Drug offender T.O.P (Choi Seung-hyun) who acted as a drug user will be interviewed for ‘Ogeum 2’ [Comprehensive]

Actor Choi Seung-hyun (T.O.P), formerly of group Big Bang, who appeared in Netflix‘s ‘Squid Game 2’, will be interviewed later.

On the 10th, ‘Squid Game 2’ announced an additional round of interviews and provided Choi Seung-hyun’s interview schedule. According to the announcement, Choi Seung-hyun will meet with reporters at a location in Seoul on the 15th to talk about ‘Squid Game 2’. This will be his first meeting with reporters in 9 years since attending an interview to commemorate the release of his third regular album ‘MADE’ as a member of group Big Bang in 2016.

Choi Seung-hyun was sentenced to 10 months in prison and 2 years of probation in July 2017 for smoking marijuana. After being judged unfit for re-service, he was forcibly discharged from the military police and later completed his alternative service as a social service agent. Since then, he has continued his activities on his own in the SNS world without any entertainment activities.

In 2019, when a netizen left a comment on SNS saying, “Do some self-reflection. Don‘t use SNS. Don’t come back,” Choi Seung-hyun directly replied, “Yes! I have no intention of doing it either. Just look at pictures of animals.” In 2020, during a SNS live broadcast, he said, “I won‘t make a comeback in Korea. I don’t want to make a comeback at all. If I do that, there will be another article, so someone next to me is telling me not to. Please stop publishing articles about people who have no thoughts,” and appealed, “People are so mean. I wish I could find love.”

Since then, Choi Seung-hyun has seemed to be taking steps unrelated to the entertainment industry, such as participating in the wine business and the first civilian moon flight project. In May 2023, he officially left Big Bang on his own, confessing, “I already said that I would leave. Last year, I‘ve been facing a new chapter in my life.” At the same time, he marked the letter X (X) with the part about Big Bang in the captured image of an article calling himself “Big Bang T.O.P.”

At a time when no one was interested, Choi Seung-hyun suddenly attempted to make a comeback with “Squid Game 2.” Regarding Choi Seung-hyun’s casting, Director Hwang Dong-hyeok said at a press conference in August of last year, “I can‘t go into detail about the character, but it was a role that required courage for Choi Seung-hyun. I decided because I thought he was the most suitable actor.” He continued, “You’ll know that Choi Seung-hyun himself didn‘t find this project easy. I hope you’ll wait a little longer and make another judgment when the project comes out.”

How great of a role must this be for them to cast Choi Seung-hyun? However, in ‘Squid Game 2’, which was released at the end of last year, Thanos played by Choi Seung-hyun was a drug offender who started out as a rapper. In fact, Choi Seung-hyun also had the commonality of being a rapper and a drug offender, but it was not judged that the role required any special courage. He did not show any particularly great acting. Rather, some viewers who knew Choi Seung-hyun‘s criminal record expressed their discomfort with the drug acting of a drug offender.

What kind of courage did he need? As the questions grow, Choi Seung-hyun will appear before the press on the 15th with the answer.

Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com