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While actors in Squid Game have mostly been commended for their performances, one group has received severe criticism for their acting - The VIPs.
Netflix’s Squid Game is at an all-time high, with the show's popularity only increasing. The current most watched Netflix show on the planet, Squid Game has sparked several debates, including those on sub vs dub and things being lost in translation.
Incidentally, the VIPs happen to be the only characters on the show who communicate entirely in English and are played by American actors. In spite of this, the acting of these obscenely wealthy, bejeweled mask-wearing billionaires has drawn immense criticism from both Korean and international audiences of the show.
Squid Game's VIPs respond to criticism of their acting
The VIPs are considered to be the ones behind the brutal games in Squid Game, along with the old man. It is for their entertainment that the participants fight it out, with the VIPs betting on their favorites as one would in a horse race.
The objectively terrible acting done by the actors playing VIPs was questioned by several Squid Game viewers, with many taking to social media platforms to make fun of it.
The actors, however, have finally come forward with an acknowledgement and an explanation for the poor acting.
Geoffrey Giuliano, who plays the role of VIP 4, did not view the criticism as negative. Giuliano was the only VIP whose face was seen by the audience in the confrontation with Wi Ha Joon’s cop character in Squid Game.
The American actor, who also happens to be an author, proclaimed in an interview with The Guardian,
“I ain’t complaining, baby! I’m in the hottest show in the world. I got fanmail. Just today I got a woman who said: ‘Send me your autograph.’ So I did, and two hours later she sent me a photo where she had ‘Geoffrey Giuliano, VIP four,’ tattooed right across her forearm. There have also been some sexual invitations, from males and females.”
Giuliano, though, also shared an interesting anecdote from the set, which might give an insight into the strange English.
In my first line in Squid Game, you see me say, ‘Listen, I’ll give anybody some slack.‘ That’s not what people say. They say, ‘I’ll cut anybody some slack. In the final version, they went with the ‘give.’
Other Squid Game VIPs have been evidently less glib about this criticism. David C Kennedy, who plays VIP 2, admitted to being upset by the harsh comments from viewers around the world. Kennedy revealed that he was suffering from clinical depression, which made brushing off these comments even more difficult.
“I suffer from extreme clinical depression, so it’s been a bit of a challenge. Initially, I was gutted by the comments but, with time and distance and some honest self-reflection, I’ve been better able to filter the feedback into the stuff I can use to improve next time, versus the stuff that is bound to come when you’re part of a project that gets global recognition.”
The actor also shared his experience in an Instagram post,
VIP 1, played by John D Michaels, also attempted to offer an explanation as to why the actors’ English sounded so odd, despite being native English speakers. The reason according to Michaels was translation.
“It’s different for every show, but non-Korean performers often act with dialog that is translated by a non-native – sometimes even by Google Translate – so it can sound unnatural.”
Michaels admitted that while actors are given the chance to fix dialog, most of the time the script is handed in at the last minute, making any change impossible.
“And often we don’t have the scripts for the rest of the show. We are only given our scenes, so we have no idea of the tone.”
Kennedy also added that the VIPs were often not aware of the context to their scenes and dialogs, and had to invent their own backstories for the “total idiots” and “dirtbags millionaires.”
The VIP costumes in Squid Game, according to the actor, also made dialog delivery very difficult.
“We were all wearing very heavy plaster masks, and sitting on couches that were at least 20-30ft away from the closest VIP. We all had to yell our lines vaguely into the air, which added to the weird tonality of the delivery.”
While this explanation may suffice for some Squid Game viewers, whether it stops the barrage of criticism against the actor is something only time will tell.
The necessity of the VIPs in Squid Game cannot be denied. It is the sharp contrast between the opulent and oftentimes crass rich men, and the desperate people fighting to death for their entertainment that Squid Game's main message is hinged upon.
