Who Plays The Front Man? Why Squid Game Hides Its Biggest Star
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Squid Game.
Squid Game's Front Man is played by arguably the show's biggest star — so why did Netflix hide him from its marketing? The streaming platform's latest hit came from South Korea and was released in September 2021. The series is written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, and is inspired by the country's penchant for game shows. Squid Game follows a group of competitors playing traditional children's games but with a deadly twist, and the lone winner gets to bring home the pot money amounting to 45.6 billion won.
Featuring several notable players who were all desperate to succeed, Squid Game's story unfolded from various perspectives. But, its main character is Seong Gi-hun/No. 456 (Lee Jung-jae). The notorious gambler was in dire need of money when he was recruited by the salesman (Gong Yoo), and although he was hesitant to join at first, wanting to give his daughter a good life convinced him otherwise. Primarily due to his seemingly unlimited luck, Gi-hun emerged as the winner of Squid Game. However, due to the many deaths he witnessed, not to mention being subjected to intense stress for an extended period of time, he couldn't even enjoy his prize until a year later.
While Squid Game mostly focused on the game itself, it also featured a subplot involving Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) — a police officer who snuck into the game as a guard in the hopes of finding his missing brother, Hwang In-ho. In one of the two major twists in the show, it was revealed that In-Ho actually runs the operation as the Front Man. The character originally wore a mask during his appearances, only revealing his face and confirming his identity at the end. It's an interesting creative decision since In-ho is played by Lee Byung-hun — a major Korean actor and arguably the biggest star in the series with international recognition. He's appeared in several Hollywood films including playing Storm Shadow in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) and its sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013). Lee was also in Red 2 (2013) as Han Cho Bai; Terminator Genisys (2015) as T-1000, and The Magnificent Seven (2015) as knife-wielding gunslinger, Billy Rocks. On top of these, he has a long successful movie and TV career in South Korea.
So, why would Netflix not capitalize on Lee's popularity and hide his involvement in Squid Game's marketing? Most likely, it's because In-ho isn't actually a main character in the show. Aside from the fact that it could take away from the twist regarding his real identity, the Front Man was only really in the last two episodes of the series; it's the same approach when it comes to Gong Yoo's appearance as the salesman. While not as prominent as Lee, Gong Yoo also has a massive international fan base thanks to Train to Busan and his hit drama, Goblin. But, he, too, isn't part of the primary cast. It doesn't make sense for either of them to front the project's promotional campaign given their limited screen times. South Korean shows have recently become big on cameos, with actors popping in for one-off appearances as some sort of a pleasant surprise for viewers. Lee's late reveal somehow emulates that.
Depending on what goes down in Squid Game season 2, however, expect Netflix to include the aforementioned actor in its marketing. Aside from the fact that his involvement has already been revealed, he could also be a more prominent player in the narrative as the show tackles the ramification of Jun-ho's supposed death. Additionally, Gi-hun is coming for the Squid Game to take it down, and with its original creator, Oh Il-nam (Oh Yeong-su) dead, chances are that the Front Man will fully take over the deadly game, setting up their conflict.
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