Squid Game became a massive Netflix hit almost instantaneously when it was released back in September earlier this year. It depicts a story of desperate people competing in children’s games for a chance to win a life-changing amount of money – providing they survive, that is. Despite Squid Games violent script, Jung-Jae managed to fit some improv into the survival series.
The pilot episode of the Netflix hit began with a bit of background on Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-Jae, showcasing the character’s misfortune. He is unemployed, owes money to loan sharks, and poorly gambles for his income. Gi-hun eventually bumps into Kang Sae-byeok, played by Jung Ho-yeon, who subsequently pickpockets’ whatever money the unfortunate character had.
“Typically, you would just pick it up and hand it to her, but I noticed the straw on the ground, so I improvised and tried to stick the straw back into the cup,” Jung-Jae told Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show. “I tried to do it multiple times. That made Ho-yeon crack up so hard that she couldn’t lift her head up,” he added.
Wi Ha-joon, who plays Jun-ho in Squid Games, said, “I definitely think part of the appeal is the Korean children’s games. That can be very original, refreshing, and also shocking at the same time to the global viewers,”
“I also feel like we did a good job expressing the true human nature of raw greed and human nature that took place inside the games, which I believe resonates with a lot of the audiences,” he added.
Squid Game has been estimated to be worth just over £680 million to Netflix and has surpassed Bridgerton as Netflix’ most-watched series with over 2.1 billion hours of streams. Unsurprisingly, Squid Game has been given the green light for a second season and is rumoured to be released around the back end of 2022.
You can check out the improvised scene and interview with Jimmy Fallon below.
