SPOILER ALERT: This story accommodates spoilers for the Season 3 finale of “Squid Sport,” now streaming on Netflix.
Consider Netflix’s Korean dystopian thriller sequence “Squid Sport,” and pictures of the pink-uniformed guards, Entrance Man’s black masks, the over-sized motion-sensing doll and now-famous actors like Lee Jung-jae first come to thoughts. However one other important and acquainted ingredient viewers could not even pay attention to are the actors who voice the characters we’ve grown to like, root for, and, at occasions, despise during the last three seasons.
Meet Greg Chun and Tom Choi, who might not be family names or faces, however they’re the actors answerable for bringing to life “Squid Sport’s” two main characters. Chun has offered the English dub for antagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), who received Season 1’s sport solely to return in Season 2 with the hope of destroying it, whereas Choi is the English-voiced actor for Gi-hun’s main antagonist and “Squid Sport” head, the villainous Entrance Man, aka Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun).
Chun and Choi additionally carry the excellence of getting efficiently lived by means of three seasons of the drama that confirmed life inside a secluded, secret location the place brutally violent baby’s video games have been performed out in a quest to be the sport’s sole survivor and stroll away with billions of money (within the Korean forex received). And whereas In-ho survives the sequence and is final seen being pushed off in San Francisco after the shock cameo of Cate Blanchett in a random alley enjoying Korean sport ddakji (suggesting that perhaps “Squid Sport” might reside on), Gi-hun takes his personal life in a valiant finish within the sequence finale.
Beneath (and within the unique video above), Chun and Choi focus on their expertise voicing the characters, in the event that they’ve ever met their on-camera counterparts and why they suppose individuals linked a lot with “Squid Sport.”
How a lot do you know early on in regards to the destiny of your characters, and even how they may find yourself making it to the sequence finale?
Tom Choi: I came upon fairly early what the entire storyline was going to be for Season 2 and it was going to be a head-to-head match towards Gi-hun and In-ho. Then Season 3, I had no thought what was gonna occur.
Greg Chun: After I came upon that there was going to be a Season 2, I didn’t know which approach they have been gonna take the story. The very last thing we noticed from Season 1 is that Gi-hun goes to try to get revenge. However there have been different trilogies on the market the place the principle character survives, and on the very starting of Season 2, they’re simply offed, and it goes in a unique course.
As we bought by means of most of Season 2, in my head, I used to be like, “It could be odd to then kill him after which have Season 3 be one thing sort of completely different.” I made the idea that I used to be going to be there to the bitter finish and, fortunately, that ended up being the case.
In Season 3, Episode 4, In-ho presents Gi-hun a approach out with the newborn and provides him the knife to kill everybody else, which he finally ends up not having the ability to do. Tom, did you play that as In-ho having some empathy for Gi-hun or was it extra self-serving?
Choi: My inside information and seeing a number of the behind-the-scenes interviews, primarily it’s In-ho attempting to recreate the sooner alternative he had as a result of I believe he did the identical factor. In these flashback scenes for him, I do firmly consider you’ll see that he does have some compassion in coronary heart and in order that clearly has to hold by means of. I imply, as a lot compassion and coronary heart as you may by saying, “Hey, kill all people!” That’s how demented Korean cinema might be typically.
And even for a 1:1 scene like that, you guys didn’t really act collectively. However have you ever met outdoors of the sales space?
Choi: We’ve crossed paths just a few occasions and we’re followers of one another. We’ve additionally in all probability executed different dubs the place our voices have crossed paths.
Chun: I’m curious as to what kind of labor would floor if we have been allowed to do scenes with companions. It may very well be a catastrophe or it may very well be an excellent factor. I believe it is determined by the 2 completely different actors and the way they complement one another’s type and what sort of chemistry they share. I don’t know, but it surely’d be very fascinating to see.
Watching the present dubbed, it’s unimaginable to not get emotionally linked to those characters, which is a testomony to the significance of voice artists.
Chun: There have been a variety of seasons the place I used to be simply brooding and searching and grunting and simply respiration so vocally it was definitely not a really aggravating day. Quite a lot of Season 3 was like that. And this will sound a little bit foolish, however if you get into the trivia of dubbing, you actually try to deal with each second as a little bit puzzle that you simply need to clear up to one of the best of your capability.
Choi: Initially I used to be like, “Guys, it’s not me. I’m not performing in it.” However then the statistics got here out that stated that over 50% of individuals watch it dubbed, and also you’re like, “Yeah, I’m hopefully contributing one thing.” I’ve gotten some good suggestions. I additionally bought fortunate as a result of mainly, my character wears a masks within the first season so despite the fact that it’s my voice you hear, it’s very closely modulated till he takes off his masks within the limousine scene within the Season 1 finale. I’ve executed in all probability 80 completely different exhibits earlier than “Squid Sport” Season 2, after I bought the possibility to essentially delve into my efficiency.
Greg, how did you are feeling in regards to the destiny of Gi-hun within the finale?
Chun: The factor that I really like in regards to the ending, actually, is that this particular person — who clearly is a shitty father and he’s been a playing addict and a screw-up in a variety of methods — he has this second of final redemption in my eyes, the place mainly he sacrifices himself so the newborn can reside. I’m all the time going to be a fan of 1 final act of the Aristocracy from a protagonist the place there’s redemption. It’s poetic and it’s executed fantastically and is a superb strategy to finish the story.
And the cool factor is, is on the very finish Gi-hun has a line: “We aren’t horses.” Like, we aren’t these animals for sport. After which the final line is “People are…” and it’s left open-ended and he falls off the platform to his dying. I really feel like a real storyteller is one who asks some actually massive questions, forces you to ponder them, after which doesn’t actually provide the reply.
Tom, how about you with In-ho’s ending?
Choi: So, when the Entrance Man, In Ho, visits Gi-hun’s daughter in America, I consider it’s his solely definitive act of true kindness with none ulterior motive. Except, in fact, it’s to have his daughter avenge her father perhaps in a sequel? Even then, the truth that the package deal contained a bloody tracksuit continues to be disturbing and prone to create psychological trauma for the daughter. Nevertheless, I appreciated the closure of his character as a remaining gesture to the sequence. It illustrates that characters are complicated and never merely villains or heroes, to not point out it units up the prequel story of his unique time profitable and taking up the Squid Sport.
Tom, speak extra about your method to the position as soon as In-ho’s masks does come off. How did it change?
Choi: I liked the truth that when he has the masks on, I don’t should match the lip flaps, however then I used to be in a position to hone my craft for Season 2 and I used to be in a position to do these feelings. Clearly, he’s bought so many deep ranges and there’s a subtlety to it, particularly in these quiet moments. I’d have completely not been in a position to regulate myself correctly in these moments as a result of it truly is you preventing intuition. You’re on this sales space going, “I simply need to soar out of my physique and be this character!” However you really should do precisely what he’s doing together with his physique management, which more often than not in these intimate moments is simply shifting very barely.
Take us with you into the sales space if you’re recording and your course of. Do you get used to doing all of it solo?
Choi: I can speak you thru my thoughts course of first, which is warm-ups as a result of a variety of it’s wording that may get you tongue-tied and you need to manipulate and modulate. However then you definitely watch it by means of as soon as to get the unique efficiency and the nuances within the language and also you’re watching their mouths.
Chun: For the more difficult scenes, acting-wise, it really is less complicated for me to be there alone simply because you may simply be in your personal world and in your personal head and also you’re simply utterly free from distractions, whether or not that be any person else’s feelings or any person else’s tackle it. You’re actually left to sort of immerse your self in any approach that you simply see match to method each performing second.
What are the variations for you between the emotional and extra action-centric scenes?
Chun: For the extra emotional scenes, that’s all the time the problem for any actor, isn’t it? On the finish of Season 2, In-ho so graciously betrays all people and finally sneaks away from the pack, fakes his personal dying of the walkie talkie, after which places his masks again on and punishes Gi-hun for inflicting this entire revolt and shoots and kills his finest buddy proper in entrance of him. For that scene, there was a variety of simply wailing and gnashing of enamel that needed to occur at that time so the problem for scenes like that’s simply these are the finer factors of performing that may all the time be elusive.
In terms of the motion scenes, the problem is simply having to maintain screaming again and again and over. You noticed at first of Season 2, after I’m there attempting to advise all people on the “Pink Gentle, Inexperienced Gentle” sport and doing my finest to ensure as few individuals get shot as doable. That scene was nothing however screaming from starting to finish so we recorded it over perhaps three or 4 separate classes. So we might file and scream for a half hour after which be like, “OK, we’ll choose it up subsequent time.”
Have you ever ever met or had a dialog together with your performing counterpart who we see within the present?
Chun: Oh, no, I haven’t. Clearly, he’s an interesting man and it’d be fairly cool to have the ability to meet him, however no, there’s been no alternative.
Choi: No, I’ve by no means met Lee Byung-hun. It’d be bizarre, to be trustworthy with you. Like, “Hey, when greater than half the individuals on the planet watch this, they don’t take heed to your voice, they hear mine.” I don’t even know if any person would need to hear that.
What’s one thing that might shock individuals about your job as a voice actor?
Choi: I believe it’s harder than individuals suppose. It’s extra contained and managed. If you happen to haven’t educated your physique, you’d have a extremely tough time with voiceover work as a result of there’s an inclination to overact. However now that I’m enthusiastic about it, the largest shock is if you happen to play the emotion of it, then it’s really extra convincing than one thing that you simply’ve stated that matches the lips. Like, you’d droop your perception extra even when the lips didn’t match, if you happen to simply did a convincing emotional efficiency.
What do you suppose it was that folks linked to a lot with “Squid Sport?”
Chun: I believe it raises some very elementary questions that everybody can relate to, particularly this present day the place you’ve bought like an enormous wealth hole, which is nothing new in Asia. However the highlight on the wealth hole in different international locations has grow to be extra ever current lately. Whether or not you’re a part of this class or that class, everybody can relate to one thing within the present. And naturally, there’s all the time the overarching query that’s fascinating inherently, which is how far would you go for cash?
This interview has been edited and condensed.
