Facing backlash from Korean outlets for his role as Thanos in Squid Game 2, T.O.P revealed that everyone had fallen for his act — he'd been intentionally "cringey."
In an interview with Netflix Korea, T.O.P, real name Choi Seung Hyun, revealed that every decision about Thano's personality had been meticulously planned out alongside Squid Game director Hwang Dong Hyuk.
With his return to the entertainment industry, the BIGBANG singer explained that he'd wanted to create a refreshing character, especially for the Korean audience.
Read more: T.O.P Breaks Silence on 'Squid Game 2' Role: 'For Almost 10 Years, I Felt No One Looked At Me'
"I wanted to design and create a unique, never-before-seen character. I used gestures that were outdated and exaggerated to make viewers uncomfortable and unsure about whether they find him annoying or cringey," he explained.
"I wanted viewers to sense an odd vibe from him."
Choi doubled down on the intended "cringe" factor, revealing that he'd collaborated with Hwang on how to amp up Thanos' cringe level.
"I talked with the director to find ways for Thanos to come off as more cringey. So I tried to maximize his expressions," he said.
His dialogue choices too, he explained, revealed much about the character and his neuroses.
"If you look at Thanos's lines, he uses many phrases that are old-fashioned for his age. For example, 'You're lecturing me when you ended up in this shithole too?' From those lines, you can infer that Thanos the rapper is stuck in the past. He worked actively in the 2000s before his career fell apart," he said.
The intended effect, he added with amusement, might have worked a little too well.
"I'm really cringing," he said with a laugh, remembering the scene where he raps to capture the attention of character Kang Mi Na.
"I've rapped for more than 20 years of my life, but I've never rapped for a woman to get her attention, so, I was nearly losing my mind while filming this scene," he said laughing.
"The rap in the original script was longer and had more words, but the director told me to freely imagine what kind of rap Thanos would perform, and then we discussed it together."
"I thought it would be better to keep the word count low. I filmed a video on my phone and sent it to him, and we discussed doing over-the-top gestures."
