Choi Seung-hyun faces the media for the first time since 2017 drug conviction for promoting ‘Squid Game’

A still from the second season of ″Squid Game″ (NETFLIX)

Actor Choi Seung-hyun, also known as former Big Bang member TOP, will meet the press for the first time in eight years as part of the promotion of “Squid Game” (2021-), where he will discuss his much-discussed participation in the Netflix original.

According to Netflix, on Friday the actor will meet the press for an interview, marking his first official “Squid Game” promotional event. The interview will be published next week.

Choi, who plays Thanos — a drug addict retired rapper — in the series has not been in the public eye since 2017, when he was sentenced to 10 months in prison with two years of probation and a 12,000 won ($8) fine for smoking marijuana four times.

Choi also recently faced backlash for his performance in the series, with viewers criticizing his performance as awkward, unnatural and overly exaggerated. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk came to the actor’s defense in a recent interview.

“The result was what I wrote, directed, approved and edited, so it should be seen as my intention,” the director said.

The second season of “Squid Game” was released on December 26, 2024 and was again directed by Hwang, who was also in the first season.

The new season continues the deadly survival competition, where hundreds of contestants play children’s games for a prize of 45.6 billion won. However, this season also follows Gi-hun, the previous season’s winner, as he tries to end the cruel competition and confront its organizer, Front Man, by re-entering the game.

The new season features returning stars Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun and Wi Ha-jun along with newcomers Choi, Yim Si-wan and Park Gyu-young.

It recently topped Netflix’s Top 10 Non-English TV list for the second week in a row, garnering 58.2 million views as of Sunday.

The series was also nominated for best television series at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, but lost to FX/Hulu’s “Shogun” (2024), a historical drama set in 17th-century Japan.

BY KIM JI-YE ((email protected))