“Had a lot of fun”: Lee Byung-hun breaks down his Squid Game character’s different versions

Netflix's Squid Game premiered its final season in June 2025 and ended Gi-hun and In-ho/Front Man's story. However, the characters will be remembered by the fans of the thriller K-drama for a long time. Not just fans, even the actors who starred in the show have, time and again, talked about how crucial the roles were for them.

Recently, in a Vanity Fair interview, popular actor Lee Byung-hun, who played the character of the Front Man, also talked about the role and how he enjoyed playing three different versions of the character, and quipped:

"I had a lot of fun."

More on this in our story.

Lee Byung-hun talks about the different versions of In-ho from Squid Game

Squid Game premiered in 2021 and narrated the story of Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), a gambling addict who is among numerous other players invited to play children's games and win a lot of cash. However, as the game begins, the players realise that it is no ordinary children's game and losing it will also mean losing their own lives. Through the narrative, the K-drama also highlights human greed and selfishness.

As the new season of Squid Game arrived, it also showcased how these games were conducted among the poor and needy for the enjoyment of the rich and powerful. Lee Byung-hun's character, the Front Man, was the central character who conducted the games. In Season 2, his role became more elaborate as he was not only the Front Man but also disguised himself as Player 001, In-ho.

By the final season of Squid Game, more about In-ho's life before he participated in the Squid Game was also revealed. Throughout the three seasons of the acclaimed Netflix K-drama, Byung-hun highlighted different versions of his character, showcasing the exceptional range of the South Korean actor's acting.

In the Vanity Fair interview, he described playing the three versions of In-ho, i.e., the Front Man, Player 001, and the 'original In-ho' just before he became a part of ruthless games, as 'being hard but also interesting,' and said:

"It was hard part, but at the same time it was very interesting for me. "

He further talked about the 'Mingle' game from Squid Game Season 2, where he gave us one of the best acting performances in the series. In the game, while pretending to be one of the players and an ally of Gi-hun, he let his mask slip off as he killed one of the players to save himself and Jung-bae, while the latter witnessed everything. Byung-hun revealed how complicated the scene was and also revealed that he tried to incorporate all of his character's versions at one time and stated:

"When I was acting that scene, I tried to feel all those characters at one time, so it was very complicated, but at the same time, very unique. "

While the Front Man might be one of the most popular characters from Squid Game, it isn't the only acclaimed role that made Lee Byung-hun one of the most celebrated actors, as he was also seen in other fan-favorite projects such as Mr. Sunshine, I Saw the Devil, and is now a part of Park Chan-wook's No Other Choice.

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