For years, Lee Byung-hun has known that Squid Game is a huge, worldwide phenomenon. However, he only truly felt that achievement in the immediate run-up to Season 2’s debut on Dec. 26. As Byung-hun points out, his character, the enigmatic Front Man, was more of a “cameo appearance” than anything in Season 1, which debuted in 2021. 

“So at the time, I wasn’t part of any of the promotional efforts,” Byung-hun tells Tudum, sitting alongside Squid Game’s creator and director, Hwang Dong-hyuk. That changed earlier this month, during the bustling Seoul premiere event celebrating Season 2. In the new episodes, Byung-hun not only portrays Front Man, but returns to the competition as the new Player 001 under the name Young-il.  

“It really started to sink in [at the premiere] that this is a series that the entire world is anticipating and that it is truly an amazing and phenomenal series,” Byung-hun says. “I was quite awestruck.” 

Fans will feel similarly amazed when they dig into Squid Game Season 2, which is now streaming. Not only do the new episodes dazzle with terrifying stakes and unforgettable games, but they’re also devastating in unexpected ways, like the slow, tragic reveal of Front Man’s backstory, which explains how a decorated police officer risked it all and won Squid Game. Also unveiled: is how victor went on to become the ruthless host of the games, someone who “believes that there is no hope for the world or humanity,” Byung-hun says. 

Byung-hun — who has led beloved Korean series like Mr. Sunshine, as well as Hollywood films, including 2016’s The Magnificent Seven — relished figuring out the truth of the Front Man, while also juggling the three separate personas of the Front Man, Player 001, and In-ho, the man he was before the games. The experience was “intense and very demanding” for the actor — as well as rewarding. 

“The most important thing in bringing this character to life in Season 2 was incessantly discussing the expression [in each scene] with the director,” he says. “Having to give different nuances to each of these three aspects [of the Front Man] was the most challenging — as well as the most fun — for me as an actor.”