. The director emphasized that change is crucial for Nam-kyu. Initially, he is just a side character to Thanos, but after Thanos's demise, Nam-kyu's role expands, so I had to be patient. I didn’t want to feel overwhelmed, so I tried to approach everything with confidence. Reflecting on it now, I realize that learning to adjust my performance for the overall piece was a valuable experience."

In the series, Nam-kyu impressively mimics Thanos (played by Choi Seung-hyun). Noh explained, "The script didn’t originally include a Thanos impression, but as I read it, I noticed Nam-kyu suddenly starts speaking English. Lines like 'You can do it' were in the script, and phrases about killing half of humanity seemed to fit Thanos, so I thought it would be natural to imitate him. During rehearsals, the director noticed and encouraged me to keep it in."

Recalling Choi Seung-hyun's reaction, Noh laughed, "Instead of commenting on the impression, he asked, 'Why are you saying so many bad things about me?' He seemed to feel that Thanos was unfair to Nam-kyu, who only wanted to be liked."

Noh also confessed to being a fan of Big Bang and Choi Seung-hyun, saying, "It helped me a lot. I viewed him as a 'famous rapper' in the series. However, I tried not to let my fandom show too much. I wanted to express how much he supported me on set. I’m grateful that he saw me as Nam-kyu and always called me 'Nam-soo' on set, which helped me perform."

He also commented on Choi Seung-hyun's performance, noting, "He seemed to feel the pressure of acting in front of 456 people at the beginning. But as we filmed, I saw him give his all, which motivated me. Even though we were friendly, I often reminded myself, 'I am Nam-kyu' while observing Thanos. I leaned on my co-stars, David and Ji-an, during tough times, as we are around the same age."

Regarding the controversy surrounding Choi Seung-hyun's acting after the series aired, Noh expressed sympathy, stating, "He truly loved that role. I have no comments on the opinions of viewers; everyone is entitled to their perspective, and many enjoyed his performance."

Squid Game 3 follows Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), who returns to the deadly game with personal motives, losing his closest friend, and the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), who hides his identity while navigating the brutal competition. According to Netflix's Tudum website, Squid Game Season 3 garnered approximately 46.3 million views from June 30 to July 6, maintaining the number one spot in the Top 10 across 93 countries for two consecutive weeks. Additionally, it achieved 100.63 million views within ten days of its release, ranking as the third most popular non-English series on Netflix, a remarkable feat considering all previous seasons of Squid Game occupy the top three spots in the same category.