Profile Of 'Squid Game' Star, Lee Jung Jae Who Is Considered Unknown By Steven Spielberg

Lee Jung Jae. (Instagram/@from_jjlee)

JAKARTA - The Korean drama Squid Game is a Netflix hit series from South Korea that tells the story of a competition of 456 people to win 456 million won. The series became the most-watched title worldwide beating Bridgerton.

Its success led filmmaker and director Steven Spielberg to make a special statement at the PGA Awards on Saturday, March 19.

“Some time ago, it was domestic stars who brought audiences to films. Today, it's interesting, people who are not known to be starring in series, movies," said Steven Spielberg cited from The Independent on Tuesday, March 22.

“The Squid Game came and changed the formula for all of us. Thank you Ted," the West Side Story director continued to Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.

The statement drew criticism from netizens who called Steven Spielberg condescending to veteran actors who appeared in Squid Game. Among them are Lee Jung Jae and Oh Yeong Su who started their careers in the '60s in South Korea.

It is known that actor Lee Jung Jae is one of the veteran actors of the Chungmuro class in South Korea. He has starred in dozens of films and series before starring in Squid Game.

Lee Jung Jae debuted as a fashion model, then began his acting career on television, most notably in the college series Feelings (1994) and the iconic drama Sandglass (1995).

Lee Jung Jae won the Best Television Series Actor category at the 28th Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. This is Lee Jung Jae's first nomination and SAG win.

Netizens also defended the Korean actor. “Why do Americans like to think the world revolves around them? We are tired," wrote one netizen.

"Unknown. Bad choice of words. I understand Spielberg makes a lot of films that can introduce them to the audience but this is the case when people express themselves and don't offend (the other party)," said another.