Park Sung-hoon knew there would be pressure placed on him after taking on the role of Cho Hyun-ju, a trans woman in “Squid Game” Season 2 who participates as a player in the games in order to help fund her gender-affirming surgery.
“I was quite amazed at the opportunity — I felt like as an actor it was going to be quite the challenge,” Park tells Variety. “I did have concerns about portraying a trans woman because I am a cisgender man, so I really wanted to approach it as cautiously and thoughtfully as possible.”
As director and show creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has explained since the show’s release last December, the decision to cast Park in the role came as a result of the lack of openly transgender actors in South Korea. He told TVGuide that while he was thinking of doing more authentic casting, it would be “near impossible to find someone who we could cast” in the role.
Park echoes Hwang’s outlook on the lack of transgender actors to look up to in South Korea. In order to prepare for the role, Park, who previously played openly gay characters in productions of “The Pride” and “Two Weddings and a Funeral,” consulted transgender people to learn from their experiences.
Park adds that “I really hope that Hyun-ju will play a part in maybe getting rid of some of those biases. I hope that people who belong in those communities will no longer feel discriminated against or experience disadvantages within society. I hope that everyone can be true to who they really are and feel confident in doing so.”
Controversy surrounding cisgender actors playing trans characters is nothing new, with actors like Eddie Redmayne, who was Oscar-nominated for playing Lili Elbe in “The Danish Girl,” later regretting taking on their roles. To put things into perspective, Karla Sofía Gascón just became the first openly trans actor nominated for an Academy Award, while multiple cisgender actors such as Redmayne, Jared Leto and Hilary Swank have been nominated or won Oscars for playing trans characters.
But despite some of the controversy surrounding Park’s involvement, in the month since “Squid Game” Season 2 was released on Netflix and became the platform’s third-most watched season of all-time, Hyun-ju has quickly become a fan favorite character across the world given her resourcefulness and bravery throughout the season.
Many of the details that bring Hyun-ju to life from the page were a direct result of Park’s collaboration with Hwang.
“I was the one that came up with her having short bangs,” Park says. “And in the scene where she explains to the others how to use the MP5 submachine gun, I suggested the idea of adding the last ‘Understood’ line, because I felt like when she asks that, it really makes her strong and fierce. It shows you that she’s an ex-Special Forces soldier.”
With a third season of “Squid Game” on the horizon, Park teases that fans will “get even more of Hyun-ju’s charms” following that major Season 2 cliffhanger. But no matter when Season 3 may premiere, and where his career is headed next, Park continues to get countless messages from fans.
“Honestly, so much that I can’t read every single one of them,” Park says. “They thanked me for portraying Hyun-ju, for being loyal to her and doing her justice. And I loved comments saying that they had never seen a trans character like this before and how it was empowering for them. So reading these comments, part of me feels relief and a lot of pride.”
From Variety US