Recently, the talented South Korean actor Ren Shiwon has been making waves in the hit Netflix original series “Squid Game 3” by portraying the ruthless villain “Lee Myung-gi”, leaving many viewers both frustrated and intrigued. In response to the intense reactions his performance has sparked, Ren Shiwon jokingly acknowledged in a recent interview that he had anticipated being criticized and even quipped that some fans followed his Instagram just to criticize “Lee Myung-gi”, causing his fanbase to skyrocket by millions.
The character “Lee Myung-gi” portrayed by Ren Shiwon is a former YouTuber who originally gained fame and fortune through his “MG Coins” channel but fell victim to a scam, resulting in financial ruin. Left with no choice, he enters the “Squid Game” to try to turn his luck around, only to ultimately transform into a major antagonist.
Reflecting on his initial mindset when taking on the role of “Lee Myung-gi”, Ren Shiwon shared, “When I first read the script, I thought of this character as a villain. With that in mind, when I met the director, he mentioned that Lee Myung-gi is not completely evil, that to some extent, he still has a good side. That statement from the director left me even more confused. So I revisited the character of Lee Myung-gi from that perspective, pondering whether ‘Lee Myung-gi could really be a kind person?’ With that doubt in mind, I began filming.”
As filming progressed, Ren Shiwon continued, “I constantly felt a discrepancy between the guidance given by the director and the character as I perceived it. It turned out that Lee Myung-gi is not simply a good person. How should I explain this? I was always conflicted about whether ‘he is a good person or a bad person’ until the end.”
“Squid Game 3” was released on June 27th, and according to the global OTT platform viewership rankings site “FlixPatrol” data from June 29th, as of June 28th, the series had topped the popular streaming charts in 93 countries including South Korea, the United States, Japan, France, and Brazil on Netflix.
Following the release of “Squid Game 2,” Ren Shiwon’s personal Instagram following surged by over a million. However, he admitted that while the fanbase also experienced a sudden increase of a million with the release of “Squid Game 3,” totaling 4.18 million, the situation this time around seemed somewhat different.
Amusingly, he remarked, “After the third season aired, although many people messaged me and the number of fans continued to grow, I still feel like this time everyone is following me to criticize. Now, I even receive messages in languages other than Korean and English, but to be honest, I have no desire to translate and read them.”
When asked about his feelings regarding the show’s success, Ren Shiwon chuckled and said, “I am very happy that the project I participated in has garnered global attention.” As for any reluctance to play villainous roles, Ren Shiwon mentioned, “Recently, I’ve been feeling a bit hesitant about playing antagonistic characters again,” and explained, “Perhaps showing different faces would be better.”
“I don’t have an aversion to villains per se, but I do resist the idea of being too typecast in certain character types. The first time I portrayed a villain, I actually felt a sense of liberation and had a lot of fun.”
Ren Shiwon added, “There are now viewers who know me through the villainous roles I’ve played. If someone knows me because of the character ‘Lee Myung-gi,’ then I would think about how to bring about change, so in the short term, I will try to avoid roles similar to antagonists.”
Data shows that Ren Shiwon has consecutively played antagonistic roles in the films “Emergency Landing,” “I Thought My Phone Dropped,” and “Squid Game.” He acknowledged that following his experience with “Squid Game 3,” there may be new adjustments in the direction of his future projects, expressing a hope to return to playing roles of kindness if possible.