Lee Jung-jae became a recognisable face around the world thanks to his role in the popular Netflix series Squid Game.
Squid Game is a compelling series about a group of individuals as they are thrust into an arena where they must fight to survive. In each round, those who manage to win can continue playing, while money is added to the prize pot. The show has become a worldwide hit, starring Lee Jung-Jae as Seong Gi-hun, who wins the first Squid Game and returns in the second season to end the game.
Despite gaining fame worldwide, Lee Jung-jae is still considered one of South Korea’s most successful and well-known actors.
Lee started his career in the 80s with his first stand-out role being the 1998 Korean film, An Affair.
The classic film about a woman who falls in love with her sister’s fiancé became an instant success upon its release.
Lee has since starred in a range of film genres, including dramas such as City of the Rising Sun (1999), Typhoon (2005), The Housemaid (2010) and Assassination (2015). The actor has also received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics’ Choice Television Award, and six Baeksang Arts Awards.
A fun fact is that Lee Jung-jae was also a model before he became a renowned actor.
Does Lee Jung Jae Speak English?
Lee Jung-Jae isn’t fluent in English and has spoken openly about the challenges of speaking the language, especially while working on the Star Wars series Acolyte. In this role, he portrays Master Sol, a wise Jedi.
He admitted to taking a course and working with a dialogue specialist to help prepare him for his role.
Lee said in an interview: “We trained in advance via Zoom and once I got to London where the filming took place, we continued training both in person and over Zoom.”
The actor says that being able to show emotions is more important for actors than speaking a certain language. He believes that even if there’s a language barrier, he can still express his characters’ feelings well.
He told Deadline: “We now live in an era where the ability to express emotions is more important for an actor than the linguistic skills,” Lee said. “I don’t think it will prevent me from communicating the emotions of my characters.”
Lee Jung-Jae Talks About His Character’s Struggles in Squid Game Season 2
In Squid Game season 2 we finally see Gi-Hun return to the game, there are high stakes as he prepares to face the reality of trying to survive the game again and take down the mastermind behind it all.
In the first episode, we see Gi-Hun struggle to find a way back to the island – but thankfully due to some help, he manages it. However, that’s when the real games begin. The series features a slight twist as not everything is how Gi-Hun remembers it.
In an interview with Screen Rant, Jung-jae shared his thoughts on playing his character in Squid Game Season 2, saying that he focused on setting up his character from the start to make his motivations and decisions clear.
He felt that showing the mental and physical stress his character faces as the game progresses was crucial.
The actor said: “I thought if I can portray and set up the character well in the beginning of Season 2, then it would immediately lead to the rationale behind his motivation and his decisions. So that’s what I really focused on. And in the game, his stress becomes really pent up and it’s actually shown from the outside, the way he looks. I thought it was very important to really portray the difference that he experiences both physically and mentally.”
Lee Jung-Jae’s Most Popular Movies & TV Shows
Movies:
The Housemaid (2010)
The Thieves (2012)
The Face Reader (2013)
Assassination (2015)
Deliver Us from Evil (2020)
Hunt (2022)
TV Shows:
Squid Game (2021)
Acolyte (2024)
Chief of Staff (2019-2020)
The Time (2019)
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