Squid Game: Emmy wins for actor Lee Jung-jae and director Hwang Dong-hyuk

CNN
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Smash Netflix sequence “Squid Game” racked up a number of wins at Monday’s Emmy Awards, with South Korean actor Lee Jung-jae profitable excellent lead actor in a drama sequence and director Hwang Dong-hyuk taking the award for high director of the identical.

Set in Seoul, the dystopian sequence which turned the largest present in Netflix’s historical past, noticed a whole lot of contestants in want of cash play lethal kids’s video games to win money prizes.

Lee performed Player 456, a single cash-strapped father who entered the sport and in the end gained.

The present turned a popular culture phenomenon when it debuted final September and was the primary non-English language sequence nominated for the excellent drama sequence on the Emmys. It obtained 14 nominations at this yr’s awards. Lee is the primary South Korean actor to win within the excellent lead actor class.

After accepting his award, Lee thanked director Hwang “for making a practical downside all of us face come to life so creatively on the display screen with an important script and wonderful visuals.”

The present’s creator, Hwang mentioned he hoped his Emmy as excellent director in a drama sequence gained’t be his final.

“I need to thank the TV Academy for this honor and likewise an enormous thank-you to Netflix,” he mentioned in his speech and gave a shout out to Netflix boss Ted Sarandos.

“On to season two,” he informed the viewers.

Speaking beforehand with CNN, Hwang shared his inspiration for Squid Game, saying that it was “a private story” that additionally mirrored the “aggressive society.”

“This is a narrative about losers,” he mentioned – those that wrestle by the challenges of on a regular basis life and get left behind, whereas the “winners degree up.”

Back in South Korea, many shared delight for the Emmy wins. “Lee Jung-jae made one other mark (for) the Korean film trade,” wrote one South Korean viewer on Twitter. Another called it a “historic second” for Korea’s movie trade.

President Yoon Suk Yeol congratulated Hwang and Lee on their awards, and mentioned Lee had honed his abilities by dramas and flicks.

“Actor Lee Jung-jae’s excellent performing has introduced the character and the viewers’ hearts collectively,” Yoon wrote on his Facebook web page.

Actor Lee prevailed over nominees Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul), Jason Bateman (Ozark), Jeremy Strong (Succession), Adam Scott (Severance) and Brian Cox (Succession).