Haters gonna hate: Actor Yim Si-wan takes backlash against 'Squid Game' villain as a 'compliment'

Actor Yim Si-wan's character in Neflix's "Squid Game" (2021-) may have made him one of the most disliked people in the world — but he says he saw this coming. In fact, the actor has taken all the hate as a “compliment” for a job well done.

Actor Yim Si-wan, who plays Myung-gi, or Player 333, in the Netflix series ″Squid Game″ (2021-) [NETFLIX]

Actor Yim Si-wan's character in Neflix's "Squid Game" (2021-) may have made him one of the most disliked people in the world — but he says he saw this coming. In fact, the actor has taken all the hate as a “compliment” for a job well done.

“The director and I often joked that once this series airs on Netflix, Myung-gi would probably receive a lot of hate,” the actor said during an interview with reporters at a cafe in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Wednesday.

“We talked about bracing ourselves for it in advance, so the reactions I’m seeing now aren’t really shocking.”

The final season of “Squid Game” was released on June 27, closing its three-season-long story about a deadly survival competition based on childhood games.

Directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the latest season picks up from where the previous one left off, continuing the journey of Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae, the sole winner of the first season, as he faces off against the Front Man.

Yim was among the new cast members who joined in the show's second season. His character Myung-gi — or Player 333 — is a former crypto YouTuber who loses millions of dollars, along with his subscribers, after investing in a cryptocurrency scam. After disappearing following the incident, he joins the deadly game as a contestant and comes face-to-face with his pregnant ex-girlfriend Jun-hee, played by Jo Yu-ri, whom he had ghosted.

Despite his powerful portrayal of the show’s villain, Yim admitted that he struggled to understand the character, saying the role was one of the most challenging in his career. He felt “unsure” about it, needing to constantly balance carefully between good and evil.

Still from third season of Netflix series ″Squid Game″ (2021-) [NETFLIX]

“The confusing part was whenever I thought of the character strictly as a villain, the director would give me directions, saying that he wasn’t that bad of a person,” Yim said.

“So then, I tried to act less like a villain, thinking of him as a good person. But the director said that wasn’t right either. He explained that if the acting was too nice or pure, it actually would feel fake or insincere. So, I got more and more confused.”

However, in the end, this confusion worked in Yim's favor. Yim said, “I think the director’s intention was to keep the audience confused until the very end — unsure whether the character is a good person or a villain.”

During the interview, Yim also distanced himself as a person from his character, despite bringing him to life so vividly. He pointed out a particular scene that made his heart go cold toward Myung-gi.

When describing the moment of the show when it's revealed that Myung-gi had stabbed Hyun-ju, the actor thought to himself, "I really wished that wasn’t Myung-gi.” Yim said, “At that moment, I think I completely lost my affection for Myung-gi as a character.”

Director Hwang revealed in a recent interview that the series originally had a happier ending, with some players escaping the deadly competition alive. Yim imagined what Myung-gi might do if he had survived the brutal game and gave a surprising yet believable answer.

“If we assume that Gi-hun, Myung-gi and the baby somehow became the winners of the competition, I think the first thing that Myung-gi would do outside is get a paternity test for the baby. That seems like something he would do,” said Yim.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]