Playing a single villain on a hit show can be a big challenge for an actor. In the final season of Squid Game, Lee Byung-hun faced a much more complex task. He had to portray three different versions of the same man. The actor recently shared how he brought the mysterious Front Man to life, along with his other identities, describing the work as difficult but very enjoyable .
In the final season, the Front Man is back in the control room. He is no longer hiding among the players as he was before. His main goal is to confront Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), trying to make him give up his hopeful view of humanity . According to the show’s creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, the Front Man sees Gi-hun’s beliefs as foolish and naive. He is determined to prove that the brutal cycle of rulers and followers is the only truth of the world .
Breaking Down the Three Faces of One Character
The complexity of Lee Byung-hun’s role came from playing one character with three distinct faces. He had to show the man known as In-ho, the fabricated player Young-il (Player 001), and the masked Front Man who runs the deadly competition. The actor said figuring out the different details for each version was the hardest, but also the most fun part of his job in Season 2 .
He pointed to a specific scene in Season 2, Episode 6 as the perfect example. During the “Mingle” game, his character must quickly kill another player to follow the rules. In that moment, Lee Byung-hun said the audience can see all three personas at once . “You get In-ho, Yong-il, and the Front Man in that single scene,” he explained. He felt a very unique mix of emotions while filming it and hoped viewers could feel that complexity too .
The Tragic Past That Created a Monster
A major part of Season 2 was revealing how a man becomes so cold. The story shows that the Front Man was not always a monster. He was once a police officer who loved his wife deeply. When she became very sick with acute cirrhosis and needed a liver transplant, they also discovered she was pregnant . They decided to keep the baby against medical advice. As money ran out and her health got worse, the man borrowed cash from a dangerous source. His police bosses found out and called it a bribe, costing him his job. With no other options, he entered the Squid Game .
He won the prize money but lost everything else. “Going through everything as a player, he was left torn and traumatized,” Lee Byung-hun said. This tragedy stripped away his hope and emotions, turning him into the ruthless Front Man . This heartbreaking history is what he uses to try to break Gi-hun’s spirit, to show him that winning always comes at a terrible cost.
A Subtle Change Behind the Mask
Even a character as hard as the Front Man might not be completely unchanged. Lee Byung-hun suggested that spending time with the players, even as part of a act, affected his character. Although he went into the games as Player 001 to manipulate Gi-hun, sharing the experience with others caused a small shift inside him .
The actor gave an example from the shocking moment the Front Man shoots Gi-hun’s friend Jung-bae. “Because he’s behind the mask, the audience believes that he’s this cruel, merciless figure who could just shoot someone in the eye without a blink of an eye,” Lee Byung-hun said. “But I think maybe behind the mask, In-ho might have squinted a little before shooting” . This hints that a tiny piece of humanity might still remain buried deep within him.
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The Final Confrontation and a Seed of Hope
For the final season, the Front Man drops all pretenses. He lets go of his Player 001 identity and returns to his place in the arena’s control room . His mission is clear: to dismantle Gi-hun’s noble beliefs and prove that people will always revert to a selfish, brutal nature . Lee Byung-hun noted that the Front Man isn’t really interested in whether Gi-hun lives or dies. He wants to change Gi-hun’s mind, to make him think the same hopeless way .
However, the actor believes the long duel might have an unexpected effect. “As he goes through his duel with Gi-hun on their opposing beliefs… I hope that there is some kind of change sprouting inside of him,” Lee Byung-hun shared. He hopes viewers can spot this “seed of hope” beginning to grow in the character by the end . He and director Hwang agreed that some of the Front Man’s exchanges, especially with the returning VIPs, should show he still has a last remaining piece of humanity .
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