[Journalism Internship] Anupam Tripathi from ‘Squid Game’ nominated for SAG Awards

Anupam Tripathi [B&C CONTENT]

The Korean Netflix show “Squid Game” has massively impacted people around the world since its release last year.

“My world changed [...] upside down from Sept. 17, at 4 o’clock [in] 2021,” said Anupam Tripathi.

Anupam Tripathi, an Indian actor based in Korea, has gained world fame after his appearance in “Squid Game.” His popularity has been skyrocketing, even earning a nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG).

“I thank the SAG awards for giving us this nomination, and I think it will inspire and motivate more people across the globe. Nothing is impossible if you have patience, perseverance and persistence towards your goals.”

“As an ensemble nomination in SAG awards, it is more special because the people [...] I worked shoulder to shoulder with [...] helped me to bring out the best of me on the set for the story for my character. I have always felt that it was not my own effort only. It was everyone’s effort.”

The now-world-famous Indian actor elaborated on the start of his acting career in Korea.

“I wanted to study acting professionally, so one of my friends in India told me in 2010 that there’s a scholarship in Korea University of Arts as [an] Art Asian major scholarship, and it’s fully funded if I get through the exam. [...] That’s how I got to know about Korea and KARTS [Korea University of Arts] before coming to Korea.”

“Squid Game,” a Korean Netflix Series written by Hwang Dong-hyuk, has been on the worldwide Top 10 list for nine consecutive weeks according to FlixPatrol, a site that ranks streaming content on various streaming platforms including Netflix.

The actor shared why he thinks “Squid Game” is loved by so many international fans.

“[It’s] all thanks to our beloved director Hwang Dong-hyuk. ‘Squid Game’ resonated with everyone because of the childhood games, which were the core of the show, and the complexity of life [shows] through those games. It’s people’s story. I think that was the key [to the] success of our show.”

The Korean show highlights Korean traditional childhood games by explaining the rules in an intriguing and compelling way, naturally allowing the viewers to experience Korean culture and language.

With its interesting plot and story, the show was nominated for the Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series at SAG.

At the SAG Awards, not only was the entire cast nominated, but two other actors were nominated individually for actor and actress in a drama series.

Lee Jung-jae, who played the role of Seong Gi-Hun, was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series, and Jung Ho-yeon, who played the role of Kang Sae-byeok, was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series.

Being nominated for the SAG Awards was not the only history the show made. Recently, it was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award.

The actor expressed his love for his co-actor by saying, “O Yeong-Su winning the Best Supporting Actor [Award at the Golden Globes] was very well deserved.”

With the ongoing nominations, Anupam Tripathi mentioned his personal success from the previous year.

“AP [The Associated Press] officially listed me as one of the Breakout Stars of 2021 among the 8 top great artists and actors of the world.”

“In India, in my home country, everybody knows me as an actor, which is also a very special thing for me because I always aspire to tell my family that I can act. My whole Indian family [and] my whole nation talking about ‘Squid Game’ [...] [is] very special and sweet.”

“I hope in the future I will come up with more surprising and more interesting characters in the story to share with people. I’m happy. I’m extremely happy.”

The actor describes his plans for his future acting career.

“I am trilingual. I can speak English, Hindi and Korean fluently. I would love to work in different languages as an actor and see how much I can improve. [...] I want to work in Korean, [..] from sageuk [Korean historical drama] to saturi [Korean dialect] [...] in movies, drama and theatre.”

“Who knows? Korea could be [the] future Hollywood or Bollywood.”

Tripathi expressed his excitement for his future journey.

“’Squid Game’ is a turning point in my life, and I can say it’s a starting point.”