Yim Si-wan, one of the newcomers to Netflix’s dystopian hit franchise “Squid Game” (2021-) in its recent second installment, joined the cast for a very simple reason: he’s a hardcore fan.

The 36-year-old actor says it’s almost the first time in his 13-year acting career that he’s agreed to take on a role without even looking at the script.

“I didn’t even know what kind of character Myung-gi was,” Yim told reporters in an interview on Thursday. “It’s just that I’ve always loved ‘Squid Game.’ I immediately said yes to the role before I even finished listening to the question.”

Yim plays Myung-gi, or Player 333, a former crypto YouTuber who, along with his subscribers, lose millions of dollars after making a lousy investment in a failed crypto coin. He vanishes as a fugitive after the scam and later joins the titular game as a contestant, where he eventually comes face to face with his pregnant ex-girlfriend that he had ghosted, as well as his victims of fraud inside the game.

It's obvious that Myung-gi isn’t a likable character, which is why Yim initially tried to portray him as a villain. But director Hwang Dong-hyuk thought otherwise — he wanted Myung-gi to be as humane as possible.

“That got me ruminating on the essence of human nature. Are humans inherently good?” Yim said. “I personally believe that there are two types of people: those who are innately evil, and those who aren’t, but just make bad decisions. I think Myung-gi is the latter.”

It’s why he believes that Myung-gi truly meant it when he suggested to Jun-hee, the pregnant ex-girlfriend played by actor Jo Yu-ri, that they start a fresh life together when they leave the game alive.

“He’s just a very foolish person who relies on unwise methods,” Yim said.

The actor was adamant that Myung-gi, like in the second season, won’t have a major part in season three. The focus will be around Myung-gi and Jun-hee’s relationship, he said.

But to Yim, the weight of his role in “Squid Game” didn’t seem to be his prime concern. It was about the ecstatic opportunity of getting to wear the green tracksuits and playing the games himself as an admirer of the show.

“It’s the same feeling as when Harry Potter or Super Mario fans get to visit each theme park,” Yim recalled.

He did find some elements of the show “off-putting,” such as the newly introduced “Mingle” game, where players must escape into designated rooms in groups of specifically announced numbers while the catchy children’s song “Round and Round” plays in the background.

“It blew my mind as to how the director came up with putting two random, contrasting elements together,” Yim said. “How do you come up with the idea of brutally killing hundreds of people in a merry-go-round-like setting?”

One takeaway from being Myung-gi is that he teaches a lesson, and a good one too: bad choices lead to grave consequences.

“I own a small portion of Bitcoin, but it’s only because I want to understand what’s happening in the world nowadays,” Yim said. “I do know one thing for sure. Never mess around with altcoins. Myung-gi was a terrible role model for that.”

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]