Squid Game season 1 made stars of its cast as the Netflix show became one of the biggest TV hits of 2021. As season 2 drops on the streamer, here's what the original cast members are up to now.

The Squid Game season 1 cast now...

Squid Game season 1's cast was led by Lee Jung-jae who starred as player 456, Gi-hun.

Following his role in the Netflix sensation, he was nominated for multiple awards, winning a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performances.

He has continued to land big roles since leading Squid Game.

In 2022, Lee Jung-jae directed and starred in Hunt, which depicted the aftermath of South Korean President Park Chung Hee's assassination in 1979. Following his murder, North Korea saw an opportunity and dispatched one of its spies. In the film, it's down to the Korean Spy Agency's International and Domestic Units to identify the imposter.

Earlier this year, Lee Jung-jae joined the cast of Disney+'s Star Wars series, The Acolyte. Starring alongside His Dark Materials star Dafne Keen, he played a Jedi Master.

Unfortunately, it was cancelled after one series.

Also in 2024, Lee made a cameo in Korean action crime drama movie Revolver.

He will be returning to the cast of Squid Game for season 2, which releases on Netflix on Boxing Day.

Park Hae-soo

Park Hae-soo played the role of Gi-hun's childhood friend and now investment banker, Cho Sang-woo.

Since season 1 of Squid Game, Park has continued to star in Korean dramas, including the action thriller, Yaksha: Ruthless Operations, and spy thriller, Phantom.

In 2021, he appeared in Racket Boys, which was a show about a badminton club for teens. He also featured in Chimera, a series about a group of people who attempt to track down a murderer from 30 years ago.

In 2022, Park Hae-soo starred in Money Heist spin-off, Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area, as well as Narco-Saints, which is about a secret mission to capture a Korean drug lord.

Squid Game cast member Wi Ha-joon teamed up with Disney

Wi Ha-joon portrayed Hwang Jun-ho in season 1 of Squid Game - Hwang was a police officer who sneaked into the game disguised as a guard to find his missing brother. However, he found out that his brother was in fact Front Man, the organiser of the games!

Since appearing in Squid Game series 1, Wi has appeared in several Korean dramas, including an adaption of Little Women, where he played the male lead, Choi Do-il.

In 2023, he starred in The Worst of Evil, a crime thriller noir that premiered on Disney+.

Additionally, in 2023, he was a supporting character in Gyeongseong Creature, a historical horror drama. Set in 1945, it depicted the Japanese subjecting men and women to secret biological experiments, and the monster creature that was produced from said human experimentation.

In 2024, he starred in The Midnight Romance in Hagwon, a romance series about two tutors at an academy falling in love.

HoYeon Jung

HoYeon Jung shot to stardom thanks to her role as the sullen, strong Kang Sae-byeok - a North Korean defector - in Squid Game season 1.

Squid Game was her debut acting role, and it saw her land an Emmy nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Award win.

Since the first season, she has made a couple of TV appearances, including a cameo in the Korean comedy mystery series, Chicken Nugget.

In 2022, she appeared in The Weeknd's music video for his song, Out of Time.

In October 2024, she appeared in the AppleTV series Disclaimer, which starred Cate Blanchett, Kevin Cline, and Sacha Baron Cohen.

In 2025, she is set to appear in Korean sci-fi drama, Hope, which will also feature Michael Fassbender.

Squid Game season 1 cast icon O Yeong-su

O Yeong-su, who played the kindly old man who turned out to have a dark secret, had a long and distinguished career before appearing on Squid Game.

Following his performance on the show, he won a Golden Globe and received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.

Squid Game was his last TV role, though he has appeared on stage twice.

In 2021, he appeared in the play, Last Session, at the Yes24 Stage in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

In 2022, he performed in Love Letter at the Jayu Theater in the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-gu. The play tells the story of love letters sent between a man and a woman over 50 years.

Heo Sung-tae

Heo Sung-tae portrayed Jang Deok-su, a gangster who entered the game to settle his gambling debts, in Squid Game season 1.

He has appeared in several TV shows and movies since the success of the first season of Squid Game.

In 2022, he appeared in sci-fi mystery thriller The Silent Sea, historical drama Bloody Heart, and crime drama Insider.

There were also appearances in the likes of sci-fi/fantasy drama Adamas, Big Bet, and The Boys (not to be confused with the Amazon series of the same name).

In 2022, he also starred alongside Lee Jung-jae in Hunt.

Anupam Tripathi

Anupam Tripathi played Ali Abdul in the series, which launched him onto the international stage.

After Squid Game season 1, Anupam went on to appear in Korean drama Taxi Driver, Narco-Saints, and King the Land.

Earlier this year, he starred in the Indian Hindi-language crime thriller mini-series, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, which depicted the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 in 1999.

Kim Joo-ryoung

Kim Joo-ryoung played Han Mi-nyeo, a loud, manipulative woman who had a toxic relationship with Deok-su.

Like Squid Game season 1 co-star Heo Sung-tae, she appeared in Big Bet. She also made cameos in Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist, and starred in the Disney+ Korean drama Revenge of Others.

In 2023, she appeared in the time travel drama, Twinkling Watermelon.

Her big movie role also came in 2023, where she starred in Juhee from 5 to 7, which followed a teacher who, after being diagnosed with a possible malignant tumour, headed back to school and attempted to settle her affairs.

And in 2024 she starred in the rom-com, Queen of Tears.

Lee Byung-hun

Lee Byung-hun portrayed the mysterious Front Man, who also happened to be the missing brother of Hwang Jun-ho.

Since appearing in the cast of Squid Game season 1, he has featured in several movies.

On the TV front, he was among the cast of Our Blues, which debuted on Netflix in 2022.

On the silver screen, he has appeared in Korean disaster movies, Emergency Declaration and Concrete Utopia.

He has a further two movie roles lined up, including The Match and No Other Choice.

Squid Game season 2 drops on Netflix on Boxing Day.