An actor who played one of the VIPs in Squid Game says that the mockery of his and his co-stars' acting abilities has been a "challenge".
Near the end of the smash-hit South Korean series, we meet a group of wealthy Western men known as the "VIPs". These men essentially fund the deadly competition for a hefty cash prize.
But while the acting by the Korean stars was praised by viewers and critics alike, the men who portrayed the VIPs copped a lot of flak for their acting chops.
Speaking to The Guardian, Daniel C Kennedy, who played one of the VIPs, said he was "gutted" to read the negative comments about their performance in the hugely popular Netflix show.
Kennedy told the paper: "I suffer from extreme clinical depression, so it's been a bit of a challenge.
"Initially, I was gutted by the comments but, with time and distance and some honest self-reflection, I've been better able to filter the feedback into the stuff I can use to improve next time, versus the stuff that is bound to come when you're part of a project that gets global recognition."
The other VIP stars, Geoffrey Giuliano and John D Michaels, shared their thoughts on the overall response to their characters.
Giuliano, who played the VIP whose face is revealed in an episode, felt that the fan response had generally been very positive, telling The Guardian: "I ain't complaining, baby! I'm in the hottest show in the world. I got fan mail... There have also been some sexual invitations, from males and females."
Michaels weighed in on what he thought may have contributed to the VIP actors' tone being a little off. He suggested that their characters' dialogue may have been translated from Korean into English in such a way that it ended up sounding unnatural.
Another factor he believes may have had an effect on their performance was that the actors had not been given enough context on what happens in the show as a whole.
Also, the fact that they were wearing masks, as well as the distance between the actors, may have added "to the weird tonality of the delivery," Michaels said.