40 Behind-The-Scenes Images Of The Squid Game Cast That Show It Was All Fun And Games

We bet that Squid Game was the first Korean series experience for those who have never watched any Korean show or film. It debuted in 2021, and it set the records on fire by topping the Netflix charts in 83 countries. And, we bet you di didn’t know that it’s the first-ever Netflix series ever to achieve that milestone! Imagine the popularity and quality of a particular series if it literally was the number one show in every country where Netflix is available! If you watched the show, you know exactly how tough life was for the contestants in every episode. In reality, all the actors had a blast while filming. Many made new friends, goofed around, and joked with each other off-camera. So, get ready to see 40 images showing the difference between the seriousness of the in-game contestants and their off-screen personalities!

The smile that we all wanted to see

There’s no way we can start this article without posting our dear Ali. He won all of our hearts in Squid Game, and we so badly wished for a happy ending for him. However, here’s a photo of the ever-charming Anupam Tripathi behind the scenes, who portrays Ali!

It broke our heart to see a kind person like Ali being used in the show. However, we can’t deny that looking at this image makes us forget about everything else that happened in the game because he is enjoying himself while dancing around behind the scenes! What a wholesome start.

Not a marriage of convenience

In the beginning, it looked like player 067 and player 212 were hitting it off for the sake of convenience, although it wasn’t like that at all. In real life, it looks like they are getting along pretty well. Take a look at this image!

Jung Ho-yeon (left) recently revealed that filming certain scenes was quite scary for her, especially during the fifth game. It was terrifying because the set was a meter above the ground, and they were actually running on tempered glass! But she’s equally happy to be a part of such a huge show.

Don’t wake me up

Here’s another image of player 101, Heo Sung-tae, catching some Z’s between the scenes. He’s actually pretty funny in real life. He took to Instagram and thanked his fans for “making him a millionaire.” A fan responded perfectly by saying that he won their hearts in reality, although he didn’t win the game.

Heo Sung-tae indeed deserves that power nap. He was sleeping while one of his co-actors took his photo spontaneously. It looks like a busy day since he didn’t even get a chance to get a wardrobe change. Yet, he embraced it and posted the image on Instagram with a “good night” caption.

Moments before disaster

We’d like to call it that because we all know what happened after that (in the show). But, what was a particularly thrilling scene suddenly lost the hype, at least for us, since we saw these hilarious selfies of Jung Ho-yeon and Park Hae Soo.

Here is something weird. Park Hae Soo said that he never felt any differences between him and the role he’s portraying in Squid Game. He also said that the choices became pretty easy as they advanced in the game, and he felt like he wasn’t even acting. Pretty strange…

The ultimate sacrifice

Both the actors in this image are of the same age! They’re only 27 years old, and they actually found a friendship to die for (if you know what we mean) in one another, even in real life, it seems!

Here’s an interesting fact you probably didn’t know about the two. Hwang Dong-hyuk, the director of Squid Game, recently revealed that both their characters were men when he first penned it a decade ago. In fact, Ji Yeong was originally Ji Yong!

Pouting on point

Lee Yoo-mi plays the role of Ji-yeong in Squid Game, and although she’s pretty dangerous on-screen, she’s everything but that in real life. In reality, she’s best buddies with her co-actors, and she’s often seen clicking goofy selfies with them. 

She even takes hilarious snaps of her co-actors when they aren’t even paying attention! In this image, she’s with Kim Joo-ryoung, who plays the role of Han Mi-Nyeo, who’ll do anything to survive, including forming the most unlikely alliances! 

Player 101’s alter-ego

Here’s the biggest bully in the show out of character and off the set. If you don’t recognize the others, they are the people of the violent gang in Squid Game. What’s adorable is that they all became great friends during the filming.

Heo Sung-tae (left) gave up a high-paying job for his dream of acting at the age of 34. He was a part of LG Electronic’s overseas business marketing team. It has been ten years since he has been in the film industry, and we’re glad that he gets the recognition he so deserves.

Jolly henchmen

It’s pretty odd, well, oddly hilarious actually, to see a bad guy this way. Yet, here it is. This image is of actor Kwak Ja-hyoung, who portrays the role of player 278, who is player 101’s (Heo Sung-tae) henchman.

He’s a disloyal henchman, and he has no problem being that way because the game is all about the survival of the fittest. Behind the scenes, Kwak Ja-hyoung is a pretty fun-loving person. As disloyal he is on-screen, he’s Heo Sung-tae’s great friend off-screen. You can see their bromance on Instagram!

Living the dream

Lee Yoo Mi, who plays the role of Ji-Yeong, is quite a hard worker. Today, she is a very successful actress in Korea. But, the struggle behind her success is a pretty long journey. For starters, she’s just 27, and she has been in the biz for over 12 years!

It only gets more challenging. Lee’s big break was her role in Squid Game, which came after 12 years of being cast in only supporting roles. Kudos to her hard work! We love seeing how she has stood her ground and stole the spotlight beside a crew of amazing Korean actors!

I’m innocent!

Kim Joo-ryoung, who plays the role of player 212, isn’t innocent at all in the show. But she definitely is outside of it. She posted this image of herself on social media, which was taken by one of her castmates. PS: The angel wings aren’t real. It’s just a filter.

Although many of us saw her on the screen for the first time, she’s actually a huge star in South Korea. Upon first hearing that, we weren’t surprised since she played the role of player 212 so well. We don’t think anybody else would have done justice to the role.

Cooling down

Player 101 was always pretty tense and violent in the show, so you could say that he’s trying to cool himself down. However, he’s holding a portable fan and waiting for his scene. He then posted this image on his Instagram account.

Heo Sung-tae said that his wife banned him from filming a bed scene in an interview. He had a steamy scene with his co-actor, so we wonder how that went. He also said that his wife allowed him to film completely naked if needed, although he wouldn’t since that’s where he draws the line.

The importance of water

If you have watched Squid Game, you know how precious a small water bottle is for the players. Even if you haven’t watched or are currently binging it, it won’t take long until you realize the importance of every small resource for the players.

For an Instagram photo, it’s a pretty great pose, and for an in-game moment, it is a death invitation. On a different note, there is a lot of speculation on Ali’s return in season 2. It’s highly unlikely, but the character has a huge fan base, which the makers might consider.

The gang

Lee Yoo-mi (left) took to Instagram and posted this picture. In the caption, she was joking about being the only slipper-wearing person in the photo. Speaking of differences, Anupam Tripathi (2nd from right) is the one who is different from his other co-stars.

Although he plays the role of a Pakistani immigrant in Squid Game, he actually hails from a middle-class family in India. He was a student and theatre actor in South Korea for a decade. We are really happy about Anupam’s success.

Bring your child to work day

Lee Yoo-mi (left) and Kim Joo Ryoung (right) were goofing around behind the scenes and playing with Instagram filters. There is a small difference in this image. Let’s see if you can find it out. Did you see what we mean?

Here’s the thing. Both babies have Lee Yoo-mi’s face! Well, that’s obviously a small glitch in the filter. This filter is pretty hilarious and innovative, as it virtually puts a baby carrier around you and makes you look like you’re holding a mini-you.

The three musketeers

These three had quite a tight bond in the show. Oh wait, we aren’t saying that the bond was on-screen. In fact, it’s real-life where this friendship bloomed. You wouldn’t be able to deny that fact when you look at this feature.

Just look at how they make such cute faces and click selfies on Lee Yoo-mi’s phone. Well, players weren’t allowed to bring anything with them in the game, but it looks like Lee Yoo-mi snuck her phone in for these precious moments.

BFFs

Oh Il-nam (left), or player 001, really twisted our minds. O Yeong-su played one of the most important roles and actually gave an amazing performance. Despite the show’s ending and the character, Oh Il-nam’s chemistry with Seong Gi-hun is just impeccable.

Lee Jung-jae (right), who plays the role of Seong Gi-hun, the main protagonist of the series, was outstanding. This image of them thumb wrestling, which was taken behind the scenes, shows that they were equally good friends off-screen, just like they were on-screen.

Enemies on-screen, friends off-screen

Guess who clicked this cute image of Heo Sung-tae drinking coffee? It’s Jung Ho-yeon! If you can’t remember their names, player 067 clicked this photo of player 101. Now, does it click? They hated each other in the show, but that wasn’t the situation behind the scenes.

Look closer. You’ll also find that the cup Heo Sung-tae is drinking from has an image of Jung Ho-yeon. Before entering the acting industry, she was a fashion model. Well, that explains the photoshoots and her images on random objects.

Huge fans

Boy, Squid Game really did go above and beyond that. Even its fans have made it huge, just like the show. Here is an image of Jung Ho-yeon, who played the role of Sae-byeok. She did it really well. We must say that.

Can you guess who’s this person in the image with her? It’s Jennie from the Korean girl band BLACKPINK! Here’s a fact: After Squid Game, Jung Ho-yeon’s follower count on Instagram went from 400,000 to 23,800,000. She’ll cross 25mil in no time!

Selfie time!

Heo Sung-tae (left) and Park Hae Soo (right) played their roles exceptionally well, even though they had to portray the evil ones in the show. No matter how villainous they were in the series, you can get a hint of how goofy they were behind the scenes from this picture!

Both the characters would do anything to win the game in the show, no matter how many people they had to betray. From one perspective, that’s actually a winning tactic. However, in reality, you can see them making cute faces for a selfie that’ll go on their Instagram. What a contrast!

Goofing around before getting beaten-up

Do you remember what happened in this scene for those who have watched Squid Game? It was quite tense. For those who haven’t, here’s a harmless spoiler. This scene is where player 067 (Jung Ho-yeon) and player 101 (Heo Sung-tae) get into a fight.

Things went down pretty bad in that scene. On the brighter side, look how Jung Ho-yeon poses to the camera. It could’ve been a few moments before they rolled the cameras. Even if you watch only this scene, you’d be able to say that they both nailed their respective roles.

Precious smiles

This image is of all the players from Gi-hun’s group before heading into the tug-of-war game room. Well, that’s just off-screen because we know nobody ever smiled that way during the game. Look how happy they were behind the scenes!

Imagine if O Yeong-su, who plays Oh Il-nam, or player 001 in the show, looked behind and gave a smile for the selfie. The image would have been all the more wholesome. We are glad to have these images since we can see the contrast between how they were on-screen and off-screen.

Getting ready for the shoot

Here is an image of herself that Jung Ho-yeon posted on Instagram. She’s not in the costume, but her hair and makeup are definitely done from the looks of it. The glow on her face is so wholesome!

It takes a tremendous amount of work to make the cast look so unkempt because that’s how their characters had to be. We thank Jung Ho-yeon for giving such valuable insight, and for those who are behind the scenes, we recognize your efforts as well!

The super creepy shoes

How can we forget these shoes? These shoes were actually good, but all the blood and dirt make it pretty horrifying. Here’s another picture that Jung Ho-yeon posted on Instagram, which she must have taken at the beginning of filming since they are so white. 

Well, they don’t look so dirty in this image, although they don’t look so clean either. But, we must say that the blood and dirt on the shoes made it something that we couldn’t weirdly take our eyes off of, although we didn’t even want to look at it!

The professional invitation

If you look at it, the game was pretty organized backward and forward. From the invitations to the rules and the aftermath, it was pretty legit. But, the invitations were very sleek and handsome, as if it was an invite to a huge resort.

Here’s a picture that Anupam Tripathi posted on his Instagram handle, holding the invitation card and the letter. The whole getting the card and calling the number process was so eerie. It seems like Ali’s excited to play the game!

The love of our lives

We simply cannot forget mentioning Wi Ha-joon’s role in Squid Game as police officer Hwang Jun Ho. His performance was simply fantastic, and needless to say, that won all our hearts. We wished we saw more of him because his scenes were some of the most exciting.

This photo that Wi Ha-joon posted on Instagram is equally cute! His whole story was pretty gripping, and we loved how it looked like two parallel storylines in the beginning, and it gradually started merging into one by the end. 

She’s so cute!

Kim Joo Ryoung, who plays the notorious Han Mi-nyeo (player 212), was annoying on-screen, but we were secretly rooting for her. Most of you might be able to relate to this feeling. However, she’s a doll off-screen. Have a look!

These bedtime scenes in Squid Game were pretty horrifying. But, it looks like they were all having a moment behind the scenes, especially Kim Joo Ryoung! She deserves all the attention since her role was so amazing and quite challenging to execute.

The last meal

There’s no way we can unlove this cast, especially these three, and definitely after looking at this photo. Jung Ho-yeon posted this lovely selfie on Instagram with her co-stars. Guess how many likes this pic got on Instagram.

It got more than 12 million likes! That’s incredible. Well, that could be because of the million-dollar smiles in the image. This image was possibly taken before one of the most intense but frightening and rememberable scenes in the show.

Photoshoot

We can’t seem to get enough of Ali. Here is a photo of Anupam Tripathi, who plays Ali in Squid Game. It looks like he’s having a small photoshoot between the scenes. We must say that he’s pretty photogenic from what we’ve seen so far!

Anupam Tripathi indeed did a great job portraying the most wholesome character in the show. We can’t think of a more perfect fit for this role than Anupam Tripathi. This photo almost got a million likes on Instagram! Incredible!

Remember him?

Many of you might be a bit puzzled after looking at this pic. Try recalling who this person is. It’s pretty difficult, but you’ll be able to guess if you have watched the series carefully. Can you tell us?

His name is John D. Michaels, and he played the role of one of the VIPs in Squid Game. Now can you recall? It’s difficult because even their faces were behind masks. Michaels has acted in many other Korean movies.

Working hard

Here is an image of Kim Joo Ryoung with director Hwang Dong Hyuk, and it looks like they’re working pretty hard to get the scene to come out perfectly. Kim Joo Ryoung posted this photo with the director on Instagram.

Well, till now, we have seen her annoying and angry version (on-screen), and we have also seen her cute and playful side off-screen. Now, we are glad to have seen Kim Joo Ryoung in working mode but also behind the scenes.

Couple goals

Finally, here’s a great photo of the power couple from the show! They were cute, but their characters were such that their love story (if it even existed) could not advance at all. But they look pretty cute off-screen, although they aren’t a couple.

Someone apparently captured Kim Joo Ryoung and Heo Sung-tae, keeping themselves hydrated between the scenes. They could be looking at a scene that does not have them in it. Pretty fun, eh? Kim Joo Ryoung posted this picture on Instagram.

Brothers off-screen

Sorry for the spoiler, but Ali was a sweetheart to everybody, including Cho Sang-woo. We just had to say that. This scene was heartbreaking, and many of us know what happened here. Those who haven’t should find out for themselves since we don’t intend to spoil it for you.

Here’s the truth. Both of them are pretty good friends behind the cameras. This image says it all. Anupam Tripathi posted this picture on Instagram with a caption saying, “Seriously enjoying our job :-).” They indeed are enjoying their job.

The heroes behind the screens

These are the ones who actually make the magic happen. Although it is difficult to name everybody here, the entire crew behind the screen did a great job and literally pulled off one of the greatest shows of all time.

We are talking about the entire crew, be it the cameraman, stuntmen, or anybody else. Now you are looking at the complete team of Squid Game since it is not only the actors. Jung Ho-yeon posted this picture on Instagram as an appreciation post.

Cuties!

Here’s a selfie of Park Hae Soo and Kim Joo Ryoung between the scenes. They’re very wholesome, and this image has our hearts forever. Their on-screen characters are very strange, but seeing them off-screen together is so cute and wholesome.

Kim Joo Ryoung posted her picture with Park Hae Soo on Instagram. The photo almost got half a million likes. She also captioned the photo with a dialogue from the show and also called Park Hae Soo handsome! We can’t deny that.

Player 276

It’s not possible to not forget player 276. Chris Lagahit was the person who did justice to this role during the games. He’s a Filipino who played the role of a Pakistani person who was in heavy debt in Pakistan.

He then illegally immigrated to South Korea to make money, but he joined the game since he could not make much money. His role was relatively small, but if you paid attention, you must have noted that there weren’t one but two Pakistani immigrants in the game.

Brothers in action

Not only do players 276 and 199 come from the same land in the game and are, thus, friends in the show, but they are also pretty good friends in real life! Chris Lagahit posted this picture with Anupam Tripathi on Instagram.

Here’s a fun fact about the two characters. Chris Lagahit was originally going to play Anupam Tripathi’s character (Ali) in Squid Game, but in the end, it didn’t work out. Chris captioned the image saying that Anupam Tripathi is his dear friend, brother, and recruiter!

What a view!

Lee Yoo-mi clicked a pretty great selfie from a great angle. This scene was honestly pretty intense, and Lee Yoo-mi also has a pretty different expression from the scene itself. We don’t know why, though. Have a look at the image!

Lee Yoo-mi posted this image on Instagram with a caption saying “Squid Game” in Korean! She also got more than 4 million likes on this image. We remember this scene, and it was a pretty tough one for Lee Yoo-mi’s character.

The most famous scene

We saw this scene in the trailer, on Instagram, and in many places because it is everywhere! You might have seen this scene even if you haven’t watched Squid Game. It is the famous Red Light, Green Light scene at the beginning of the game!

We must say that this scene is where everything changes in the show, and things get intense. But, this behind-the-scene image that Anupam Tripathi posted on Instagram shows how shooting that scene really looked. The best part is that we got another glimpse of our beloved Gi-hun.

Naptime

She’s not playing dead. She’s only about to fall asleep, and lee Yoo-mi looks so adorable while she’s doing just that! Well, we understand the stress in the game and off-screen. The atmosphere is pretty tense in the show. And it stays this way until the end.

Off the show, we understand that actors must be so tired shooting the scenes. So, they deserve naps and breaks between shoots. You won’t be so surprised to know that she uploaded this photo on Instagram, and it almost has one million likes!

She’s still sleeping

We are not sorry for posting two consecutive photos of Lee Yoo-mi sleeping. Don’t get us wrong now! We are only fanboying and fangirling over how cute she looks while she’s asleep. Take a look for yourself! She must be so tired!

Now, the question is, is she always napping between scenes? Or is someone always taking a photo when she’s napping between sets or wants to nap? Whatever it is, this photo shows how busy she is since she’s sleeping in that gloomy jacket that every player wears on the show.