Lee Jung-jae is trying his best to stay in the present after his 2022 Emmy nomination.
The Squid Game star is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, alongside Succession's Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong, Ozark's Jason Bateman, Better Call Saul's Bob Odenkirk and Severance's Adam Scott. It's a big surprise for the South Korean actor, who's still in awe of the response to the series.
"It just feels like a miracle," Lee told E! News. "I think this is completely unbelievable."
So, it makes sense that Lee isn't thinking about Squid Game season two, as he wants to relish this career-defining moment. (The series received 14 nominations, including Outstanding Drama series, making it the first Korean-language series to garner an Emmy nomination.)
More than that, the actor trusts creator Hwang Dong-hyuk to create a compelling follow-up that will surprise even him. "I'm trying to stop myself from thinking about the storyline of season two or trying to imagine anything," Lee explained, "because I really want to capture that intense feeling when I read the script for the first time."
He added, "I think the director is trying to coming up with a lot of ideas even at this moment, but I intentionally try not to ask him any questions."
Netflix confirmed Squid Game's renewal in a June 12 letter from Hwang, which teased Lee and Lee Byung-hun's return, as well as the introduction of a new character. According to the creator, Young-hee, the girl who inspired the animatronic figure in Red Light, Green Light, will reunite with her boyfriend Cheol-su.
What's more, Netflix is looking for people to play a real-life version of Squid Game—minus the execution part, of course. In the series, 456 players will go head-to-head in a series of games similar to the ones played in the show. Whoever makes it through the competition will take home $4.56 million. Netflix joked, "The stakes are high, but in this game the worst fate is going home empty-handed."
Looks like Netflix has another hit on their hands!
Read the complete list of Emmy nominations here!
(E! and NBC are both members of the NBCUniversal family.)