Nearly a decade after being paroled for marijuana use, Korean pop star TOP (aka Choi Seung-hyun) has made his public comeback in epic fashion.
Squid Game director Hwang Dong Hyuk recently praised the BigBang alum’s performance in season 2 of netflix K-drama as rapper Thanos after previously being banned from Korean entertainment following his 2017 guilty plea for marijuana use.
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“As you know, actor Seung-hyun about nine years ago was involved in a marijuana scandal in Korea and couldn’t do any projects for the past nine years in Korea,” Dong-hyuk explained to People. “And this is a return after quite a long hiatus, and particularly because he plays a character who is a rapper and also someone who is on drugs.”
In season 2 of Squid GameNow streaming on Netflix, the disgraced Thanos (Player 230) quickly resorts to shady and deadly tactics as he competes in the high-stakes game while taking drugs.
“I feel like, in a way, it took a lot of courage for him to play a character, especially someone who shares a lot of similarities that are also quite negative for him as a person,” Dong-hyuk said. “So I think it took a lot of courage to take on that role.
“Despite the long hiatus, I have to say that as a director, he acted impressively and I am very satisfied with what he did with the character,” he added.
Following his indictment in 2017 for marijuana use, which remains strictly prohibited in South Korea, Seung-hyun overdosed on tranquilizers. “I would like to apologize for all the disappointment caused by my wrongdoings,” he said in a statement At the moment. “I’m too ashamed of myself to stand up in front of people and apologize face to face.”
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