Actor Choi Seung-hyun, also known as former Big Bang member T.O.P., will meet the press for the first time in eight years as part of the promotion for "Squid Game" (2021-), where he is set to discuss his much-debated 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 released next week.


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

Choi also recently faced backlash for his performance in the series, with viewers criticizing his acting 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 Dec. 26, 2024, and was again directed by Hwang, who also helmed the first season.

The new season continues the deadly survival contest, 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 attempts to end the gruesome competition and confront its organizer, the Front Man, by rejoining the game.

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

It has recently topped Netflix's Top 10 Non-English TV list for the second consecutive week, 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 out to FX/Hulu’s "Shogun" (2024), a historical drama set in 1600s Japan.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]