'Hippy Granddad' O Yeong-su Wins S.Korea's First Golden Globe for 'Squid Game' Role

This handout image released by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) shows HFPA Grantee, Founder and Executive Director of Kids in the Spotlight Tige Charity, presenting the Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series, or Television Movie Award on stage during the 79th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, Sunday. Korean actor O Yeong-su won the award at this year's Golden Globe Awards. (AFP)
This handout image released by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) shows HFPA Grantee, Founder and Executive Director of Kids in the Spotlight Tige Charity, presenting the Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series, or Television Movie Award on stage during the 79th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, Sunday. Korean actor O Yeong-su won the award at this year's Golden Globe Awards. (AFP)
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'Hippy Granddad' O Yeong-su Wins S.Korea's First Golden Globe for 'Squid Game' Role

This handout image released by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) shows HFPA Grantee, Founder and Executive Director of Kids in the Spotlight Tige Charity, presenting the Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series, or Television Movie Award on stage during the 79th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, Sunday. Korean actor O Yeong-su won the award at this year's Golden Globe Awards. (AFP)
This handout image released by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) shows HFPA Grantee, Founder and Executive Director of Kids in the Spotlight Tige Charity, presenting the Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series, or Television Movie Award on stage during the 79th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, Sunday. Korean actor O Yeong-su won the award at this year's Golden Globe Awards. (AFP)

South Korean actor O Yeong-su won the country's first Golden Globe award on Sunday for his role in Netflix hit "Squid Game", drawing cheers at home and abroad despite criticism for the ceremony's organizers over a lack of diversity.

O, 77, won best supporting actor in television for his portrayal of Oh II-nam, also known as The Host or Player 001, becoming the first South Korean ever to snatch a Golden Globe.

He beat more globally renowned competitors including Billy Crudup and Kieran Culkin, who were respectively nominated for their performances in The Morning Show and Succession.

This year's ceremony was held privately without the usual glitzy fanfare after many actors, directors and film studios refused to attend amid criticism that its organizer, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, lacked decent ethics policies and ethnic diversity.

"After hearing the news, I told myself for the first time, 'you're a nice dude,'" O said in a statement released by Netflix.

"It's no longer us within the world, it's the world within us. Embracing the scent of our culture and the love for my family, Thank all of you in the world. I wish you a beautiful life."

O's achievement came after Youn Yuh-jung won best supporting actress at last year's Academy Awards, the first South Korean to win an Oscar, for her role in "Minari," a heartfelt Korean immigrant tale.

Dystopian drama
"Squid Game", in which cash-strapped contestants play childhood games with deadly consequences in a bid to win 45.6 billion won ($38.1 million), had triggered a worldwide sensation and became Netflix's biggest original series launch.

In the nine-part show, O posed as a frail, harmless old man, before eventually revealing his true identity as the sinister orchestrator of the games.

The dystopian drama has inspired countless real world recreations and social media memes in South Korea, including his use of the term "kkanbu", which roughly translates as "friend", propelling his popularity as a hippy "kkanbu grandpa".

Born in 1944 in what is now a North Korean border town of Kaepung, O is regarded as one of the greatest stage actors in South Korea, appearing in more than 200 stage productions since 1963 and winning a number of major awards.

He has also played many charismatic supporting characters in film and television, including in "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring" released in 2003 by late award-winning director Kim Ki-duk.

O's portrayals of a Buddhist monk in that 2003 movie and others won him the nickname "monk actor" and several television commercials.

He said during a TV appearance in October that he had decided to join "Squid Game" out of appreciation for the director's insight over social irregularities.

"Our society goes by as if only No. 1 survives. No. 2 lost to No. 1, but beat No. 3. After all, everybody is a winner," he said then.



English Version of Animated Chinese Hit 'Ne Zha 2' Heading to Theaters

FILE PHOTO: Michelle Yeoh poses during the Oscars arrivals at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Michelle Yeoh poses during the Oscars arrivals at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
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English Version of Animated Chinese Hit 'Ne Zha 2' Heading to Theaters

FILE PHOTO: Michelle Yeoh poses during the Oscars arrivals at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Michelle Yeoh poses during the Oscars arrivals at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

A24 and CMC Pictures are teaming up to bring an English-language version of the globally successful Chinese animated film "Ne Zha 2" to theaters in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand on August 22, the companies said on Wednesday.

The animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" overtook Pixar's "Inside Out 2" in February to become the highest-grossing animated film globally, according to data from ticketing platform Maoyan.

"Ne Zha 2" amassed a total box office of 12.3 billion yuan ($1.71 billion) including pre-sales and overseas earnings, making it the eighth highest box office film worldwide, Reuters reported.

The English-language cast will include Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh. No other voice actors have been announced so far.

"I'm honored to be part of Ne Zha 2, a landmark in Chinese animation and a powerful reminder of how universal our stories can be," the Malaysian actor said in a statement.

The sequel film follows the first "Ne Zha" film from 2019 and is based on Chinese mythology.

The story follows Ne Zha, a rebellious young boy, who is feared by the gods and born to mortal parents with wild, uncontrolled powers.

He's faced with an ancient force intent on destroying humanity and must grow up to become the hero the world needs.

The film, which will be released in IMAX and 3D, was written and directed by filmmaker Yang Yu, who also developed the first movie. Over 99% of the mythological movie's box office income came from mainland China, starkly in contrast to Hollywood films, which typically rely on a more global distribution strategy.

"Ne Zha 2" is based on a 16th century Chinese novel "The Investiture of the Gods," depicting a hero boy with magic power who tried to defend Chentangguan, a fortress town.