He recently shared his experiences with ‘trauma’

Squid Game’s most emotional scene – which saw Player 007 break down after nearly getting his mum killed – was actually the reason actor Yang Dong Geun nearly turned down the role.

In Squid Game season two we were introduced to Yang Dong Geun’s character Park Yong-sik who finds himself in the games after gambling away all of his money. At the same time, he discovers that his mother Jang Geum-ja has also entered herself into the Squid Game to pay off his debts.

Though the two characters had a number of touching moments in the show, a particularly devastating moment came after Yong-sik abandoned his mum to die in the Mingle challenge. When she miraculously survived – with help from theorised lovers Gi-Hun and In-ho – he broke down in tears.

Player 007 almost ditched Squid Game of the emotional scene

His breakdown in episode five is being widely referred to as the most emotional scene in Squid Game season two, and that’s undoubtedly down to Yang Dong Geun’s incredible performance and vulnerability. As it turns out, that raw emotion was part of the reason that Dong Geun nearly turned down the role.

“That scene is actually the reason I almost turned down the role. I think it’s a scene that I personally didn’t really wish to confront… So, from weeks before, I was almost feeling sick, thinking about acting the scene,” he said. “I was happy just to hear that I had been cast, but when I saw the role I had to play, it started to feel torturous.”

He believed that due to his past as a child actor, being forced to “cry on set” became a “trauma” that he has grappled with for years. Now 45, he wasn’t sure whether it was worth dragging that trauma back to the surface.

“I’ve had to cry on the spot with many people watching. I’ve done a lot of projects set in particularly difficult times… and while some child actors can cry well, I couldn’t and that seems to have developed into a sort of trauma,” he explained. “The process of evoking such emotions was something I really didn’t want to face. So, I was on the verge of turning down the role… but since it was the Squid Game, I decided to push forward.”

I am thankful he managed to find strength in the role because it made for truly gripping television, and I’m not the only one.

Reacting to the scene, one person said: “The way he cries resembled that of a child. We are all just babies in our parents’ eyes. He portrayed that emotion perfectly.”

“Awww he cried like a little boy who lost his mom in the supermarket,” another said, while a third added, “You know it’s a top-notch acting, when the actor who played can’t stop crying watching it.”