Actor and former Big Bang member T.O.P has opened up about his recent role in the second season of Netflix’s Squid Game.
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On January 15, T.O.P spoke to South Korean media for the first time in years to discuss his recent return to the public eye as Thanos in season two of Squid Game. The 37-year-old rapper and actor was previously absent from the public eye due to previous backlash over his 2017 conviction for marijuana use.
In an article published by The Korea Times, T.O.P shared that “the offer to play Thanos was a daunting proposition” for him. In Squid Game, Thanos is a rapper who joins the games after falling victim to a cryptocurrency scam. The character is also portrayed as a drug user, which contributes to his eccentric behaviour.
“The character mirrored my past, reflecting aspects I’d rather keep hidden,” he said. “The fear of being pigeonholed into one role made me hesitate. But destiny seemed to be pulling me in this direction.”
“For almost 10 years, I felt no one looked at me, but director Hwang Dong-hyuk reached out to me first,” T.O.P revealed. “The trust [and] the belief he had in me gave me the courage to take this on. As an actor, it is my duty to repay the trust. Excelling in my performance is another assignment in my life.”
The musician and actor also reflected on his thirties so far, calling it a “lost time” where he lived largely isolated from society. “I just kept working on music in the dark,” he shared, adding that “music was the only place where I could breathe”.
In early-2017, during his military service, T.O.P came under investigation and later tested positive for marijuana after the Seoul Metropolitan Police was informed of his use of the drug. In the ensuing trial, the rapper admitted to using the drug at his home in October 2016, prior to his enlistment.
T.O.P later received a 10-month jail sentence with a two-year suspension. In 2022, he and fellow Big Bang members G-Dragon, Taeyang and Daesung released the single ‘Still Life’. The rapper later announced his withdrawal from the group in 2023.