Squid Game is one of Netflix’s most popular shows of all time and boasts several interesting characters. The first season centers closely around Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) as the main lead. While the protagonist has miraculously survived the events of the first games, most of the previous main characters are ᴅᴇᴀᴅ by the time Squid Game season 2 rolls around. One of the villains, however, is not ᴅᴇᴀᴅ and plays a key role in season 2. This is the Front Man, aka In-ho, who plays a bigger role in the second season when he chooses to participate in the games himself.

Front Man is played by Korean actor Lee Byung-hun, who has participated in both Korean and English-language films and television shows. His career began over three decades ago as he played parts in several Korean TV shows in the 1990s. Since then, he has been in everything from English-language movies such as the 2016 version of The Magnificent Seven to Korean тιтles such as A Bittersweet Life. Recently, he was also in the drama The Match, which is available on Netflix. Now, Lee plays another villain in a brand-new Netflix movie.

Lee Byung-hun Is Playing A Different Antagonistic Role In KPop Demon Hunters

He Voices Gwi-Ma

Lee has a voice role in KPop Demon Hunters. In a unique twist on a Hannah Montana-like story, the film is a computer-animated pop musical about a K-pop girl group who spend time in the spotlight while also hiding their true idenтιтies as demon hunters. The film is co-directed by Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang and was just released on Netflix. In addition to Lee, KPop Demon Hunters features a leading voice cast including Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, May Hong, Arden Cho, and Li-young Yoo.

Lee plays Gwi-ma, who is the demon lord in the movie. Gwi-ma is served by Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop), who essentially made a deal with the devil, as the saying goes, and is now forced to work with the demon lord. Given that the protagonist girl group is fighting against demons, the demon lord is their main enemy, making Lee’s character one of the antagonists.

Gwi-ma is a very different type of villain than Squid Game‘s Front Man. Unlike the show’s villain, who violently costs human lives, the KPop Demon Hunters character is a much more family-friendly character. As such, the animated film can show a different side of Lee’s villain capabilities, as he takes on a slightly softer tone. So far, KPop Demon Hunters has an incredibly strong Rotten Tomatoes score, amᴀssing 92% with 12 reviews thus far. Even with Lee playing a very different type of role, audiences are responding well.

KPop Demon Hunters Is A Great Addition To Lee Byung-hun’s Collection Of Villains

Lee Has Also Played Storm Shadow In G.I. Joe Movies

Squid Game was not the first time that Lee played a villain in a movie. His very first villain role was in The Good, the Bad, the Weird, a 2008 Korean spoof of the classic spaghetti Western The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. While it was not an American movie, the film screened out of compeтιтion at the world-renowned Cannes Film Festival, giving Lee far more international attention. This opened the door to more opportunities for Lee and helped establish his cinematic idenтιтy.

This was effective, as he was later cast as Storm Shadow in the G.I. Joe movies. He made his Hollywood debut in 2009 with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, a part that he followed up in subsequent films. This helped him establish his propensity for villain characters from very early on in his career. This likely helped him get roles such as the Front Man in Squid Game, and with KPop Demon Hunters, he is continuing on this trend.