Lee Jung-jae (right) congratulated his co-star O Yeong-su on social media (Lee Jung-jae’s Instagram account)
Oh Il-nam aka Player 001 didn’t win in The Squid Game.
But the actor who played him—O Yeong-su—enjoyed a historic win at the 2022 Golden Globes on Jan. 9.
Yeong-su, 77, scored the award for best supporting actor in a series for his work on the Netflix show. The win marks the first time a Korean actor has taken home a Golden Globe in the best supporting role category.
In a statement issued via Netflix, Yeong-su said, “After hearing the news of the award, I told myself, ‘I’m a decent guy,’ for the first time in my life. Now, it’s no longer ‘us within the world,’ but it’s ‘the world within us.’” He added, “While embracing the scent of our culture and while embracing the love for my family deep in my heart, I give thanks to everyone in the world. I hope you all live beautiful lives. Thank you.”
Squid Game co-star Lee Jung-jae (Seong Gi-hun aka Player 456) congratulated him via Instagram.
“All the scenes with the teacher were an honor,” Jung-jae captioned a photo of him and Yeong-su sharing a laugh on set.
The Japanese film “Drive My Car,” got best non-English language motion picture.
The Golden Globe Awards, Hollywood’s so-called biggest party that regularly drew 18 million television viewers, was reduced to a live-blog on Jan. 9 for its 79th edition.
The embattled Hollywood Foreign Press Association proceeded with its film awards without a telecast, nominees, a red carpet, a host, press or even a livestream. Instead, members of the HFPA and some recipients of the group’s philanthropic grants gathered at the Beverly Hilton Hotel for a 90-minute private event, announcing the names of the film and television winners on the organization’s social media feeds.
The HFPA came under fire after a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed last February ethical lapses and a stunning lack of diversity — there was not a single Black journalist in the 87-person group. Studios and PR firms threatened to boycott. Tom Cruise even returned his three Golden Globes, while other A-listers condemned the group on social media.
They pledged reform last year, but even after a public declaration during the 78th show, their longtime broadcast partner NBC announced in May that it would not air the 2022 Golden Globes because “Change of this magnitude takes time and work.”
The HFPA claims that in the months since its 2021 show, it has remade itself. The group has added a chief diversity officer; overhauled its board; inducted 21 new members, including six Black journalists; brought in the NAACP on a five-year partnership; and updated its code of conduct.