- Tripathi admitted he kept his travel plans to South Korea from his parents as they were “firmly against it.” His parents eventually relented after Tripathi was accepted into KARTs.
- He faced cultural barriers, such as food and language, when he arrived in South Korea. “I spent 10 years in Korea as a student and a theater actor with the thought of persevering every day,” he said, according to India Times.
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- Although Tripathi mostly landed migrant worker roles in Korean shows and films, after “Ode To My Father,” the actor never dwelled on his being typecast. Instead, he was reportedly happy and grateful for the jobs, viewing them as opportunities to improve his Korean.
- He went on to appear in several projects, including the 2016 K-drama “Descendants of the Sun,” where he played a small role as a man who was injured in an earthquake, Hindustan Times reported.
- His big break came when he was tapped to play the role of Player No. 199, Ali, in the international hit Netflix series “Squid Game.” Tripathi said his mother and brothers were very proud of his accomplishment. Sadly, he could not share this success with his father.
- “My dad would have been happy to see [my success], but he passed away in 2017…He would have been delighted,” he said.
- Hwang Dong-Hyuk, director of “Squid Game,” recounted how Tripathi “appeared out of the blue” when the production was looking for a foreign actor in Korea. The director went on to applaud Tripathi’s “amazing emotional acting” in the series.