Speechless and beyond excited! 'Squid Game' stars react to historic SAG nominations

Netflix Korean drama Squid Game continues to make history. The series has made history at the 2022 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards by becoming the first non-English-language and first Korean series to score a nomination. 

The show has bagged four nominations in television categories, including Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor for Lee Jung-jae, Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series for Jung Ho-yeon, Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

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After the nomination was announced, the lead actor of the series Lee Jung Jae, who played the role of Seong Gi‑Hun in the show, shared an emotional post, “I’m speechless and beyond excited to be nominated, not just individually but for our entire Squid Game team! I vividly remember the precious moments we shared together, putting in all the hard work to film the intense six rounds of games. On top of the unforgettable memories we share, today’s SAG Awards nominations will be remembered as a precious and touching moment.''

Adding further, he wrote, ''Thank you so much to the members of SAG-AFTRA. I am so humbled and want to share this moment with all the fans of Squid Game who have faith in justice and love, we as people cherish.”

Park Hae-soo, who played the character of Cho Sang-woo in the show, also reacted to the historic nomination. ''It is always an honour to be able to work on a great project with a talented director, actors, and staff. My sincere thanks to the members of SAG-AFTRA and all the viewers from around the world that love and support Squid Game,'' he wrote on his Instagram account. 

Jung Ho-yeon, who is nominated in Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series category said, she was surprised and is just happy knowing that her photo is going to appear alongside that of Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Elisabeth Moss, and Sarah Snook. 

Sharing the nomination card, Jung Ho-yeon wrote in the caption, ''Thank you SAG members! First, I am truly excited for the best ensemble nomination, which has made all of our team’s time spent together on Squid Game even more valuable. Working on this series, and acting for the first time, I thought about how creating something “together,” and “as an ensemble” just might be the true value of our society.

''I feel empowered to be reminded of how “together” is more precious than a solo achievement. I am truly grateful! I’m also reminded of our Best Stunt Team, being nominated for the best stunt ensemble nomination. I send all the love and thanks to the best stunt team ever who made sure all of us were safe on the set. Lastly, I was truly taken by surprise that I was nominated. I’m just happy knowing that my photo is going to appear alongside that of Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Elisabeth Moss, and Sarah Snook. Thank you to everyone who voted!🥳♥️,'' she added. 

The survival drama series was one of the biggest shows from the streaming service last year and garnered over 100 million views in less than a month of its debut in September 2021.

Meanwhile, Squid Game actor Oh Yeong Su, who played the role of the elderly player Oh II-nam, also referred to as Player 001, in the dystopian drama 'Squid Game', made the Golden Globe history. The 77-year-old actor became the first Korean actor to individually win an award at the Golden Globes. He won the award for the Best Supporting Actor in Television at this year's award ceremony for the hit Netflix drama.  

While the series became the first South Korean series to receive nominations from SAG, but it was Bong Joon-ho's movie 'Parasite', was the first Korean work to win the SAG trophy in the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture category in 2020.