[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from the Squid Game season three finale, “Humans are …”]
Lee Byung-hun’s masked antagonist, known as The Front Man, has stalked the edges of Squid Game since its debut — the coolly enigmatic figure who oversees the show’s merciless contest with a disturbing sense of detachment. But in seasons two and three, and especially in the series finale released last Friday, the character steps ever further into the spotlight, revealing new dimensions of sorrow, cynicism, and maybe even a lingering sliver of moral conflict.
Played with masterful restraint by Lee, one of Korea’s most celebrated movie stars of the last two decades, the Front Man is enigma personified, a man hollowed by tragedy whose only apparent joy is his unnerving devotion to procedure — and perhaps the occasional whisky sipped in solitude. But the Game grows increasingly personal for him after Gi-hun, aka Player 456 (Lee Jung-jae), re-enters the contest on a mission to challenge its central tenant — that human beings are fundamentally selfish and unworthy of grace or respect. In face of Gi-hun’s sacrifice and unwavering commitment to basic human dignity, does a crack ultimately emerge in The Front Man’s fatalism, or will he always remain the Game’s loyal servant?
In a wide-ranging sit-down with The Hollywood Reporter, Lee opened up about his character’s evolution and the layered meaning behind several of the finale’s most debated moments — including the Front Man’s cryptic encounter with Gi-hun’s daughter, and that unexpected encounter with the recruiter played by Cate Blanchett on the streets of Los Angeles.
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From the beginning, Squid Game has been famed for its exceedingly dark vision of humanity, and the real world outside the show has arguably only grown darker during the five years since the series first went into production. Rather than dwelling on that, though, I wanted to start by asking whether there was anything about making Squid Game that gave you hope, or made you feel better about human nature in an unexpected way.
Of course, Squid Game is a show that explores the darkest aspects of our social and political situation, while also diagnosing an absence of humanity. So to see a story like that resonate with people all around the world? I was happy the show we had worked so hard on was successful. But another part of me, I have to admit, felt quite bitter about the fact that these issues resonated with so many people in such an urgent way. Later, though, I had another thought: The show ultimately says that we need to wake up and look at what we’re doing to each other. So, the fact that people all around the world are connecting with this show and stopping to engage with and think about these themes — our collective loss of humanity — that could also mean there is hope for us. That’s the hopeful way of looking at the whole phenomenon.
(L to R) Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun, Lee Byung-hun as Frontman in season three.
No Ju-han/Netflix
The Front Man is profoundly enigmatic throughout the full run of Squid Game. What did you come to understand about his beliefs and motivations throughout the process of making the show?
You get a brief backstory of him in the series. He had a previous life as a police detective. He was a very ordinary guy with an ordinary family. But due to some really extreme and unfortunate circumstances, he lost his wife and child, and he experienced intense betrayal and desperation, which is what drove him to take part in Squid Game. Once inside the Game, he witnesses even more brutality and extreme cruelty right in front of him, and all of this makes him into an extremely pessimistic and cynical person who believes that there is no hope left for the world or humanity. And so, as he watches Gi-hun, he thinks that Gi-hun is too naive — and that he will end up just like himself, and only time will tell.
About that last point, there were some key moments where I was really curious what the Front Man was actually thinking and hoping for. One is when he gives Gi-hun the knife, and watches Gi-hun contemplating killing the other players in their sleep. The Front Man is watching him very intently, and the audience is given a flashback to a time when the Front Man was put in the same situation and killed everyone mercilessly. So, in that moment, is the Front Man hoping Gi-hun will kill everyone just as he did — or something else?
I’m glad you asked, because that uncertainty is exactly what I wanted viewers to feel when they watched that scene. I played that scene thinking there are both sides to him. I believe the Front Man wanted Gi-hun to live, because Gi-hun is someone he feels differently about compared to the other players, because of the time they spent together inside the Game. So if Gi-hun had killed everyone just as the Front Man did, the Front Man would have felt a sense of victory, because he would have been proven right in his core belief. He could say, “See? You’ve ended up just like me.”
On the other hand, if Gi-hun doesn’t go through with it — which is what happens — the Front Man will feel a sense of defeat. He would also feel a form of self-reproach, or even envy, in seeing Gi-hun protect his values in precisely the way that he failed to do. However, I think deep inside him, part of him was almost rooting for Gi-hun. The deepest part of him wanted to see Gi-hun not give in and continue to hold onto hope for the world and for humanity. So I played that scene thinking that he was feeling all of these things, but in the deepest sense, the latter.
It’s really amazing how much of that comes across in your performance, despite how little you say and how brief that scene is. Were there aspects of yourself — your memories, personality or beliefs — that you tapped into to help you play the Front Man, this very impressive but broken man?
For actors, every life experience you go through, every emotion that you feel in life — it all becomes an asset. And I think that whether or not I was aware of it when I was reading the script, all of my personal experiences affected the way I approached the character. So, yeah, there were definitely moments in my life when I wondered about the loss or absence of humanity — and it deeply upset me. It’s hard to pinpoint particular experiences or events, but I’ve been through some of those internal struggles. But the entire experience of just living life is what most affected the way I played this character.
How did you interpret the scene in the finale between the Front Man and Gi-hun’s daughter? Is he stirring the pot to try to get Gi-hun’s daughter curious about the Games? Or is this encounter a sign of his somewhat restored humanity — that he wanted to give her closure, and personally deliver the money her father won?
I asked that exact question to the director when we were filming — and he responded by asking me the same question. So we ended up talking a lot about this scene — what is he feeling at that point, and what should my headspace be while I’m trying to bring the scene to life? At the end of the day, I would have to say it’s closer to the latter. He’s had a little bit of humanity restored and he’s offering what Gi-hun left behind with a little sliver of the goodness that’s left in his heart.
But at the same time, his strongest feeling is simply to make sure that everything is done fairly and by the rules of the Game. However, it’s also perfectly natural for the audience to consider a lot of possibilities, as you just have. Is there another motive behind this? Is he signaling the beginning of a new game? Is he sowing the seed so that the Game can be continued? All of that is ultimately open for interpretation. We knew this scene would spark a lot of speculation, so we put a lot of thought into it — even down to the detail of whether the green tracksuit should be bloody or whether it should have been washed.
Similarly, I was wondering why the Front Man gave his brother the baby and the baby’s money. Could this be one more test of humanity versus greed — to see what his altruistic brother will do with all of that cash? Or does he simply think that his brother is a reliable person and this is the right thing to do?
After everything he’s been through, I think the Front Man is a little sick of testing people or putting them through trials at this point. I think that impulse may have left after the Game ended — especially after everything he went through in his confrontation with Gi-hun, and after witnessing Gi-hun’s sacrifice. So I think he left the baby with his brother mainly because he doesn’t have a lot of options. Most of all, like always, he wants to follow the rules. The baby won the game, so the money should go to the baby. His brother is family and he knows very deeply that his brother is a reliable and trustworthy person, and that he will protect the baby and make sure no one takes the child’s money. The rules say the money goes to the child, and his brother can help ensure that.
The Front Man looks out the window at the recruiter played by Cate Blanchett in Los Angeles.
Okay, one last scene interpretation question. The Front Man’s reaction to seeing the recruiter played by Cate Blanchett on the streets of Los Angeles — is he surprised, or did he already know that there’s another recruiter out there and the Game, or Games, will continue elsewhere? I wasn’t sure how to read his reaction.
The director and I talked a lot about this scene as well. What’s interesting is that when I first read the script, I had a different impression. I thought the Front Man had already known that there was another game — exactly the same — unfolding in another country. But I asked the director, just in case, and he told me, “Please play the scene by imagining that you didn’t know she was there.” This was really confusing for me, because I got a very different impression from the script and we were quite close to filming at that point. So we discussed it quite a lot, and here’s the tone I decided to go for in that moment: As the series started, the Front Man had nearly no hope left in humanity — there was only a tiny little shred of goodness left in him, subconsciously. But through his journey with Gi-hun, he was able to nurture that sliver of hope, and by the end, as his Game came to a close, he’s trying to look at things differently, thinking, “Maybe Gi-hun was right; maybe there’s something still there.”
And he’s trying to reach this sense of closure, and the potential for a new beginning — and then he sees this other recruiter, pulling new players into the Game. And now he realizes that this never ends. It’s all going to just keep going. So, that sense of bitterness is the main feeling he’s experiencing in that moment. I actually wondered whether what I was trying to communicate would be delivered to viewers, so thank you for the question.
Cate Blanchett’s appearance has sparked a lot of speculation about a potential U.S.-based spin-off. I know nothing is official, but now that the Front Man knows the Game is underway in America, how do you imagine the Game would work in the United States?
Well, depending on the culture and local circumstances, I suppose the ambience and the arena and the specifics of the games could be a little different. There could be some U.S. elements in there. But still, as we’ve been discussing, I believe the reason the series received so much love across the world is because people everywhere can relate to its overarching theme of loss of humanity. I think that aspect is essential, so the U.S. players would have to go through a lot of hardship and face impossible choices. The essence of the Game would be the same.
Another possibility fans have gotten excited about is a Front Man spinoff or prequel. If Netflix and some of your key collaborators are behind it, would you be up for it?
Director Hwang and I have been joking about a Front Man spin-off since the beginning. We both thought that the Front Man or the recruiter could be interesting for more story, because we haven’t really explored these characters in their entirety yet. Their backstory is still vague, and their character is still a little murky. To look at the Front Man with a full character study would be a very fun thing to do. So, as for your question — of course I’d be willing to star in it. The character has already been built and designed, and I’m very compelled by him. Just as the fans are curious to know more about him, I am too. That’s a story I’d be very willing to tell.
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The final season of Squid Game is now streaming on Netflix. Read THR’s take on the finale cameo and how it could set up a spinoff and our two-part interview with creator Hwang Dong-hyuk on the final season and final scene.