Squid Game 2: Former BigBang Rapper T.O.P Plays Bizarre Version of Himself

The second season of hit Netflix K-drama Squid Game (2021 to present) is not exactly built for laughs, but it serves up plenty of second-hand embarrassment through one singular force: Thanos, Player 230.

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He is played by former K-pop star Choi Seung-hyun, 37, better known as T.O.P and the former rapper of K-pop boy band BigBang.

Named after the Marvel villain, the purple-haired menace wastes no time establishing himself as a chief antagonist.

High on pills stashed in his pendant, he pushes fellow contestants to their deaths during a game of Red Light, Green Light. But unlike the first season's brutally efficient gangster villain Deok-su (Heo Sung-tae), this villain operates purely in the realm of the bizarre.

Thanos plays more clown than criminal, a walking parody of wannabe rapper stereotypes turned up to eleven. He punctuates threats with random English – and, in at least one instance, Spanish, with "Senorita!" – drops impromptu rap verses mid-conversation, and struts through deadly games like he is shooting a music video.