Squid Game season 2’s scene-stealer, Thanos, is played by a real-life rapper. Here’s what you should know about Choi Seung-hyun.

• Fans and critics are raving about a new player in the second season of Squid Game, Thanos.

• Thanos is a rapper who seems to enjoy playing death games.

• Choi Seung-hyun, who plays Thanos, was already a popular K-pop star before landing the role.

Warning: Spoilers for the second season of “Squid Game.”

The second season of Squid Game introduces a new cast of eccentric players, but the character fans and critics are talking about the most is Thanos.

Thanos (Player 230), named after the alien the Avengers fight in the Marvel films, is a purple-haired, selfish and callous internet rapper and one of the main antagonists of the second season.

He replaces Jang Deok-su (Player 101) from the first season as the main bully in the deadly children’s games. But while Deok-su was a menacing criminal, Thanos is a celebrity and a wild card.

Thanos and his sidekick Nam-gyu (Roh Jae-won) seem to enjoy the games, unlike the other characters who compete for money to pay off their debts. They laugh, jump around, and take drugs from Thanos’ secret stash while people around them are being killed, constantly voting to continue the slaughter.

Choi Seung-hyun’s crazy performance as Thanos has received widespread praise, including from The Wrap, which hailed it as one of the best TV performances of 2024.

The second season of “Squid Game” is expected to be a global hit like the first, which could increase Choi’s popularity outside South Korea, as was the case with other actors in the series, including Lee Jung-jae.

Here’s what you should know about Choi and his character’s fate.

Choi began his career as a K-pop rapper

Choi is better known by his stage name TOP, which he adopted in 2006 when he joined the boy band Bigbang, one of the first K-pop bands to become popular in the West.

The band’s fifth album, 2012’s Alive, was the second album by a South Korean artist to chart on the US Billboard 200, peaking at number 150.

In 2016, they became the first South Korean band to be included in Forbes’ list of the 100 richest celebrities, having earned $44 million that year: more than Drake, Katy Perry and Maroon 5.

Choi, who was an underground rapper before joining Bigbang, has also released solo hits like “Turn It Up” and “Doom Dada” but hasn’t reached the heights he reached with the band.

In 2007, Choi began pursuing acting and appeared in the TV romance K-drama “I Am Sam.” He starred in other shows and films and won acting awards in Korea.

In “Iris,” a thriller TV series, Choi starred alongside “Squid Game” star Lee Byung-hun, who plays the frontman in the Netflix show.

Choi’s career in Korea stalled after he was convicted of marijuana use

In 2017, Choi interrupted his career to complete military service as an enlisted police officer.

However, in June this year, Choi was indicted by South Korean prosecutors for using marijuana on multiple occasions in October 2016.

A day later, Choi was found unconscious after an overdose of prescribed sedatives and was hospitalized.

A month later, Choi pleaded guilty in court to marijuana use and was sentenced to 10 months in prison and two years probation. He also had to complete his military service as a civil servant instead of as a police officer as planned.

He told reporters at the scene: “I am truly sorry for disappointing my fans and the public. I will do my best to make a fresh start and not make a mistake like this again with what I have learned from this lesson.”

Choi appeared on Bigbang’s single “Still Life” in 2022, but that year YG Entertainment announced that he had ended his contract with the company, and a year later Choi confirmed that he had retired from the band.

Choi likely won’t return for the third season of Squid Game

“Squid Game” marks a bold return for Choi, particularly in the role of a character who openly uses drugs.

Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of “Squid Game,” told People before the series aired that it took “a lot of courage” for Choi to portray Thanos.

“Despite the long break, I have to say that he has done a very impressive job as a director and I am very happy with what he has done with the character,” Hwang said.

In the season finale, a brutal battle breaks out in the men’s locker room between those who want to stay in the games and those who want to leave. Thanos, the instigator of the brawl, is stabbed in the neck with a fork and bleeds to death.

Therefore, it is unlikely that Thanos will return in season 3 unless there is some kind of flashback.

Read the original article on Business Insider